Vendée Globe Update

The Indian Ocean isn't for the faint of heart. Monsters. INC. | Vendée Globe 2024

The tenth running of the Vendée Globe race started from France on November 10th. Single-handed sailing nonstop around the world with no assistance.

Alone. Around the World. Nonstop. No Assistance. That is the Vendée Globe

The leaders have sailed down the Atlantic, crossed into the Indian Ocean south of Cape of Good Hope, and are heading basically toward Australia. They have encountered some weather.

"The depression is today less strong than what was still being forecast yesterday but it will nevertheless generate winds of more than 50 knots and up to seven metre waves", analysed Christian Dumard, weather consultant for the race, this morning.

"The whole question is whether they will succeed in going fast in very strong winds or whether they will be caught by the light wind coming up behind" explained Dumard. The answer will probably not be known before Saturday when Dalin and Simon converge back to the north, likely to be quite far ahead of third placed Yoann Richomme (PAPREC ARKÉA) and the skippers lined up behind him including Briton Sam Goodchild in seventh on VULNERABLE.

7 meter waves are basically as tall as a 2 story house. When I was sailing most people headed into the marina if winds got much above 30 or 35 knots. (There was a crazy Brit who loved those conditions.)

The race starts and ends in Les Sables-d'Olonne. That is in the Département of Vendée, in France. (A département in France is not quite like a state in the US or Germany. They are more like a county in a state, in that they are just an administrative division.)

This is a 1 minute clip from the video below. From PlanetSail, it describes the Vendée Globe. Since I know most people don't care enough about sailing to watch a long video, the one minute clip will give you an overview.