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How To Follow The 2nd Vendée Arctique - Les Sables d'Olonne

The start of the 2nd edition of the Vendée Arctique - Les Sables d'Olonne, the 3,500 nautical miles qualifying race for the next Vendée Globe will be on Sunday, June 12 at 1700hrs local time France (1600hrs BST/1500hrs UTC). It should be possible to closely follow all of this important race around Iceland and into the Arctic Circle, from the start to the finish which should be about 12 days later.

Départ des runs de la Vendée Arctique

The event

The 2nd edition of the Vendée Arctique – Les Sables d’Olonne is the first of five qualifying races for the Vendée Globe and it is certainly one of the most difficult. 3500 miles long, it is roughly the same distance as the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe. But this race takes the 25 solo skippers north of Iceland and so up to latitudes never before raced in by the IMOCA class. The course willtake the through a wide variety of weather systems that will challenge the sailors from the first day to the last day.

 

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