With the Vendee Globe Round the World race start less than a month away, Ireland's first ever entry in the race departs Dublin on Monday for the French Race start at Les Sables d’Olonne.

Lord Mayor of Dublin Brendan Carr and Dublin City Council will host a ‘Bon Voyage’ event for the Kilcullen Voyager solo skipper Enda O’Coineen on Monday in Dublin’s Docklands.

At age 60, O’Coineen takes on the world's hardest non–stop race for the first time in November. He will sail around the world non-stop from east to west via the three major capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin and the Horn - on its 29,000-nautical-mile route.  

In a week from now on Friday 14th October, the 29 competitors taking part in the eighth Vendée Globe will have to be moored up at the pontoon in Port Olona.

Already some competitors have arrived. Kito de Pavant got there early, along with Arnaud Boissières, Nandor Fa and Rich Wilson. Others are already on their way, with most of them planning to carry out their delivery trip next week.

The official Vendée Globe Village will be opening its doors in Les Sables d’Olonne on the following day, Saturday 15th October. Four years ago, the Vendée Globe attracted 1.8 million visitors.

Among them, there were many schoolchildren. Local schools will be able to discover the event again this year thanks to a teaching pack distributed in Vendée. 

O'Coineen continues the school children theme in his departure on Monday with schools St. Laurence O'Toole Junior Boys School, North Wall, St. Mary's Primary School, Dorset Street and St. Louis Senior Primary School, Rathmines, attending the send–off from 11.15am on Custom House Quay next to the Jeanie Johnston Tall Ship where the Kilcullen Voyager will be moored and O’Coineen will pose for pre-departure photographs.

The race is now less than a month away, with the starting gun due to be fired at 1202hrs UTC on Sunday 6th November.

29 skippers have so far fulfilled the administrative, sporting and technical requirements to be able to take up the challenge of the 'Everest of the seas'. To compare the situation, twenty lined up for the last edition four years ago, so the number competing has leapt up (an increase of almost 50%). As Afloat.ie reported previously, sixty–year–old Enda O'Coineen from Galway will be Ireland's first entrant into the race. 

O'Coineen's entry, named Kilcullen Voyager and styled as 'Team Ireland' bears the name of four Yacht Clubs: Royal Galway Yacht Club, Royal Irish Yacht Club, Royal Ocean Racing Club and the National Yacht Club.

Enda O'Coineen's Vendee bid made Afloat's e–news headlines last week prior to his RTE Late Late Show appearance on Friday

The eighth Vendee Globe brings together sailors with a wide range of ambitions and from various backgrounds. Fourteen will be discovering the event, while fifteen are returning.

Five competitors will be entering the elite group of sailors, who have taken part in four editions of the Vendee Globe. One previous winner (Vincent Riou) and four other big names from the event, Bertrand de Broc, Jean-Pierre Dick, Jean Le Cam and frequent Irish visitor Alex Thomson. The two latter sailors have already made it to the podium, as has Armel Le Cleac'h (3rd attempt in 2016).

This edition is also marked by the arrival of a technological innovation, which has been heavily discussed, but which makes its first appearance in the Vendee Globe. Seven skippers will be setting off aboard IMOCA 60s fitted with foils

Six sailors will be setting sail aboard new foilers (Jean-Pierre Dick, Pieter Heerema, Sebastien Josse, Morgan Lagraviere, Armel Le Cleac'h, Alex Thomson), while Jeremie Beyou is competing aboard a monohull from a previous generation, but which has been modified to make the most of this development.

