10TH EDITION: AND THEY’RE OFF FOR THE ULTIMATE VOYAGE!
The official start of the Vendée Globe took place today at 13:02. The skippers have now set off on the most famous and challenging of circumnavigations, with more than 24,000 nautical miles (45,000 km) to cover solo, non-stop, and without assistance.
Daggerboarders delighted, foilers foiled….
In the light airs there was no opportunity for the latest generation of foiling IMOCA 60 footers to show their speed potential. Instead it proved a great chance for a few of the skippers with more modest budgets, sailing boats with straight daggerboards – which benefit from having less hardware dragging in the water – to enjoy a few hours up at the front of the pack.
Germany’s Boris Herrmann (Malizia-Seaexplorer) led the fleet away from the start gun on his foiling boat which as well as been optimised for the big winds and seas of the Southern Ocean is also slippery in the very light, sub eight knots wind. But also up with the top group early on was race rookie Szabolcs Weeöres (New Europe) who learned his racing skills in dinghies on Lake Balaton in his native Hungary and who was a newcomer to IMOCA solo racing just three years ago.
High emotion, low winds
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. For three months in the midst of that period this mythical race anchored the lives of people all around the world, especially in France. Following the skippers’ exploits was the perfect daily antidote to the stresses and strains of life under lockdown. The start of this tenth edition has been equal parts a ‘thank you’ to the race, the skippers, the organisers and the region, as it has been an expression of freedom in every sense.
Through the three-week build up to start day, 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. But today was one of celebration and high emotion. Crowds starting forming from 0430hrs, lining either side of Les Sables d’Olonne’s legendary channel – the tidal canal which brings craft into the heart of the town – and in one huge voice, over the course of two hours, bid the racers farewell, fair winds and a safe circumnavigation.
