2nd edition

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…

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,…

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…

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.

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…

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…

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…

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 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…

After a final retirement, the shortened race comes to an end as sailors navigate back to Les Sables d’Olonne.

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.    

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…

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. 

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…

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…

With the three leading skippers having passed the Iceland gate and so ‘neutralising’ their races, effectively now waiting until the bad weather clears sufficiently for them to restart, the remainder of the fleet are dealing with the big, developing low pressure system which forced the race…

The strong low pressure system in the North Atlantic near Iceland which is hitting the fleet still racing on the Vendée Arctique Les Sables d’Olonne has proven to be more dangerous than first forecast. The race direction has decided to make the Iceland Gate – to the east of Iceland – the finish…