44 Solo Sailors (and 18 Rookies) for Vendée Globe 2024

13th October 2023

The tenth edition of the non-stop, non-assisted, single-handed round-the-world Vendee Globe race has set a new record with 44 skippers applying.

There are a number of newcomers, the 18 'rookies'. The youngest skipper, Violette Dorange, is just 22! She is due to compete in her first round-the-world race aboard the boat on which Jean Le Cam completed the 2020 Vendée Globe. King Jean, the emblematic face and oldest skipper in the race, should be lining up at the start for the sixth time, on his brand new IMOCA with straight daggerboards, which has just been launched.

But as exciting as it is, there will be some disappointment, from a home perspective at least, that a number of fledgeling Irish campaigns are not on the list.

Among the six female candidates - as many as the 2020 record - Sam Davies, Justine Mettraux and Clarisse Crémer have high ambitions at the helm of high-performance boats and are looking forward to taking part in the battle for the podium. Also racing is Pip Hare, who visited Ireland recently as interviewed by Afloat here.

Damien Seguin, the first disabled skipper to complete a Vendée Globe in 2020-2021, should be back alongside Jingkun Xu, a young Chinese skipper with an arm amputation. Their candidacy highlights that Vendée Globe is also an inspiring demonstration of inclusion.

A race more international than ever

The internationalisation of the Vendée Globe is reaching new levels: applications are coming in from the four corners of the globe! If 2020 was a record year in this respect, 2024 is once again, proof that the trend is set to continue. The candidates include 16 international skippers, representing more than a third of the entries, compared with 12 in 2020. In addition, the 11 nationalities represented are spread across 4 of the Globe's five continents.

Sailors increasingly committed

From social action to environmental protection and medical research, the Vendée Globe is an opportunity for more and more skippers to use their achievements to support causes that are close to their hearts. There are more than 30 causes supported by the sailors. Some, like Tanguy Le Turquais with Lazare or Manuel Cousin with Coup de Pouce, have named their boat after the charity they support, to give them maximum visibility. Others are taking a different approach, like Thomas Ruyant and Sam Goodchild, sailing under the common banner of the "We sail for people and planet" collective, which works to help people and the planet.

The Initiatives-Coeur project with skipper Sam Davies enables children with heart malformations to be operated in France when this is impossible in their own country. Their ambition is to save 500 children by the end of the next Vendée Globe. Maxime Sorel, skipper of the new IMOCA V and B - Monbana - Mayenne, has been deeply involved with "Vaincre la Mucoviscidose" for nearly 10 years, an association he has promoted through his various exploits, at sea during Vendée Globe and on land when he climbed the highest peak in the world, Mount Everest.

40 places at the Start, 10 November 2024

For the 2020 edition, 37 skippers applied. In the end, only 33 took part in the race.

To find out which 40 competitors will set sail on 10 November 2024, we will have to wait for the final qualifying and selection race: the New York Vendée - Les Sables d'Olonne, which will start from the United States on 29 May 2024.

2024 Candidates :

Fabrice AMEDEO (Nexans - Arts & Fenêtres) - FRA
Romain ATTANASIO (Fortinet - Best Western) - FRA
Eric BELLION (STAND AS ONE) - FRA
Yannick BESTAVEN (Maître CoQ V) - FRA
Jérémie BEYOU (Charal) - FRA
Arnaud BOISSIÈRES (La Mie Câline) - FRA
Louis BURTON (Bureau Vallée) - FRA
Conrad COLMAN (Imagine) - USA/NZL
Manuel COUSIN (Coup de Pouce) - FRA
Antoine CORNIC (Human Immobilier) - FRA
Clarisse CRÉMER (L'Occitane en Provence) - FRA
Charlie DALIN (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) - FRA
Samantha DAVIES (Initiatives-Cœur) - GBR
Violette DORANGE (DeVenir) - FRA
Louis DUC (Fives Group - Lantana Environnement) - FRA
Benjamin DUTREUX (GUYOT environnement – Water Family) - FRA
Benjamin FERRÉ (Monnoyeur - Duo for a Job) - FRA
Sam GOODCHILD (For the Planet) - GBR
François GUIFFANT (Partage) - FRA
James HARAYDA (Gentoo Sailing Team) - GBR
Pip HARE (Medallia) - GBR
Oliver HEER (Oliver Heer Ocean Racing) - SUI
Boris HERRMANN (Malizia - Seaexplorer) - GER
Isabelle JOSCHKE (MACSF) - FRA/GER
Tanguy LE TURQUAIS (Lazare) - FRA
Jean LE CAM (Tout commence en Finistère - Armor-Lux) - FRA
Nicolas LUNVEN (Holcim - PRB) - FRA
Sébastien MARSSET (Foussier - Mon Courtier Energie) - FRA
Paul MEILHAT (Biotherm) - FRA
Justine METTRAUX (Teamwork.net) - SUI
Giancarlo PEDOTE (Prysmian Group) - ITA
Yoann RICHOMME (Paprec Arkéa) - FRA
Alan ROURA (Hublot) - SUI
Thomas RUYANT (For People) - FRA
Damien SEGUIN (Groupe APICIL) - FRA
Phil SHARP (OceansLab - Cleantech Accelerator) - GBR
Kojiro SHIRAISHI (DMG MORI Global One) - JPN
Sébastien SIMON (Groupe Dubreuil) - FRA
Maxime SOREL (V and B - Monbana – Mayenne) - FRA
Guirec SOUDÉE (Freelance.com) - FRA
Nicolas TROUSSEL (NC) - FRA
Denis VAN WEYNBERGH (D'Ieteren Group) - BEL
Szabolcs WEORES (New Europe) - HUN
Jingkun XU (Singchain Team Haikou) - CHN

