WITH THREE WEEKS TO GO, SKIPPERS GATHER TO KICK OFF THE RACE TO THE ARCTIC CIRCLE

With three weeks to go before the start of the Vendée Arctique – Les Sables d’Olonne 2026, organizers, partners, and skippers gathered this Tuesday in Paris to unveil the details of an edition that will officially kick off the 2028 Vendée Globe cycle.

At a press briefing held on 2 April, the Vendée Arctique – Les Sables d’Olonne revealed the first names of the skippers entered for its 2026 edition, as well as the race management team that will ensure the sailors’ safety. As the first qualifying race for the 2028 Vendée Globe, the competition is…

For its third edition, the Vendée Arctique – Les Sables d'Olonne is reinventing its history. On 7 June 2026, IMOCA sailors will set off solo from the Vendée port towards the Arctic Circle (66° North), which they will have to cross at the longitude of their choice, before returning to complete the…

The Vendée Arctique - Les Sables d'Olonne is back in 2026 with a daring and unprecedented route: starting from Les Sables d'Olonne, the skippers will have to cross the Arctic Circle - 66° North - for the very first time, but at the longitude of their choice, before returning to the famous port in…

The first edition of the Vendée Arctique Les Sables d’Olonne in the spring of 2020 was the first race for Japan’s solo racer Kojiro Shiraishi with the DMG MORI GLOBAL ONE. While he finished in a highly creditable tenth position overall the skipper, who went on to become the first Asian racer to…

Les Sables d'Olonne put together all of the key ingredients to honour the solo skippers of the second edition of the Vendée Arctique Les Sables. The public turned out in significant numbers to greet the skippers and mark their endeavours. They shouted and cheered for all 20 of the sailors who…

Vendee Arctique sailors chose to put the extreme restriction of sailing solo on their careers. But that does not mean they are alone. Today, thousands of bits of media - video footage, audio clips, written stories and reports - are beamed to a global audience each race and the sailors are at the…