So much more than records and statistics
by Mark Jardine 23 Jan 06:00 AEDT
Charlie Dalin, Yoann Richomme and Sébastien Simon celebrate as the top three finishers in the Vendée Globe © Jean-Marie Liot / Alea
The way the Vendée Globe record was demolished was astounding. Armel Le Cléac'h's mark of 74 days, 3 hours, 36 minutes had stood for eight years, with the 2020-21 winner of the race, Yannick Bestaven, taking just over six days longer to complete the course. Now Charlie Dalin has wiped over nine days off the time, completing the Vendée Globe in 64 days, 19 hours, 23 minutes. Incredible.
A record 40 yachts started the race and, at the time of writing, only six have retired. The previous best finish percentage was 75.8% in the 2020-21 race, and I sincerely hope this is surpassed when all the skippers are safely home.
But the Vendée Globe is so much more than records and statistics. It's the personalities who are making this race so popular and engaging. New sailing stars come to the fore and attract people into the sport who have never even been near a boat. The likes of Pip Hare, Conrad Colman, Violette Dorange, Boris Herrmann, Giancarlo Pedote, Sam Davies and Sam Goodchild have competed hard throughout the race, but just as importantly, they have drawn non-sailors into their worlds.
The IMOCA yachts they sail on have evolved over the years from open cockpit skiffs to foilers with scow(ish) bows and fully enclosed shells protecting the sailors. The speeds they now travel at make it simply impossible to be on deck for long when out in the Indian and Pacific Oceans during a storm.
Communications have also taken a quantum leap over the past decade, and Starlink means we can hear from the sailors on a daily basis, joining them during their emotional journey, empathising with them in a storm, and feeling for them when they have to do a repair. We, as viewers, grow attached to the sailors, just as we do characters in a show, but this is the ultimate in reality TV where the stakes are very real when things go wrong.
The Vendée Globe is still a very 'French' race. They are the kings and queens of the solo offshore world and there has never been a non-French winner of the race. The Brits have come closest with Ellen MacArthur's superb 2nd in 2000-21, Mike Golding coming 3rd in 2004-05, Alex Thomson finishing 3rd in the 2012-13 edition and 2nd in the 2016-17 race. No other nation has ever finished on the podium.
The crowds who flock to Les Sables d'Olonne are primarily French and, while it is becoming more international, the French dominance looks set to continue for a while yet. It would be great to see the Vendée Globe become more international. Thirteen of the forty skippers this time were from outside France, and traction is growing, but a bigger international contingent would then truly attract the global brands to sponsor campaigns, and the publicity would bring in more and more fans. Convert just some of those to sailing and it would be a massive boost to the industry.
On the face of it, offshore sailing is exactly the kind of sport which brands want to be associated with. It's relatively green, as once you've constructed the yacht, it is possible to get around without the use of fossil fuels, as Conrad Colman is proving, and the duration means the publicity continues for a good amount of time. A Football World Cup takes up 39 days, with each team only on the pitch for a relatively short period of time. Sailing around the world is continuous, and so the exposure for a brand can last longer.
Some people point to it as dangerous, so risk-averse brands may shy away from it, but the technology of composite structures is improving all the time, as the lower attrition rates are proving. The opportunity for our sport and the potential for the global brands that take the leap to sponsor a Vendée Globe campaign are both enormous.
The race may been won, but we're continuing to provide daily updates on the @Sail-World YouTube channel, and we've now registered over 4 million views on our videos. The interest in the race is there and, in my opinion, it can only increase.
Over the weekend I interviewed Pip Hare at boot Düsseldorf, which is truly a mega-show, with 17 exhibition halls filled with everything the boating and watersports world has to offer. I was struck by just how good a brand ambassador she is. Her 2024-25 race came to an abrupt and cruel end when her IMOCA Medallia was dismasted on 15th December, and she's now working through the logistics as to how to get on the start line for the 2028-29 edition of the race.
Much like an Olympic or America's Cup campaign, a Vendée Globe needs the four years of preparation in between races to get things right, and Pip has the complications of getting her boat back from Australia while also finding new sponsors. If you're reading this and make decisions on who is going to represent your brand on the world stage, then Pip Hare should be at the top of your list, followed by those others I've mentioned before in this article who all demonstrate incredible resilience and resourcefulness, while communicating brilliantly with their legions of fans.
I would love the Vendée Globe to truly become global for the 2028-29 edition. Could we see 50% of the competitors hail from outside France? Could it make the daily sports segments on news channels around the world? Nothing would please me more and the race and racers would deserve it. There's simply nothing quite like it in the world, and having committed a lot of time and energy into covering it so comprehensively over the past 74 days I am fully invested in it myself. I'm both a commentator and a fan.
Quite simply the Vendée Globe is good for sailing, good for sponsors, and good for the world.
Mark Jardine
Sail-World.com and YachtsandYachting.com Managing Editor