The line-up for the 2016-2017 Vendee Globe

4th attempt
Bertrand de Broc / MACSF (France - retired in 1992-1993 and 1996-1997, 9th in 2012-2013)
Jean-Pierre Dick / StMichel Virbac (France - 6th in 2004-2005, retired in 2008-2009, 4th in 2012-2013)
Jean Le Cam / Finistere Mer Vent (France - 2nd in 2004-2005, retired in 2008-2009, 5th in 2012-2013)
Vincent Riou/ PRB (France - winner in 2004-2005, 3rd equal in 2008-2009, retired in 2012-2013)
Alex Thomson /Hugo Boss (Britain - retired in 2004-2005 and 2008-2009, 3rd in 2012-2013)

3rd attempt
Jeremie Beyou / Maître CoQ (France - retired in 2008-2009 and 2012-2013)
Arnaud Boissieres / La Mie Câline (France - 7th in 2008-2009 and 8th in 2012-2013)
Kito de Pavant /Bastide Otio (France - retired in 2008-2009 and 2012-2013)
Nandor Fa / Spirit of Hungary (Hungary - 5th in 1992-1993, retired in 1996-1997)
Sebastien Josse /Edmond de Rothschild (France - 5th in 2004-2005, retired in 2008-2009)
Armel Le Cleac'h / Banque Populaire VIII (France - 2nd in 2008-2009 and 2nd in 2012-2013)

2nd attempt
Louis Burton / Bureau Vallee (France - retired in 2012-2013)
Tanguy de Lamotte / Initiatives Coeur (France - 10th in 2012-2013)
Yann Elies /Queginer Leucemie Espoir (France - retired in 2008-2009)
Rich Wilson / Great American IV (American - 9th in 2008-2009)

1st attempt
- Fabrice Amedeo / Newrest-Matmut (France)
- Romain Attanasio / Famille Mary - Etamine du Lys (France)
- Eric Bellion / CommeUnSeulHomme (France)
- Conrad Colman / 100% Natural Energy (New Zealand)
- Didac Costa / One Planet One Ocean (Spain)
- Sebastien Destremau / TechnoFirst-FaceOcean (France)
- Pieter Heerema / No Way Back (Netherlands)
- Morgan Lagraviere / Safran (France)
- Stephane Le Diraison Compagnie du Lit -Boulogne Billancourt (France)
- Paul Meilhat / SMA (France)
- Enda O'Coineen / Kilcullen Voyager-Team Ireland (Ireland)
- Alan Roura / La Fabrique (Switzerland)
- Thomas Ruyant / Le Souffle du Nord pour le projet Imagine (France)
- Kojiro Shiraishi / Spirit of Yukoh (Japan)

Galway Bay sailor Enda O'Coineen (60) took his place among 29 skippers from 10 countries gathered in the heart of Paris this week for the official Vendee Globe 2016 press conference. Media from around the world came to hear how preparations are coming along ahead of this epic, solo, non stop, unassisted sailing race around the world.

Enda O'Coineen's IMOCA 60 yacht at Dun Laoghaire prior to departure for France. Photo: Afloat.ie

Speaking about the event, the Irish offshore skipper, who has been making preparations for the race at Dun Laoghaire Harbour marina this month said: "It's an honour to even be in a room with some of these guys, to think I'll be on the starting line on 6 November beside ocean racing superstars such as Alex Thomson is incredible. As I've always said, to finish is to win for me."

O'|Coineen earned the right to compete in the race by virtue of his performance in a transatlantic qualifying race last December, as Afloat.ie reported here at the time.

In any typical edition of the global race, up to 50% of the fleet retire with one difficulty or another which is why the race is dubbed the 'everest of sailing'.

This year's race features the next generation of boats that are equipped with foils to deliver faster times if they can survive the harsh conditions. In a recent race from New York, the attrition rate across the Atlantic to France was high. O'Coineen has an older generation craft but it is well tested and capable of completing the course.

O'Coineen is a former organiser of Irish round the world race entries; NCB Ireland, Green Dragon and Team Sanya as well as the two Volvo Ocean Race stop overs in Galway.

Enda will feature on RTE's Late Late Show tonight to discuss his motivations for taking part in the race and his own journey to the starting line. Tune in to RTE One at 21:30

The cockpit of Enda O'Coineen's IMOCA 60 with images of the last Galway Volvo Ocean Race stopover adorning the bulkheads and below a selected James Joyce quotation for the port–side of his IMOCA 60  Photo: Afloat.ie

Enda (kneeling centre front row) with the other Vendee Globe skippers

Strangford Lough solo sailor Andrew ‘Hammy’ Baker has been announced as the newest team member of Enda O'Coineen's campaign to be the first Irish person to compete in the Vendee Globe race, the non stop, unassisted, race around the world, the Everest of sailing challenges.

