French skipper Armel Le Cléac'h today reclaimed the Vendée Globe pole position from Alex Thomson – only for the British skipper to instantly steal it back.

At the 0800 UTC position update Le Cléac'h moved into first place for the first time since losing the lead to Thomson two weeks ago.

The change in frontrunner came almost three weeks into the solo round the world race as the top two skippers tried to navigate through a tricky patch of light winds on their way to the Southern Ocean's big breeze.

With Thomson gybing north Le Cléac'h chose to continue east, and when the rankings came through the French sailor's Banque Populaire VIII was eight nautical miles ahead.

However, three hours later it was all change again, this time Le Cléac'h opting to head north while Thomson went east.

By 1100 UTC Thomson was back in the driving seat with a 16nm buffer - a spot he has commanded for all but today's three-hour blip since November 12 – but both he and Le Cléac'h were only making 12 knots of speed in similar wind.

Le Cléac'h said the most important thing was not his ranking but that he had caught Thomson up. “It's not easy trying to make headway as we're in a light patch between two lows,” he said. “We're trying to pick our way through in the shifty conditions, but it feels good to have caught up with Alex. I've repositioned myself to the north now because things were stalling and my main focus is staying in some breeze.”

Three hundred miles adrift of the leading pair, third placed Sebastien Josse was today struggling in light winds but speeds will pick up when his Edmond de Rothschild is scooped up by the depression currently being ridden by Paul Meilhat in fourth and Jeremie Beyou in fifth.

“We have a light wind with more high pressure than the others, but it's set to pick up in 24 hours and then we can sail quite fast and straight to Australia,” Josse said. “Three weeks in and my boat's in great shape as we haven't had much bad weather since the start so we've been quick, as shown my Alex's records. It's amazing how fast the boats are but we haven't had the real Vendée Globe yet.”

Nearly 2,000nm behind the leaders the tussle between Jean-Pierre Dick, Thomas Ruyant and Jean Le Cam entered a new phase, the latter losing out after the weather front the trio was hooked onto passed over his yacht Finistère Mer Vent.

The 57-year-old, competing in his fourth Vendée Globe, revealed that he lost further miles when he slept through his alarm.

“Last night I was constantly making sail changes, the wind going from 35 to 15 knots in the blink of an eye,” he said. “I finally settled with two reefs in the main and a storm sail up, watched it for a while longer and then got some shut-eye. Unfortunately, I then slept through my alarm and woke up five hours later in very calm conditions, still under two reefs and storm sail… the whole works!”

While Le Cam must now dive south in search of better breeze, Ruyant and Dick are set to extend their lead as they profit from the leading edge of the low pressure.

Further misery awaits the biggest group of boats from Louis Burton's Bureau Vallée in 11th to Enda O'Coineen's Kilcullen Voyager – Team Ireland in 23rd as another high moves into their path.

The only sailor in that back pack still smiling is Alan Roura from Switzerland – the La Fabrique skipper could soon find himself jumping up the leaderboard if he is able to skirt the bottom of the high pressure.

Morgan Lagravière, forced out of racing two days ago with rudder damage, arrived safely in Cape Town at 0830 UTC on Safran. Vincent Riou, also heading to the South African port, was due to make land late this evening.

Meanwhile the international jury decided to hand Jeremie Beyou a two-hour penalty for accidentally breaking the seal on his engine when he fell on it.

Yesterday evening Enda O'Coineen reached the first major milestone in the Vendee Globe by crossing the equator. This is the first of many milestones in the solo non-stop round the world sailing race considered the Everest of the Seas. The boat is in fantastic shape and as you'll see from the video Enda is in 'exceptional' form as he settles into this 100 day solo challenge.

“I'm doing very well – I've got a very stable weather pattern. I'm looking forward to crossing the Equator and getting back in the fleet. I went very far east when I should have followed the old rule of staying west. I thought I could get back but it didn't work.

“But I'm on great form, my daughter delivered my granddaughter, my first granddaughter, yesterday, so that's very good news. I'm not ready to be a parent yet let alone a grandparent so I shudder at the thought! Maybe this will make me a better parent when I get back. I've got very tolerant and understanding children. It was a difficult pregnancy for Roisin, she was long overdue and it was quite a reasonable concern.

“I think the emotion is more amplified. You think an awful lot more and it's more intense because of the isolation. You think through life and all the details 24/7, and that's combined with the physical and mental activities. It is more moving – on land you've lots of other things going on so the brain doesn't have the same ability to focus. The emotional part is much deeper.

“Whether it's driving me harder or not I don't know - in fact, I'm being more careful to tell you the truth. Every time you get up and walk on deck you're putting yourself at risk. These boats are machines and you've got to keep them turning over. Fortunately the boat is in good shape and so am I. My shoulder is still a bit sore, it's taken me two weeks to recover, but I'm in better shape now than when I started. I'm really looking forward to getting into the Southern Ocean, just for a day! The idea of being there for a month.... the cold will get into you. It's easy to say that sitting here on the Equator in warm conditions.

“15 days in and like everyone else you wonder how I ever talked myself into this one, but it's a long road ahead and there are some very high moments and some very low moments. At the moment it's good, it's all very solid, just trotting along at about 10 knots at an angle of about 80 degrees. The wind is freeing slightly so that's great.

“We'll have a little bottle of champagne and a big fat cigar [at the Equator], and I've made special arrangements to have an appointment arranged with King Neptune himself. He's going to come and visit and I'm going to ask him to bless my new granddaughter. We'll have a chat and share some secrets, and I'm sure King Neptune will look after us all. I think that's very important, so I'm looking forward to that appointment. It's the equivalent to the appointment at the Pearly Gates at Heaven – or Hell! - but I think it's going to be Heaven this time. I'll probably cross the Equator later on this afternoon or tonight. It might be more like tonight. We're making 10 knots so it will be some time later today.

