The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Département of Vendée, in France, where the race starts and ends. The Vendée Globe is considered an extreme quest of individual endurance and the ultimate test in ocean racing.
Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town on the Atlantic coast of western France. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loire, it has the administrative level of commune. On 1 January 2019, the municipalities of Olonne-sur-Mer, Château-d'Olonne and Les Sables-d'Olonne merged, retaining the latter name.
Guillaume Canet is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, and show jumper.
The Solitaire du Figaro, previously called the Course de l'Aurore, is a solo multi-stage sailing race created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and Jean-Michel Barrault. The unique character of the race, the presence of great solo sailors and its being open to amateurs, has made it one of the most cherished races in French sailing.
Loïck Peyron is a French yachtsman, younger brother of the yachtsman Bruno Peyron.
François Gabart is a French professional offshore yacht racer who won the 2012-13 Vendée Globe in 78 days 2 hours 16 minutes, setting a new race record. In 2017 he set the speed record for sailing around the globe in 42 days 16 hours 40 minutes and 35 seconds finishing on 17 December. He was sailing singlehanded in the 30 metre Trimaran Macif.
Alex Pella is a Spanish yachtsman. In 2014 he became the first and only Spanish to win a transoceanic single-handed race, the Route du Rhum. Alex Pella made history once again, on 26 January 2017, when he broke, with the rest of the team, the absolute round-the-world speed sailing record, known as the Jules Verne Trophy., aboard the sophisticated maxi-multihull IDEC 3. They circumnavigated the planet in 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds.
Armel Le Cléac’h is a French professional navigator and sea captain. He was the IMOCA world champion in 2008 and French champion in single-handed yacht race in 2003, he notably won the Solitaire du Figaro twice, the Transat AG2R in 2004 and 2010 and the Single-Handed Trans-Atlantic Race in 2016. He finished second in both the 2008–09 and 2012–13 editions of the Vendée Globe. In the Vendée Globe 2016–17, he finished first with a new record time of 74d 3h 35' 46". His performance earned him the 2018 Laureus World Sports Award for Action Sportsperson of the Year.
Yoann Richomme is a French navigator, sailor and yacht skipper. He is a double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro and won the 2018 and the 2022 Route du Rhum in the Class 40 category. In the Imoca class, he won the Retour à la Base 2023 and The Transat 2024.
Kevin Escoffier is a French professional sailor born on 4 April 1980 in Saint-Malo, France and a resident of Lorient. He is an offshore sailor who has won the 2018 Volvo Ocean Race as a bowman onboard DongFeng. and competed in the 2020–2021 Vendée Globe aboard PRB. In 2022-23 he initially skippered Holcim-PRB in The Ocean Race, before leaving the team mired in a sexual harassment incident. He is a member of the yacht club SN Baie St. Malo
Jérémie Beyou is a French professional Offshore sailor born on 27 June 1976 in Landivisiau (Finistère). He is a member of C N Lorient Sailing Club.
The 2016–2017 Vendée Globe was a non-stop solo Round the World Yacht Race for IMOCA 60 class yachts and the eighth edition of the race.
Alain Gautier is a French professional offshore sailor. He is best known for winning the 1992–1993 Vendée Globe. He currently heads Lanic Sport Development which was founded in 1989, specializing in the preparation of and assistance to offshore racing teams including those of Ellen MacArthur in 1998 and Isabelle Joschke in 2019. He headed with Bertrand Pacé the Aleph challenge for the 34th America's Cup in 2013 but the team never got the funding required. It competed in the America's Cup World Series on supplied AC45 catamarans before withdrawing.
Foncia 2 is a IMOCA 60 Class offshore racing monohull sailing yacht launched 2010.
Jean-Pierre Dick is a French professional yachtsman.
The 2024–2025 Vendée Globe is a non-stop round the world yacht race for IMOCA 60 class yachts crewed by only one person. It will be the tenth edition of the race, and will start and finish in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France. The race is scheduled to begin on 10 November 2024.
The IMOCA 60 Class yacht Saint Michel - Virbac, FRA 06 was designed by VPLP design and Guillaume Verdier and launched in 11 September 2015 after being built Multiplast in Vannes, France.
The IMOCA 60 Class yacht Corum L'Epargne, FRA 9 was designed by Juan Kouyoumdjian and launched on 5 May 2020 after being built CDK Technologies based in Lorient, France.
The Transat New York Vendée- Les Sables d'Olonne is a solo transatlantic race aboard IMOCA 60 monohulls. It is part of the IMOCA Globe Series circuit. The 3,100 nautical miles route starts in New York City and finishes in Les Sables-d'Olonne, Vendée Region, France.
Arkéa Ultim Challenge-Brest is a solo race around the world for giant Ultim class trimarans organised by the Société OC Sport Pen Duick, a subsidiary of the French group Télégramme. The course is identical to that of the Vendée Globe, with the difference that the start is given in Brest. The first edition of the race was held in 2024.