Published in Vendee Globe

Tagged under

Vendee Globe

About The Author

Afloat.ie Team

Email The Author

Afloat.ie is Ireland's dedicated marine journalism team.

Have you got a story for our reporters? Email us here.

We've got a favour to ask

More people are reading Afloat.ie than ever thanks to the power of the internet but we're in stormy seas because advertising revenues across the media are falling fast. Unlike many news sites, we haven’t put up a paywall because we want to keep our marine journalism open.

Afloat.ie is Ireland's only full–time marine journalism team and it takes time, money and hard work to produce our content.

So you can see why we need to ask for your help.

If everyone chipped in, we can enhance our coverage and our future would be more secure. You can help us through a small donation. Thank you.

You might also want to read...

Vendée Globe Race FAQs

How many entries are there in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

33 participants.

How many women are in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

Six women (Alexia Barrier, Clarisse Cremer, Isabelle Joschke, Sam Davies, Miranda Merron, Pip Hare).

How many countries are racing in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

Nine nations (France, Germany, Japan, Finland, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, and Great Britain)

Is Ireland racing in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

After much speculation following Galway man Enda O’Coineen’s 2016 race debut for Ireland, there were as many as four campaigns proposed at one point, but unfortunately, none have reached the start line.

What is the Vendee Globe Race?

The Vendée Globe is a sailing race round the world, solo, non-stop and without assistance. It takes place every four years and it is regarded as the Everest of sailing. The event followed in the wake of the Golden Globe which had initiated the first circumnavigation of this type via the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn) in 1968.

What is the Vendée Globe Race record time to beat?

The record to beat is Armel Le Cléac’h 74 days 3h 35 minutes 46s set in 2017. Some pundits are saying the boats could beat a sub-60 day time.

How many miles is the Vendée Globe Race?

The number of theoretical miles to cover is 24,296 miles (45,000 km).

How many sails does each IMOCA boat carry?

A maximum of eight sails.

What is an IMOCA 60?

The IMOCA 60 ("Open 60"), is a development class monohull sailing yacht run by the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA). The class pinnacle events are single or two-person ocean races, such as the Route du Rhum and the Vendée Globe.

How many previous winners are competing in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

Zero past winners are competing but two podiums 2017: Alex Thomson second, Jérémie Beyou third. It is also the fifth participation for Jean Le Cam and Alex Thomson, fourth for Arnaud Boissières and Jérémie Beyou.

Who is the youngest competitor in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

The youngest on this ninth edition of the race is Alan Roura, 27 years old.

Who is the oldest competitor in the 2020 Vendée Globe Race?

The oldest on this ninth edition is Jean Le Cam, 61 years old.

How many of the 33-boat Vendée Globe fleet are first-timers?

Over half the fleet are debutantes, totalling 18 first-timers.

How does the Vendée Globe 2020 race start?

The start procedure begins 8 minutes before the gun fires with the warning signal. At 4 minutes before, for the preparatory signal, the skipper must be alone on board, follow the countdown and take the line at the start signal at 13:02hrs local time. If an IMOCA crosses the line too early, it incurs a penalty of 5 hours which they will have to complete on the course before the latitude 38 ° 40 N (just north of Lisbon latitude). For safety reasons, there is no opportunity to turn back and recross the line. A competitor who has not crossed the starting line 60 minutes after the signal will be considered as not starting. They will have to wait until a time indicated by the race committee to start again. No departure will be given after November 18, 2020, at 1:02 p.m when the line closes.

When will the Vendée Globe 2020/2021 race finish?

The first boat could be home in sixty days. Expect the leaders from January 7th 2021 but to beat the 2017 race record they need to finish by January 19 2021.

What is the cost of an IMOCA 60?

Today, building a brand new IMOCA generally costs between 4.2 and €4.7million, without the sails but second-hand boats that are in short supply can be got for around €1m.

©Afloat 2020

Vendee Globe 2024 Key Figures