The single-handed round-the-world Golden Globe Race will start in the summer of 2018. 50 years after the first edition, this legendary single-handed round the world race aims to put the sailors back in the same conditions as the adventurers of the time: boats with long keels, no electronics, no communication?
In 1968, the 9 skippers who took the start could do so during the summer on a date of their choice in a port in the South of England. For the 2018 edition, the ports of Portsmouth and Falmouth have been approached to organise the start. In the end, neither of them met the expectations of the organisers, who finally approached... Les Sables-d'Olonne.
The city's agglomeration council met on Friday, September 29, 2017 and agreed to be the organizer. The town sees this as a continuation of the Vendée Globe with a two-year gap between the two races. The know-how it has acquired in organising the race and the assurance of a public that loves sailing did the rest in the choice of the elected representatives.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of the race, the competitors (currently 26 registered) will set off from Falmouth on a delivery trip to Les Sables-d'Olonne, from where the real start will be given on 1 January er july 2018. The race organiser is expected on Wednesday in Les Sables-d'Olonne to confirm the partnership definitively.
This choice is a new departure from the original spirit of the race: "One sailor, one boat facing the great oceans of the world". With a set of rules, boats authorised to compete and now a compulsory start town, we are moving away from the notion of freedom that emanated from the idea of the race in 1968?
The challenge remains a major one, as sailors should take around 300 days to complete this extraordinary voyage.
