Those of us with a true passion for sailing understand the level of commitment, work and reward that this tough discipline brings. This can come in bucketloads at our local lake or sailing facility, but when out in the ocean it takes things to even higher level.

Imagine sailing across the world’s oceans for such a distance, that you make it back to where you started. It’s a crazy thought, but there are people out there that take on this challenge. And what’s more, it’s a non-stop and non-assisted raceto return to their port of departure.

This is the Vendée Globe. It takes place every four years, and is viewed by many as the ultimate sailing challenge.

As we write this blog, several of the leaders have crossed the finish line, with many more anticipated to arrive in the coming days. Here at Gill, we have a close relationship with our skipper, Frenchman Louis Burton, who arrived at Les Sables d’olonne in the late hours of Wednesday 27^th January, with a total race time of 80 days, 10 hours and 25 minutes. Despite crossing the line second behind Charlie Dalin, Louis has been ranked third overall after Yannick Bestaven was crowned the winner in lieu of his time compensation calculated for his involvement in the rescue of Kevin Escoffier.

We are very proud of his achievements, and even prouder that he completed it in our highly anticipated new OS1 System. Back when Louis was part way through the race, we asked him to share his experiences. You can read the recent interview with Louis here.

With this in mind, we wanted to devote some time to celebrating the incredible history and feats that the Vendée Globe has brought about over the years.

The History of the Vendée Globe

The Vendée Globe first took place in 1989, under the moniker ‘The Globe Challenge’, and was organised by experienced yachtsman Phillipe Jeantot.

Taking place every four years, the Vendée Globe starts in the French port of Les Sables-d’Olonne in the Vendée. Participants head south to the Cape of Good Hope on the southern tip of Africa, before a lap of Antartica, passing Africa’s Cape Agulhas and Cape Leuwin in Australia, and then over to South America and past Cape Horn, before racing North towards France.

All in all, 44,000 kilometres are covered, meaning that completing the Vendée Globe takes between 2 and 3 months, using IMOCA 60 class yachts.

The idea of being completely alone for this amount of time is too much for many people. But add the physical and mental challenges circumnavigating the globe brings and there is a whole new level of heroism required on the part of the participants.

Since 1989, there have been eight completed editions, with the ongoing 2020-21 Vendée Globe being the ninth. There have been seven different winners, all of whom are French navigators. The first was Titouan Lamazou in 1990, who completed the route in 109 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes and 50 seconds. Times have reduced steadily since that first completion of the race, with 2016-17 winner Armel Le Cléac’h, setting a new record by finishing in a time of 74 days, 3 hours and 36 minutes.

Only one sailor has won the event twice. Michel Desjoyeaux triumphed in both the 2000-01 and 2008-09 editions, remaining the only double victor.

The 2020-21 Vendée Globe

The 2020-21 edition of the Vendée Globe commenced on 8 November 2020, and the leading sailors have been arriving in Les Sables d’olonne over the past 24 hours. Despite the absence of the usual crowds at the finish line due to Covid-19, the skippers have been welcomed by their teams and family with celebration, congratulations and of course a huge sense of pride and achievement!

Louis’ accomplishment is an incredible feat, having come in 7^th place in the 2016-17 Vendée Globe, he set out with one aim – to beat his previous ranking. In addition to this, we have found out in recent hours that Louis faced some major problems during the race, all of which were kept secret until he finished.

Alongside needing to make exhausting repairs to his boat which in turn caused slow manoeuvres, his watermaker failed a month before finish, meaning he couldn’t heat water for drinks or food rations for the final fortnight of the race. Not only that but he drank the last of his water (rainwater collected in the Doldrums) a few hours before he arrived back in France. These recent factors only highlight his remarkable attitude and motivation to complete the race.

Photo credit: © Jean-Louis Carli / Alea / Vendée Globe
© Olivier Blanchet / Alea / Vendée Globe
© Jean-Marie Liot / Alea / Vendée Globe
© Yvan Zedda / Alea / Vendée Globe

Find out more about our highly anticipated NEW OS1 System as christened by Louis on his maiden voyage around the world. This system, launching in September 2021 has everything you need for your next ocean adventure, no matter what the weather! Sign up to the OS1 waiting list here.

We are very proud to be associated with such a phenomenal sailor and an event of the prestige that the Vendée Globe has. Follow all Vendée Globe updates live here, and keep track of the remaining competitors using the Vendée Globe tracker.