The Vendée Globe; the greatest single handed, non-stop, non-assisted race around the world is renowned for its gruelling and unforgiving nature. In November 2020, 33 solo skippers embarked on their 80-day round-the-globe trip to be met with freezing cold temperatures, giant waves and fierce winds.

Such experiences, however have challenged our skipper Louis Burton to participate in his third Vendee Globe. Since his last participation in 2016-17, he has had four years to prepare for the race.

Over the past few days, the sailors in the lead have passed Cape Horn to enter what could be for some the last 20 days before reaching the finishing line. We asked you to tell us what questions you wanted Louis to answer. So, as he makes his way North on the South Atlantic Ocean, he shares his experiences of this incredible achievement!

Skipper Louis Burton training for the Vendée Globe 2020.

How do you sustain your drive to reach the finish line?

As you already know this race is very hard. It's about 80 days, alone, sailing for a long time in high wind and waves. Therefore, all boats develop problems with sails, electronics, OFNI (unidentified floating object), I’ve had my problems. At Macquarie island I had to climb the mast four times in order to make repairs; that was the worst job I have had to do in my life, but I managed to fix all of the different problems on my own so far and I am very proud of that!

Each day I sail I am closer to the finish line. I am motivated by my goal to make the top 5, as well as getting the chance to finish a 2nd Vendée Globe. I am also motivated by all the people that follow me, all the messages I receive and all the support. It gives me such strength!

What do you fear most and enjoy the most while racing solo?

It’s always such a pleasure to be sailing! This race is amazing, you spend 80 days alone, see amazing landscapes, sun rises, sun sets, animals and islands, so many things you won't be able to see without sailing there. It's also a race, so always a pleasure to challenge each other, to analyse the wind and to choose a way to push my boat as fast as possible.

Regarding the fear, everyone sailing this race is aware of that. Sometimes you are not feeling confident whilst sailing; wind, waves, and no one around you. You do not know what will happen if you have a problem, you are always tired, it's amazingly cold and there is no comfort on board. All of these elements increase the fear but you just have to deal with it and that's the exciting part!

"I manage myself to sleep for about 5 hours a day I would say. This is done by several rests of 30 minutes when possible." - Louis Burton.

Compared to your previous round-the world races, have you found a similar 'difficult' part of the route?

I have got a faster boat so I have different difficulties. 4 years ago, my aim was to finish in the top 10 and I came in 7^th. This year is not the same race at all; the boat in front of me was 1000nm ahead, and the one behind me was 1000nm behind. I pushed hard and managed to stay at the 2nd ranking of the race for many days until unfortunately, I had to stop to fix my problems. But I came back in 6th place and I am so proud of it. The race is long, and we still have 20 days of sailing, so let's keep going!

All the races have their difficulties and they can be compared but it’s always different, depending on your boat, your attitude, your objective and the weather!

How do you eat and sleep during the race?

I manage myself to sleep for about 5 hours a day I would say. This is done by several rests of 30 minutes when possible. You don't really have free time as you often have to analyse the weather, repair the damage on the boat, communicate, manoeuvre, clean the boat, eat…

I have a partnership with "Le Bon Bag", a company that make sous-vide dishes that I have to reheat in a bain-marie. There are plenty of meals and it's quite good. I also have supplements to fulfil my KJ (Kilojoule) needs by day. I have a different bag depending on the weather and the amount of KJ my body needs.

"I am also motivated by all the people that follow me, all the messages I receive and all the support. It gives me such strength!" - Louis Burton.

How do you prepare for a race so big as the Vendée Glove physically and mentally?

It's been a four-year job. Since the last Vendée Globe in 2016, we were always thinking about this competition. All of the races before have had their own objective but the main goal is to finish the Vendée Globe! That's why this is a hard race, you fight as much as you cannot give up.

Physically, I have a coach taking care of me by planning different programmes to get me in good shape for the race. Mentally too, which is new since the last Vendée Globe, I have a "coach" helping me to get all my energy into what I want, be more confident and to be able to analyse and face all kinds of situations. This is a good improvement with this crazy boat!

Skipper Louis Burton and his team. 

If you could have a fantasy guest on to join you for part of the race, who would it be and why?

I would say my Wife, naturally! She is also my Team Manager. She does the job on land while I do it at sea! I would also like to bring my 2 kids that I am missing a lot!

Here at Gill, we are all cheering on Louis whilst sending all the virtual support we can! You can track Louis' and other competitors progress on the official Vendée Globe tracking map here. You can also be in for the chance to win Louis' signed 2020 Vendée Globe jacket. Enter here by guessing the date you think he will cross the line!