1989-1990 edition: Ecureuil d'Aquitaine 2 skippered by Titouan Lamazou
For the 1st Vendée Globe, Titouan Lamazou set sail on a Bouvet-Petit design built by Thierry Euluere in La Teste. Rigged as a sloop, the boat has 11 winches on board, a beam of 3.50 m and a displacement of 11 tons. Titouan will complete the 1st Vendée Globe in 109 days. Skippered by Bertrand de Broc and then by the late Gerry Roof, this 60-footer took third place in the '96 Vendée Globe in the hands of Hervé Laurent. After wandering under several names in the United States, she was summarily refitted for cruising. After an unfortunate stay in Venezuela, she was taken back in extremis by Alexandre Treillard, a Sablais who managed to convoy her to France.
After a one-year refit at Eole Performances, she was relaunched in May 2024 and will be based year-round in Port Olona.
1992-93 edition: Bagages Superior skippered by Alain Gautier
Alain Gautier will be the only sailor to win a Vendée Globe aboard a Ketch. Designed by the Finot-Conq firm, Bagage Superior completed the circumnavigation in 110 days. He finished 4th in the 1996 edition with Éric Dumont. After several transatlantic races, she raced around the world one last time with Zbigniew Gutkowski on the Velux 5 Oceans 2010. Her mizzen has been removed, but she's still ready to race. She is now for sale in Poland, for ?110,000.
1996-97 edition: Geodis skippered by Christophe Auguin
Chrisophe Auguin won the 1996 edition aboard a large, powerful but unstable prototype. He arrived in Les Sables after 105 days of racing. A dramatic edition: Raphaël Dinelli's boat sank beneath him, Tony Bullimore lost his keel, Thierry Dubois was recovered from his raft. Gerry Roof was never found... Bernard Gallay finished 8th in the Vendée Globe 2000. He was then taken over by Hervé Laurent, who retired from the 2004 edition when his rudders broke.
The former Geodis is now based in Cherbourg and has been renamed Oxigen. Neglected by her owner, she hasn't sailed for ten years.
2000 & 2004 editions: PRB 2 skippered by Michel Desjoyeaux and Vincent Riou
Unique in the history of ocean racing, the same boat won two editions of the Vendée Globe, but with two different skippers. Designed by Finot Conq, she was a showcase of innovations: lift-up and interchangeable rudders, wing mast with spreader, circular downhaul rail... Michel Desjoyeaux will complete the course in 96 days, 9 days better than the previous edition.
Vincent Riou then took the helm for the 2004 Vendée Globe. He modernized the boat with a textile rig, installed a coffee grinder and modified the ballast tanks. After 87 days at sea, he took 1st place. She then passed into the hands of Anne Liardet, before Sam Davies finished 4th in the 2008 Vendée Globe.
After eleven years docked with no sailing and no maintenance, the two-time Vendée Globe winner was taken over in 2024 by Brest skipper Kieran Le Borgne, who is due to restore her and sail her out of Brest.
2008-2009 edition: Foncia skippered by Michel Desjoyeaux
Farr designs are all the rage this year, and Michel Desjoyeaux is no exception. Built at CDK, this large hull is equipped with a rig featuring outriggers and a satellite life cell. After a forced stopover in Les Sables after the start, Michel Desjoyeaux will make an incredible comeback, overtaking all the competitors to finish victorious in Les Sables, after 84 days at sea. This IMOCA will race around the world four times before being taken over by Jean Le Cam in 2015. During the 2020 edition, it was with this boat that Jean saved Kevin Escoffier in extremis, who had taken refuge in his life raft in the Roaring 40s. He eventually came 4th in this edition, after a jury bonus.
The IMOCA will then pass into the hands of Violette Dorange, with whom she will compete in her first Vendée Globe, aged just 23. After a refit focusing on the machine's reliability, Violette sailed 13,000 miles on board, including two single-handed transatlantic races.
2012-2013 edition: Macif skippered by François Gabart
François Gabart set off around the world on a VPLP-Verdier design in 2013. After numerous battles with Armel Le Cléac'h, François won in Les Sables-d'Olonne after 78 days at sea. The boat went on to win the Route du Rhum twice, before being taken over by the Banque Populaire team in 2019. On the 2020 edition, it was skippered by Clarisse Crémer, who came 12th.
In 2021, it will be taken over by Benjamin Ferré. A newcomer to the IMOCA class, Benjamin will apply a methodical preparation program, making this tried-and-tested daggerboard boat as reliable as possible. He demonstrated his potential in 2023, finishing 1st among daggerboard boats in the two transatlantic races on the calendar.
2015-2016 Edition: Banque Populaire VIII skippered by Armel Le Cléac'h
Completed in 2015 at the CDK yard in Port la Forêt, Banque Populaire VIII is one of the six boats designed by VPLP-Verdier for the 2016 Vendée Globe. After 74 days at sea, Armel Le Cléac'h will arrive victorious in Les Sables-d'Olonne after an epic duel with Alex Thomson. Taken over by Louis Burton in mid-2016 with a view to lining up for the 2020 edition, this machine was upgraded thanks to major work on the foils, which enabled Louis to finish in 3rd place.
In 2021, she was taken over by Pip Hare, who based her in the south of England. The skipper has gradually got to grips with this 1st-generation hydrofoil IMOCA, steadily improving her ranking in all the races on the calendar. Benefiting from a small operating budget, Pip was nevertheless able to modify the shape of her bow and replace her foils.
2020-2021 edition: Maitre Coq IV skippered by Yannick Bestaven
Launched in 2015 under the colors of Safran, this VPLP-Verdier design has seen its early career punctuated by numerous incidents of damage. Shortly after its launch, a new version of foils was grafted onto this IMOCA, which shares many similarities with Banque Populaire. Following Morgan Lagravière's retirement from the 2016 Vendée Globe, Safran withdrew from sponsorship and the 60-footer was taken over by Yannick Bestaven.
After a major optimization program, Yannick Bestaven will be reporting the 9th edition of the Vendée Globe on board his boat.
In 2021, it was taken over by Damien Seguin, who was looking for a new machine to compete in his 2nd Vendée Globe. During the Route du Rhum 2022, a collision with a cargo ship resulted in Damien's dismantling and retirement. The skipper took the opportunity to launch a major winter refit to upgrade the IMOCA's performance.
New version of foils and replacement of wells, replacement of 30 m2 of hull bottom, new bow, reconfiguration of ballast system, modification of deck layout and enlargement of coachroof: Groupe Apicil is an almost new boat.
So it's aboard a radically modified prototype that Damien will be setting sail in the eighth edition of the Vendée Globe.