Hammy is part of the team that will prepare the boat, optimise performance, and work with Skipper O’Coineen ahead of the Vendee Globe Race start in November.

Hammy aspires to be the first Northern Irish sailor to compete in the Vendee Globe. The race takes place every four years and involves a grueling lap of the planet, alone, through the Southern Ocean. Speaking about the announcement Hammy said:

“To be involved in an all Ireland Team is definitely a huge step towards that end goal… This week he sailed into Belfast where he spent his life sailing on O'Coineen's IMOCA 60.

He previously competed in a solo sailing campaign in a 33-foot yacht where many of the top ocean racers learn the ropes.

The boat will be in Dublin on a round Ireland promotional voyage this weekend.

Ireland' first ever Vendee Globe entry having undergone a refit in France and repaint, with distinctive 'Claddagh ring' decal on the bow, has docked in Kinsale instead of its intended port of Galway because of gear failure on a trip from France.

It means O'Coineen's KIlcullen Team Ireland’s arrival into Galway has been delayed until mid next week. Near gale force headwinds on the trip from France resulted in a shroud becoming loose putting the mast at risk. With just 93 days until the start of the Vendee Globe the crew aired on the side of caution and called into Kinsale in County Cork.

It is hoped the Team will depart early next week for the final leg to Galway. After a short stay in Galway Docks the plan is for the Team’s Skipper Enda O’Coineen to go out into the Atlantic Ocean for a weeks training. An around the world send off is then provisionally planned for Sunday evening 21 August on the Galway Docks.

The traditional Irish Claddagh ring symbol features two hands clasping a heart, surmounted by a crown. The elements of this symbol are often said to correspond to the qualities of love (the heart), friendship (the hands), and loyalty (the crown).

Enda O'Coineen will be Ireland's first entry into the Vendee Globe race, a single–handed non stop race around the globe. As Afloat reported in May, the 61–year–old Galwegian will start the race in 95 days time and as part of his preparations has prepared the video below. 

The race sails around the world from west to east via the three major capes of Good Hope, Leeuwin and the Horn. There is a long slide down the Atlantic, the perilous voyage across the Southern Ocean with firstly the Indian Ocean and its crossed seas, then the Pacific Ocean, the world’s biggest ocean. Finally, there is the climb back up the Atlantic to head back to Les Sables d’Olonne, which marks the start and finish of the Everest of the seas.

Fourteen IMOCA 60s will set sail from New York this Sunday in the last major singlehanded race before November’s singlehanded non-stop round the world marathon, the Vendée Globe.

More than half of the Vendée Globe fleet is taking part in the New York – Vendée (Les Sables d’Olonne) Race but Ireland's first ever skipper Enda O'Coineen is not taking part. The Irish boat is undergoing a major refit. This, the fourth event in the IMOCA Ocean Masters World Championship 2015-2016, will see the solo skippers and their boats leaving set sail from New York on a 3100 mile course across the North Atlantic, bound for the Vendée Globe start-finish port of Les Sables d’Olonne on France’s Atlantic coast.

The fleet, currently berthed in Manhattan’s North Cove Marina close to ‘Ground Zero’, includes the six latest generation IMOCA 60s. These futuristic-looking machines represent the cutting edge of offshore yacht racing technology, fitted with retracting J-shaped foils that enable the boats at times literally to fly.

Among the six are Armel le Cleac’h and Banque Populaire, recent winners of the Transat bakerly. Runner-up in the last two Vendée Globes, Le Cleac’h is favourite for the race to the Vendée. He will be up against Hugo Boss skipper, Britain’s Alex Thomson, who finished the last Vendée Globe in third and who now also has a new generation design and Sébastien Josse on Edmond de Rothschild, stand-out winner of December’s Transat St-Barth - Port-la-Forêt.

