The Vendée Globe is a single-handed non-stop round the world yacht race. The race, which takes place every four years, is regarded by yachtsmen and women as a serious test of individual endurance. Each race has been marked by a significant portion of the participants having to drop out. Some of those ended up having to be rescued, sometimes by fellow competitors. Inshore yacht racing on Sydney Harbour, Australia Yacht racing is the sport of competitive sailing. ...

The race was founded by French yachtsman, Phillipe Jeantot, in 1989. Since 2003 the race has been run by the Vendee regional council.

Yacht Types

The race was open to monohull yachts conforming to the Open 50 or Open 60 class criteria until 2004/5, when it was restricted to Open 60s only. The Open 60 class is unrestricted in certain aspects but a box rule governs parameters such as overall length, draught, appendages and stability, as well as numerous other safety features.

The Course

The course starts and ends at the port of Les Sables d'Olonne in France. Competitors must then sail more than twenty-five thousand miles non-stop around the world past the complulsory points which are: Les Sables-dOlonne is a seaside town of western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. ...

• Les Sables d'Olonne
• The Canaries
• Keep the Antarctic to starboard
• Keep Heard Island to starboard
• Keep a marker at 50°S 90°E to starboard
• Keep a marker at 57°S 180° to starboard
• Keep a marker at 57°S 120°W to starboard
• Keep a marker at 27°S 67°W to starboard
• Keep the Cape Horn to port
• Return to Les Sables d’Olonne

See a diagram of the course (http://ecolecentreferte.free.fr/Vendee-globe/Les-cartes.htm). Les Sables-dOlonne is a seaside town of western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. ... Missing image image:ccaa-canary. ... Greek ἀνταρκτικός, opposite the arctic) is a continent surrounding the Earths South Pole. ... Starboard is the nautical term (used on boats and ships) that refers to the right side of a vessel, as perceived by a person facing forward (i. ... Cape Horn is often said to be the southernmost point of South America. ... Seaport, a painting by Claude Lorrain, 1638 A port is a facility at the edge of an ocean, river, or lake for receiving ships and transferring cargo and persons to them. ...

Previous Winners

2004-2005

 1 - Vincent Riou (PRB) : 87d10h47'55 2 - Jean Le Cam (Bonduelle) : 87d17h20'8 3 - Mike Golding (Ecover) : 88d15h15'13 4 - Dominique Wavre (Temenos) : 92d17h13'20 5 - Sébastien Josse (VMI) : 93d0h2'10 6 - Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec) : 98d3h49'38 7 - Conrad Humphreys (Hellomoto) : 104d14h32'24 8 - Joé Seeten (Arcelor Dunkerque) : 104d23h2'45 9 - Bruce Schwab (Ocean Planet) : 109d19h58'57 10 - Benoît Parnaudeau (Max Havelaar / Best Western) : 116d1h6'54 11 - Anne Liardet (ROXY) : 119d5h28'40 12 - Raphaël Dinelli (AKENA Vérandas) : 125d4h7'14 13 - Karen Leibovici (Benefic) : 126d8h2'20 

2000-2001

 1 - Michel Desjoyeaux (Fra, PRB) : 93d3h57'32 2 - Ellen MacArthur (G.B, Kingfisher) : 94d4h25'40 3 - Roland Jourdain (Fra, Sill Matines La potagère) : 96d1h2'33 4 - Marc Thiercelin (Fra, Active Wear) : 102d20h37'49 5 - Dominic Wavre (Switzerland, Union bancaire Privée) : 105d2h45'12 6 - Thomas Coville (Fra, Sodébo) : 105d7h24' 7 - Mike Golding (G.B, Team Group 4) : 110d16h22' 8 - Bernard Gallay (Fra-Switzerland, Voilà.fr) : 111d16h7'11 9 - Josh Hall (G.B, Gartmore) : 111d19h48'2 10 - Joé Seeten (Fra, Nord-pas-de-Calais/chocolats du Monde) : 115d16h46'50 11 - Patrice Carpentier (Fra, VM Matériaux) : 116d00h32'48 12 - Simone Bianchetti (Ita, Aquarelle.com) : 121d1h28' 13 - Yves Parlier (Fra, Aquitaine Innovations) : 126d23h36 14 - Didier Munduteguy (Fra, DDP/60è Sud) : 135d15h17'55 15 - Pasquale de Gregorio (Ita, Wind Telecommunicazioni) : 158d2h37'25 

Ellen Patricia MacArthur, MBE (born July 8, 1976) is a British sailor from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire who was named 1998 British Telecom/Royal Yachting Association Yachtsman of The Year in the UK and Sailings Young Hope in France. ...

1996-1997

 1 - Christophe Auguin (Fra, Geodis) : 105d20h31' 2 - Marc Thiercelin (Fra, Crédit Immobilier de France) : 113d8h26' 3 - Hervé Laurent (Fra, Groupe LG-Traitmat) : 114d16h43' 4 - Eric Dumont (Fra, Café Legal-Le Goût) : 116d16h43' 5 - Pete Goss (G.B, Aqua Quorum) : 126d21h25' 6 - Catherine Chabaud (Fra, Whirlpool-Europe 2) : 140d04h38' Lost at sea: Gerry Roufs (Can, Groupe LG2) 

1992-1993

 1 - Alain Gautier (Fra, Bagages Superior) : 110d02h22'35 2 - Jean-Luc Van Den Heede (Fra, Groupe Sofap-Helvim) : 116d15h01'11 3 - Philippe Poupon (Fra, Fleury-Michon X) : 117d03h34'24 4 - Yves Parlier (Fra, Cacolac d'Aquitaine) : 125d02h42'24 5 - Nandor Fa (Hungary, K&H Banque Matav) : 128d16h05'04 6 - José de Ugarte (Spain, Euskadi Europ 93 BBK) : 134d05h04'00 7 - Jean-Yves Hasselin (Fra, PRB/Solo Nantes) : 153d05h14'00 

1989-1990

 1 - Titouan Lamazou (Fra, Ecureuil d'Aquitaine II) : 109d8h48'50 2 - Loïck Peyron (Fra, Lada Poch) : 110d01h18'06 3 - Jean-Luc Van den Heede (Fra, 36.15 MET) : 112d01h14'00 4 - Philippe Jeantot (Fra, Crédit Agricole IV) : 113d23h47'47 5 - Pierre Follenfant (Fra, TBS-Charente Maritime) : 114d21h09'06 6 - Alain Gautier (Fra, Generali Concorde) : 132d13h01'48 7 - Jean-François Coste (Fra, Cacharel) : 163d01h19'20 

Links

• Vendee Globe 2004 website (http://www.vendeeglobe.org/uk/classements)