Vendée Globe: emotional farewells as the epic solo non-stop race sets sail

Huge crowds gathered to send off the 40 skippers undertaking the epic Vendée Globe on Sunday (10 November).

The official start of the Vendée Globe took place at 13:02. The skippers set off on the world’s most famous and challenging circumnavigation, with more than 24,000 nautical miles (45,000 km) to cover solo, non-stop, and without assistance. Only one boat, Conrad Colman (MS Amlin), was not able to cross the line on schedule, due to a technical problem (see below).

Vendée Globe: the start

Vendée Globe start day remains one of the most outstanding fan experiences in world sport and today was bigger and more emotional than ever, not least because four years ago the 2020-2021 race started ‘behind closed doors’ locked down by the global pandemic. This year, the skippers bid emotional farewells to loved ones and were waved off by swathes of team members, supporters and spectators.

Through the three-week build up to start day (Sunday 10 November 2024), unprecedented crowds have gathered in les Sables d’Olonne to file down the race pontoon and pay homage to the intrepid skippers and their boats. Crowds started forming from 0430hrs (local time), lining either side of Les Sables d’Olonne’s legendary channel – the tidal canal which brings craft into the heart of the town – and, over the course of two hours, bid the racers farewell, fair winds and a safe circumnavigation.

As they departed, some skippers played to the crowd. Fabrice Amedeo (Nexans – Wewise) crossed the pontoon like a boxer, while others dressed for the occasion: a chic coat for Antoine Cornic (HUMAN Immobilier), a Corto Maltese cap for Alan Roura (Hublot), and a pirate costume with a parrot on the shoulder for Damien Seguin (APICIL Group). Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG Mori) put on a dark and sober kimono, and Xu Jing Kun (Singchain Team Haikou) a traditional blue and gold garment.

10th Vendée enjoys gentle start

The record sized fleet of 40 solo sailors enjoyed a gentle opening to the Vendée Globe on Sunday afternoon off the French Atlantic coast, crossing the start line of the mythical race around the world in a very modest 5-6kts of breeze under cloudy skies and dapple of sunshine.

While the slow start was largely welcomed by the skippers, much preferring the weak wind to the strong gales which have often affected the early stages of previous races, the first hours of the course will require a very high level of vigilance while the giant fleet of IMOCA 60 yachts remains compact and close together on the Bay of Biscay.

Quiet but intense first night

Through the first night of the Vendée Globe, the fleet has been carefully gybing downwind, trying to take advantage of the shifts in wind direction as they work to the southwest in a north-easterly wind which has risen and fallen.

Dalin, one of the pre-race favourites had picked up speed and had taken the lead on the 0600hrs ranking today, making just under 20 knots and heading west, just to the south of Simon while Briton Sam Goodchild (Vulnerable) is in Dalin’s wake, up to third place after a good first night. 

French favourite Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) routed to the east and south and is now one of the more southerly boats in 24th place but was making good speed this morning. 

And as the breeze has built into double figures so the foiling boats have taken charge, best of the daggerboard boats this morning is, not unexpectedly, Jean Le Cam (Tout commence en Finistère-Armor Lux) in 10th place but the ‘match within the match’ sees five daggerboard boats holding tenth to 15th places. 

Clarisse Crémer, skipper of the IMOCA L’Occitane en Provence, said on Sunday: “We can’t ask for much better than that to get into the swing of things and come back down gently after the emotions of this morning, this afternoon, I cried quite a bit today, but so far, so good, as our English friends say. But I just want to take things step by step, hour by hour, wave by wave…”

Conrad Colman picks up

After his period leading the fleet despite starting late because of a technical issue with a sheet in his prop New Zealand’s Conrad Colman (MS Amlin) is in 17th. He says this morning: “The night has gone well, we are gybing in the shifts to take advantage of the variations in the wind to make it south west, the shifts are quite big 30-35 degrees, so lots of gybing and each gybe represents a lot of work, mental and physical, and there is a lot of VHF chat between each of us to coordinate gybes. But is all going well, it’s been a good night, I’m just happy to be out here now but it’s lots of work.” 

He explained yesterday evening that the sheet of his large gennaker had slipped into the water and wrapped around the propeller. “It stalled the engine, it jammed the sheet and it stopped the boat from being manoeuvrable. So I kept the team on board with me, which meant that I didn’t respect the deadline to disembark my crew members, and so I couldn’t start like the others, even a little late! So I asked to benefit from the staggered start protocol.”

But he was leading he enthused, “But of course in the Vendée Globe you can have good days and bad days all in the one day.”

Best news for Japan’s Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG MORI Global One) so far has been that the debilitating seasickness which always affects the first few days of his ocean races, has not affected him so far thanks to the relatively smooth seas. 

Shiraishi reported last night: “I had a good start – well not too bad, not too good – I was able to go through some gaps and it is fun to be back racing. I feel lucky so far to not have had seasickness…

The moon has been beautiful and I had Charal and L’Occitane en Provence behind or beside me it is very nice to be out sailing again. I don’t have a real set strategy but I need to adjust to life at sea again and I go step by step but I need to let my body adjust to the seaman I can be.” 

All you need to know about the Vendée Globe

Matt Sheahan jumped onboard with some of the skippers to find out about life during the toughest offshore race in the world.