Other leading French entrants include Barcelona World Race two time winner, Jean-Pierre Dick on his new St Michel-Virbac, while leading the charge on ‘conventionally’ foiled older generation boats will be PRB’s Vincent Riou, winner of the 2004 Vendée Globe, and Queguiner-Leucemie Espoir’s Yann Eliès, a three time winner of the ultra-competitive solo offshore race, the Solitaire du Figaro. Another triple Solitaire winner racing is Jérémie Beyou, skipper of Maître CoQ, unique in the fleet for being an older generation boat, retrofitted with new generation foils.

Beyond Alex Thomson, there are three other non-French skippers competing.

The US home crowd will be rooting for Conrad Colman, the half US/half New Zealand skipper of 100% Natural Energy. Colman has spent the last eight years serving his apprenticeship to compete in the Vendée Globe, which has already included two round the world races.

Colman is proud to have his own campaign: "I'm proud to flag the flag for the United States and New Zealand. I went to high school not far away from NYC, so it’s great to return to my old stomping grounds. I hope to give local fans a friendly face to cheer for. I think these races have universal appeal and can attract a new American audience."

Coming from furthest away is Japan’s Kojiro Shiraishi for whom competing in the Vendée Globe is a 30 year old dream. Of his ability to compete, there is no doubt: the Vendée Globe will be his fourth solo circumnavigation.
The New York – Vendée (Les Sables d’Olonne) Race presented by Currency House and SpaceCode will be Shiraishi’s first race in his new boat (ex-Hugo Boss) and the first solo: “It is fantastic. I really love it. It is the newest boat I’ve ever had - very stable and more powerful,” says Shiraishi.
Approaching his campaign from yet another angle is Pieter Heerema. The Dutch businessman is an highly experienced yachtsman who’s sailed all his life, in dinghies and keelboats, where he is best known for his successes in the RC44 and Dragon classes.
However his new No Way Back, a powerful, new generation design IMOCA 60, is very different to the one designs he has previously raced. And sailing it solo is even more challenging: All Heerema’s previous boats he has raced with crew.
“It is a piece of the puzzle of sailing that I haven’t done yet and one of the boxes that I have to tick,” says Heerema.

The New York – Vendée (Les Sables d’Olonne) Race presented by Currency House and SpaceCode sets sail at 1100 local time on Sunday May 29th, from a line immediately off Manhattan’s North Cove marina. This will be preceded on Friday, May 27th by the Currency House Charity Race.

Entry list for the New York- Vendée (Les Sables d'Olonne)

(14 registered)

Fabrice Amedeo - NEWREST Matmut (France)
Jeremie Beyou - MAITRE COQ (France)
Conrad Colman - 100% NATURAL ENERGY (New Zealand/USA)
Tanguy de Lamotte - INITIATIVES COEUR (France)
Jean-Pierre Dick - StMICHEL VIRBAC (France)
Yann Eliès - QUEGUINER-LEUCEMIE ESPOIR (France)
Pieter Heerema - NO WAY BACK (Netherlands)
Sébastien Josse - EDMOND DE ROTHSCHILD (France)
Morgan Lagravière - SAFRAN (France)
Armel Le Cléac'h - BANQUE POPULAIRE VIII (France)
Paul Meilhat - SMA (France)
Vincent Riou - PRB (France)
Kojiro Shiraishi - Spirit of Yukoh (Japan)
Alex Thomson - HUGO BOSS (Great Britain)

He is known as the Jackal in French sailing because of his relentless competitive zeal and Armel Le Cleac’h lived up to his name with an impressive win in the IMOCA 60 class of The Transat bakerly today – his first victory in the class in 10 years. It puts the French man as favourite for the non–stop single handed round the world Vendee Globe race that will have its first ever Irish competitor when Enda O'Coineen races on November 6th. 

Le Cleac’h’s elegant blue and white monohull, Banque Populaire, with its trademark dark blue sails, crossed the finish line under clear blue skies off Sandy Hook at 11:27 local time – 16:27 CET.

