The Vendée Globe organisers held their press conference Review of the 2016-2017 Vendée Globe. It was an opportunity to emphasise the number of records broken this year: a sharp increase in the number of spectators, a more than positive sporting result, record internationalisation?
There were 29 skippers at the start of the race on November 6th, and they are 18 to be completed classified . It's a first in the history of the race! On the water, there were no dramas or serious accidents. In total, there were 4 dismasts and one boat lost, that of Kito de Pavant ( The person responsible for the damage to Kito de Pavant finally revealed in the Vendée Globe ), in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
In terms of technology, hydrofoil monohulls have clearly demonstrated their potential. Indeed, four out of seven came back safely and three of them finished on the podium ( Banque Populaire VIII , Hugo Boss and Master Rooster ).
The sporting balance sheet: 29 skippers at the start, 18 at the finish, 11 retirements, damage report!
Here are the reasons for the 11 dropouts out of this 8 e edition:
5 dropouts due to shock :
- Bertrand de Broc (MACSF),
- Vincent Riou (PRB),
- Morgan Lagravière (Safran),
- Thomas Ruyant (Le Souffle du Nord for the Imagine project),
- Kito de Pavant (Bastide-Otio).
4 abandonments following dismasting :
- Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives Coeur),
- Kojiro Shiraishi (Spirit of Yukoh),
- Stéphane Le Diraison (Compagnie du Lit - Boulogne Billancourt)
- Enda O'Coineen (Kilcullen Voyager Team Ireland).
2 abandonments due to various damages :
- Foil damage for Sébastien Josse (Edmond de Rothschild)
- Damage on the keel jack for Paul Meilhat (SMA)
The edition of all sports records!
The 8th edition is again the one of all records, as the following figures and data show:
The most international platform : 10 nationalities represented at the start (France, England, USA, Spain, Hungary, New Zealand, Netherlands, Switzerland, Ireland, Japan)
The fastest Vendée Globe in history 74 days, 03 hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds. Armel Le Cléac'h sailed around the world at an average speed of 13.8 knots and took 4 days less than the reference time for the event, which had been held since 2013 by François Gabart.
The best sprint With a record distance of 536.81 miles covered in 24 hours (22.4 knots average speed), Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) has snatched the 24-hour record for monohulls and solo sailors!
The record in Ecuador for Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss), in 9 days 7 hours 2 minutes, 1 day and 4 hours ahead of Jean Le Cam's record since 2004.
The record at the Cape of Good Hope for Alex Thomson, in 17 days 22 hours 58 minutes, 5 days ahead of Armel Le Cléac'h's record in 2012.
The record at Cape Leeuwin for Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire VIII), in 28 days, 20 hours, 12 minutes, i.e. nearly 6 days ahead of François Gabart's reference time in 2012.
The record at Cape Horn for Armel Le Cléac'h, in 47 days and 32 minutes, i.e. 5 days ahead of François Gabart's reference time in 2013
The record in Ecuador for Armel Le Cléac'h in 61 days 12 hours and 21 minutes, i.e. 4 days ahead of the reference time held by François Gabart in 2013
Finally, a new race record for the winner Armel Le Cléac'h, in 74 days, 03 hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds, 4 days less than François Gabart in 2013.
A record attendance!
With 1.5 million visitors in the three weeks leading up to the start, then 750,000 visitors (compared to 501,800 in 2013) during the various finishes, from 13th January to 10th March, the attendance for the 8th Vendée Globe is also breaking all records. In total, there were 2 250 000 visitors who came to Les Sables-d'Olonne for the start and finish of the 8th Vendée Globe (compared to 2,000,000 in 2012-2013).
