Latest news and media
Vendée Arctique 2026: heading for the Arctic Circle!
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…
Koji looking for a race with ‘no majors’
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…
The solo skippers of the Vendée Arctique celebrate their success and are honoured by the public
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…
Official Vendée Globe online shop
The Give and Take of the Sailor, Media Relationship
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…
New Kid on the Block
At 30, Guirec Soudee (freelance.com) is a freshman in the IMOCA class having just dipped his toe into its fast running waters this year. His voyage towards the Vendee Globe is dominated by a fairy-tale image of a young man and a chicken, Monique to be precise, on the high seas. But make no mistake,…
Relaxed and Thoughtful, Bulk of Fleet lands in Port Olona
Smiles, hugs and champaign greeted more than half the Vendee Arctique - Les Sables d’Olonne fleet Thursday as they paraded into Port Olona on a warm, windless day after slowly jockeying down the coast. Stories were shared of hard lessons learned, decisive moments and personal triumphs, closing out…
French are Data Kings as Internationals Play Catchup
The dynamic and complicated second IMOCA race of the season revealed the hidden strengths of the top French skippers and has shown the international sailors getting traction in their new campaigns.
Fifteen sailors expected in Les Sables d'Olonne Thursday from 11 a.m., including the top three!
We expected to see the first "finishers" of the Vendée Arctique - Les Sables d'Olonne return in the rain Wednesday night. To the delight of the public and the media, they will finally treat themselves to a day channel ascent. Thursday, the tide will allow the IMOCAs to pass between 11 a.m. and 4:20…
48 Hours of Tension
Last Friday, race management decided to make the Iceland Gate the finish line of this Vendée Arctique - Les Sables d’Olonne. The main reason: a depression that widened and spread over a substantial part of the course. This choice owes nothing to chance or improvisation. It follows a series of…
A Proving Ground for Judgement
The Vendee Arctique - Les Sables d’Olonne was envisioned to be a tough challenge to qualify sailors for the Vendee Globe. Facing the same judgment calls race officials tackled, the five sailors who retired had some of the most difficult calls to make while they were strapped into the worst of the…
“I’m Back,” Roura has Race he Needed
Swiss sailor Alan Roura will sail into Les Sables d’Olonne later this week having taken his IMOCA game to the “next level” after finishing in seventh, the top international skipper in the 2022 Vendee Arctique - Les Sables d’Olonne. The fleet finished the shortened race in Iceland last weekend and…
The ETA (estimated time of arrival) of the Skippers are Known
The sailors of the Vendée Arctique - Les Sables d'Olonne are expected throughout the week at the pontoons of Port Olona. At the end of a particularly trying journey to the Iceland gate, they set sail for the Vendée. The public is of course invited to come to the village and around the channel to…
Japanese Skipper Closes Out Second Vendee-Arctique
After a final retirement, the shortened race comes to an end as sailors navigate back to Les Sables d’Olonne.
The Vendée Arctique – Les Sables d’Olonne Debrief
The finish line of the 2nd Vendée Arctique – Les Sables d’Olonne has been closed since the arrival of the last competitor, Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG MORI Global One), Saturday June 18 at 10:33 p.m. The classification is now official, let's take stock of the sporting data of the race.
As a precaution, Arnaud Boissières abandons
After more than 24 tense hours spent fighting 60 knot winds in the heart of the depression, sailing towards the shortened race finish off Iceland in his IMOCA La Mie Câline, Arnaud Boissières told the race management of the Vendée Arctique - Les Sables d'Olonne his decision to abandon, this…
Isabelle Joschke Abandons The Vendée Arctique-Les Sables d’Olonne Race With Badly Torn Mainsail
Franco-German skipper Isabelle Joschke, (MACSF) has retired from the Vendée Arctique-Les Sables d’Olonne within 50 miles of the finish line because of damage to her mainsail sustained more than 24 hours ago.
A first first for Dalin, night finishes
Last night, after the announcement of the organization of the Arctic Vendée shorten the course at the Iceland gate, five skippers crossed the finish line. Charlie Dalin (APIVIA) wins (provisionally before jury) the Vendée Arctique, his second major IMOCA victory back to back with last month’s…
1,300 rugged miles Reveal a Winner and Hard-Earned Lessons for All
By 1400hrs UTC this Saturday afternoon only four solo-skippers had still to cross what has become the de-facto finish line of the Vendée Arctique-Les Sables d’Olonne race, set at the Iceland gate, just to the east of Iceland. But the majority of the 15 boats which have finished had to battle…
