At its tenth edition, the Vendée Globe lived up to its nickname “Everest of the seas”: the participants set stratospheric records.
TOGETHER WITH CHARLIE DALIN AND SEBASTIAN, HE WAS THE GREAT ANIMATOR OF THIS EDITION.
SEBASTIEN SIMON
The stopwatch showed a record time: 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 45 seconds! Charlie Dalin on Macif Santé Prévoyance beat the previous record by an incredible nine days, laying the foundations for a new era. The Frenchman’s triumph marks the beginning of a technological era in which engineering expertise is in demand. The winner revealed that he spent seven hours a day at the map table. And he demonstrated a keen sense of the weather and outstanding analytical skills. These qualities were particularly useful to him in the Atlantic duel with his companion and rival Yoann Richomme. He had snapped at Dalin’s heels. Sébastien Simon on the damaged Groupe Dubreuil was lurking in ambush. By the finish, however, their gap had grown to over seven days. “It’s the Figaro sailors’ race,” said Alain Gautier. The 1993 winner hit the nail on the head. Many of the participants in the Solitaire du Figaro were among the top 10. Was this due to the comparable ergonomics? Equipped with helmets, safety harnesses, satellite connections and on-board cameras, the ocean sailors experienced the race in the rhythm of their infrequent trips to the foredeck. Most of the time, however, they spent well protected inside the ofshore yachts, cut off from the outside world. Meanwhile, alarm systems monitored the pressure in the shrouds.
The leading trio had pulled away unassailably on their speedy trip on the Atlantic off Rio. On the way south, the IMOCA fleet even broke the 24-hour record several times. First Thomas Ruyant on For The People (539.58 nm), then Nicolas Lunven on Holcim-PRB (546.60 nm) and Yoann Richomme on Paprec Arkea (551.84 nm). Their records were alternately homologated by the World Sailing Speed Record Council. In the south, Charlie Dalin and Sébastien Simon had a dangerous speed run in the eye of a storm. Simon broke a foil in the process. Yoann Richomme, who had sailed further north, caught up with Dalin, overtook him and passed Cape Horn with an eight-minute lead.
Frustrated pursuers
The competitors behind the leading group made long faces. Off Brazil, the “Justine” group was first stopped by a calm and then by a line of thunderstorms with lots of lightning. In the Bay of Biscay, the pursuers were caught in a violent storm with high waves. The stragglers were even worse off. They experienced hell in the raging Gulf. Boris Herrman (Malizia – Seaexplorer) and Samantha Davies (Initiatives Coeur) even made a safety stop to let the storm pass.
Despite the fierce gusts, the equipment held up. Only two boats were mastless: Pip Hare’s Medailla and Arnaud Boissières’ La Mie Câline. Apart from damaged hooks and sails, there was hardly any structural damage. Only seven of the forty participants who started gave up, which corresponds to around one fifth of the fleet and is almost a record low. In the last ten editions, an average of around 40 percent of those who started had to abandon their sails early. The Vendée Globe 2024/25 was also an exception in this respect.
The Violette phenomenon
Top sporting performances always go hand in hand with emotions. Jean Le Cam (Tout commence en Finistère – Armor Lux) and Clarisse Crémer (L’Occitane en Provence) have once again demonstrated their talent for communication.
their talent for communication. Their stories were funny, moving and sometimes poignant. However, neither of them came close to the popularity of Violette Dorange. At
23 years old, the youngest participant went into raptures at the sunsets, filmed herself climbing up the mast and spoke open-heartedly about her impressions and feelings.
Her posts were shared countless times on social media. The number of her followers on Instagram rose from 30,000 to 700,000 in just a few weeks. Her fan base was so large that the organizers set off fireworks when she crossed the finish line.
Colorful Swiss fleet
Switzerland was represented by three very different profiles. Justine Mettraux (TeamWork – Team SNEF) was an outstanding 8th, with Alan Roura (Hublot) finishing nine days after her in 18th place. Oliver Heer followed in 29th place, bravely completing his first solo round-the-world race. Alex Thomson’s former boat captain seemed satisfied on his arrival. He seems to have enjoyed the high seas adventure on his Farr yacht from 2007. His boat is not called Tut Gut for nothing.
Alan Roura: “Not everything worked out, but I enjoyed the race”
For some it was their first Vendée Globe, for you it was your third. How would you categorize your most recent participation?
My first Vendée Globe was an adventure. The second was difficult and complicated. For this one, I wanted one thing above all: to have fun. Not everything worked out tactically and strategically, but I enjoyed it. I never sailed alone, there was always at least one boat at my side. I’ve never raced so much before.
How satisfied are you with your placing?
Of course I had hoped for more than 18th place. I sometimes made mistakes when analyzing the weather, but I always believed that I could catch up without worrying about it. I never gave up, but the race didn’t always mean well for me.
What does your sporting future look like?
I would like to be more of a sailor and less of a manager. Project management takes up a lot of energy. I would also like to sail in a team. My next goal would be to take part in The Ocean Race Europe with a Swiss crew, including Simon Koster and Elodie Mettraux. But for that we need the necessary money. We are already in talks with potential sponsors
and of course hope that we can get a Swiss team together