The two-time Vendée Globe runner-up had completed the 3,050-nautical mile course from Plymouth in 12 days, 2 hours and 28 minutes and 39 seconds. His total time includes a 31-minute penalty for the accidental breakage of his boat’s engine seal. Le Cleac’h informed the Race Director about this at 16:26 local time yesterday.

The French skipper had sailed a total of 3,751 miles through the water at an average speed of 12.91 knots. As he crossed the finish line, waving in his moment of victory to his shore team on their coach boat, Le Cleac’h’s main rival for line honours in the IMOCA 60 class, Vincent Riou on PRB, was 31 miles out to sea.

Ever since day three, as the leading IMOCA’s surged westward after turning to starboard at Cape Finisterre, Le Cleac’h has kept Riou at bay and covered his every move.

This was a fascinating battle between the foiling Banque Populaire and the more conventional hull on PRB as two of the favourites for this year’s Vendée Globe went toe-to-toe. In the end, it was as Le Cleac’h was docking his boat at Brooklyn Bridge Park, that Riou was crossing the line, just 2 hours, 21 minutes and 32 seconds behind him.

Riou reported earlier today that 24 hours after the fleet set sail from Plymouth on 2nd May, he lost two of his sails overboard, which forced him to rethink his tactics and routing for the race.

The Transat bakerly showed us two things. One, that even without two of his most important sails Riou can mix it with the best of the foilers, and two, that Le Cleac’h has a boat that is robust enough to deal with a full Atlantic storm. Just two days ago he said this race had given him the confidence he needs in his new rocketship to take on the Vendée Globe in it.

Speaking at the dockside, Le Cleac’h said he was delighted to take his first win in the IMOCA 60 class for a decade.

“I am very happy,” he said. “Ten years ago I came into the IMOCA class and this is the first time I have won. I have finished second a lot of times – in the Vendée Globe, The Transat, the Transat Jacques Vabre and the Route du Rhum, so today is a new day for me. I now I hope to be the first in the Vendée Globe.”

He paid tribute to Riou: “Vincent is a very good competitor. He has won all the races over the last year and he was favourite at the start. It was a pleasure to do this transatlantic race, because every day I could see Vincent behind me, and I said to myself, ‘OK, this race is for me.’”

Asked about his new boat, Le Cleac’h commented: “The foiling boat is a good choice. Last year it was the first year with this boat and we had some little problems and we didn’t have good speed.

“But now, we make a statement. And I hope it is the best boat for the next Vendeé Globe and I that I proved it during this race. So I am very happy for me, for Banque Populaire and for this very nice boat.”

Behind Riou the third-placed IMOCA 60 is Jean-Pierre Dick’s St Michel-Virbac which is still 138 miles from New York and expected to arrive at midnight tonight. Then comes Paul Meilhat on SMA who has been using The Transat bakerly as a qualifier for the Vendée. He still has 343 miles to go to reach the finish.

Two other IMOCA 60 skippers have failed to complete the course. Seb Josse on Edmond de Rothschild, retired mid-way through day two after the battens in his mainsail were damaged during a gybe. And yesterday Britain’s Richard Tolkien was forced to abandon his yacht 44, 880 nautical miles west, southwest of Horta in the Azores. After struggling with technical issues and sustaining an injury to his head, Tolkien has been taken on board the cargo ship Anton Topic which is bound for Philadelphia.

In the four-boat Multi50 class, Gilles Lamiré (Frenchtech Rennes St Malo) is less than 30 miles from the finish line, and is expected to arrive by 17:30 local time this evening, with a 320-mile advantage over Lalou Roucayrol (Arkema).

Trading places at the top of the Class40 fleet are Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires en Peloton–Arsep), and Phil Sharp (Imerys). Earlier today, Isabelle Joschke (Generali-Horizon Mixité) officially announced her retirement from The Transat bakerly, after discovering serious damage to her boat’s structure yesterday. She is now en route to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon in Newfoundland.

Track the race here.

PROVISIONAL STANDINGS
The class rankings at 20:00 BST - updated every four hours

ULTIME
1. François Gabart/Macif - 8 days, 8 hours, 54 minutes and 39 seconds at sea
2. Thomas Coville/Sodebo - 8 days, 18 hours, 32 minutes and 2 seconds at sea
3. Yves Le Blevec/Actual - 10 days, 12 hours, 15 minutes and 59 seconds

IMOCA 60
1. Armel Le Cléac’h/Banque Populaire - 12 days, 2 hours and 28 minutes and 39 seconds
2. Vincent Riou/PRB - 2 days, 4 hours, 50 minutes and 11 seconds
3. Jean-Pierre Dick/St Michel Virbac - 138.nm to the finish

MULTI 50
1. Gilles Lamiré/French Tech Rennes St Malo - 34.8nm to the finish
2. Lalou Roucayrol/Arkema - 350.50nm to the leader
3. Pierre Antoine/Olmix - 763.50nm to the leader

CLASS40
1. Thibaut Vauchel-Camus/Solidaires en Peloton-ARSEP - 910.6nm to the finish
2. Phil Sharp/Imerys - 16.13nm to the leader
3. Louis Duc/Carc - 64.81nm to the leader

As Afloat reported earlier this week, Enda O’Coineen has confirmed he will be skippering a 'Team Ireland' Vendée Globe Challenge, starting on November 6. An Irish skipper has so far never entered what is considered to be the toughest sailing race in the world; a solo non–stop circumnavigation. O'Coineen completed the qualification stage for the race last December by taking a podium position in the Ocean Masters transatlantic race from the Caribbean to France.

O'Coineen has also announced this afternoon that former Derry Clipper Skipper Sean McCarter, who has his sights set on the Vendée Globe 2020, is lined up as a 'Reserve Skipper' for the current Challenge, as is Irish solo sailor David Kenefick from Cork, an accomplished Figaro sailor. A 'substitute' skipper, according to the Vendee Globe Notice of Race, could replace O'Coineen by midnight the night before the race start as long as they satisfy the race rules.

Ireland’s Marcus Hutchinson is the Project Director, bringing a wealth of Volvo and Americas Cup experience to the team.

Today, in the Irish Embassy in Paris, Team Ireland was joined by French and Irish business interests, kindly hosted by Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason for the announcement.

'Team Ireland' Vendée Globe Challenge has been created to enable future aspirational sailors to utilise the expertise, infrastructure, and value created by the campaign. According to O'Coineen, the new Team Ireland also draws on the legacy of the Green Dragon, the Volvo Ocean Race, and the Whitbread Race. A partner network of sponsors is being invited to support the Team, which will also promote Ireland’s 'Atlantic Youth Trust' charity.

Team Ireland will be racing on board the Owen Clarke designed 'Kilcullen Voyager', formerly skippered by Mike Golding. The 60–foot yacht is currently undergoing a refit in France ahead of a busy programme leading up to the race start.

Enda O’Coineen, the man behind both the NCB Ireland and Green Dragon projects as well as the Volvo Ocean Race visits to Galway, previously twice crossed the Atlantic alone in inflatable boats and more recently finished on the podium in a transatlantic race.

​Enda O'Coineen (60) will skipper Ireland's first single handed non–stop round the world sailing race entry this November. The 'Team Ireland Vendée Globe Challenge' is billed as 'a professional sailing team that will see the first ever Irish sportsperson compete in sailing's most difficult race, the Vendée Globe'.

The global race begins on November 6.

O'Coineen will compete in an IMOCA 60-foot monohull, which are among the fastest racing yachts in the world. It is the same boat in which the Galway Bay and Royal Irish Yacht Club sailor finished third in a Transatlantic race last winter to qualify for the Vendee Globe, acknowledged as the everest of sailing.

The Team Ireland Vendée Globe Challenge Project Manager is Marcus Hutchinson. Dublin sailor John McDonald is an advisor and Neil O'Hagan of the Atlantic Youth trust is also involved.

More details on the team Ireland website here