“I wouldn't say my spirits are high but I'm in good solid form. You have to manage yourself emotionally through the ups and downs but with this extreme sailing in lovely warm tradewinds I'm happy on my boat. I can't complain!”

Vendee Globe leader Alex Thomson came within a whisker of setting a new world record for the furthest distance sailed solo in 24 hours before a collision in the South Atlantic put paid to his chances. Data revealed today from Vendee Globe HQ shows that Thomson, the sole Briton in the singlehanded round the world race, had sailed 535.34 nautical miles when the starboard foil of Hugo Boss was ripped off by a submerged object yesterday.

The distance sailed by Thomson is actually greater than that set by reigning Vendee Globe champion and current record holder François Gabart, who notched up 534.48 nautical miles in the 2012/13 edition of the race. However the official rules of the record state it must be broken by one whole mile in order to be recognised - and Thomson's distance falls short of that by just 259 metres.

The narrow miss is symbolic of Thomson's luck over the past 24 hours. He was pulling away at the head of the 29-strong fleet when Hugo Boss was wounded in the collision at 1035 UTC.

Where a foil once exited the boat only a stump now remains, something Thomson will have to deal with for the remainder of the race. The ailment has already started to have an effect on the rankings. Thomson has been forced to take his foot off the gas and his healthy 125nm lead has since been whittled down to under 90 nm. Josse, who has moved into second, and Le Cleac'h, in third, have been trying without success to hunt down Thomson since he snatched the lead eight days ago, but they have now started to move in tentatively.

* Bertrand de Broc forced to retire

Following on from the collision that his boat experienced early in the race off Portugal, and after sailing to the island of Fernando de Noronha and diving twice to inspect what was happening under his hull, Bertrand de Broc, skipper of the monohull MACSF, after consulting with Marc Guillemot his Team Manager, has taken the decision this evening to retire from the race.

Bertrand de Broc decided yesterday evening to head for the island of Fernando de Noronha to inspect the hull of his boat. After consulting his architect, Bertrand has been forced to retire from his fourth Vendee Globe. A large part of the hull has in fact been damaged, making it impossible to continue in the race. The deafening noise that is coming from the damaged hull is very handicapping for the skipper, even if he was wearing noise-cancelling headphones. This was a very difficult decision for the successful skipper and his team, who have done their utmost to enable him to continue this solo race around the world. Tackling the Southern Ocean in these conditions, Bertrand knew would be extremely risky. It was therefore the wise thing to do, even if he is very disappointed.

British race leader Alex Thomson was forced to slow his 60ft foiling yacht today after it hit a submerged object in the South Atlantic in the Vendee Globe Race. One of the boat's two foils, which help lift it out of the water to give it more speed, was damaged in the collision with the unidentified object floating beneath the surface.

Thomson was sailing at 24 knots in 22 knots of wind at the head of the Vendee Globe fleet, a position he has occupied for a week, at 0935 UTC when he heard a bang and his boat Hugo Boss changed direction. Thomson, who had been down below trying to sleep at the time, went up on deck and turned the boat downwind so he could inspect it. He found the starboard foil to be damaged and also noticed scrapes down the starboard side of the hull. Until the collision Thomson had been on course to set a new 24-hour solo distance world record, and in the 24 hours prior to the 1100 UTC position update had notched up 531 miles.

Thomson has now retracted the damaged foil and slowed his boat. He said there does not appear to be any structural damage but he will further inspect the boat when the weather conditions allow. “Having had a pretty quick night where the boat was sailing high averages and the boat was super uncomfortable I had retracted the foil 30 per cent early this morning and was sailing the boat pretty conservatively in a building breeze,” Thomson said this evening. “At 09.35 UTC this morning I was down below trying to sleep and the boat was sailing in 22kts of wind with a J2 and one reef in the main. I was averaging 24kts of boat speed when I heard an almighty bang and the boat stopped and turned to starboard by about 20 degrees. I quickly went on deck, eased the main sheet and realised I must have hit something. I eased the boat down wind and went to take a look and the starboard foil has been damaged and there are some scrapes on the starboard side of the boat. Right now I have taken the foot completely off the throttle and changed sails and retracted the foil and will sail on in these conditions until the wind and sea state moderate and I can inspect the damage and assess. I didn't see anything in the water but it felt like the boat wrapped itself around something and it has caused some pretty significant damage to my foil. I was instructed to carry out an internal inspection of the boat and there does not appear to be any structural damage to the hull that I can see. For now I am going to continue and assess when I get the chance.”

Ross Daniel, technical director of Alex Thomson Racing, added: “We spend years pre-Vendee Globe trying to mitigate risk but hitting something in the water is something you have absolutely no control over – it's very frustrating. We always knew that there was a risk that a foil could hit something so we took it into account with the design of the boat. It can sail with or without the foil, so it's not the end of the world, but obviously one tack will now be faster than the other. Alex is going to have to change the way he sails depending on what tack he is on. At the moment there is just the stump of the foil left so Alex will remove that once the weather allows and he will be back up to speed again. Luckily for us the majority of port sailing in this race is down to Cape Town and thereafter there's a lot of starboard. If we were mid-fleet it would be a different story but we've got a nice gap at the front.”

It might be fast and furious at the front but life in the peloton is about to get worse. A second centre to the notorious St Helena High is developing right in the path of the group led by Yann Eliès, who now lies some 624nm adrift of Thomson in eighth. The door that welcomed the race leaders through is about to slam shut, trapping the chasing pack in light winds and rendering them powerless to stop the gap growing further.

Meanwhile veteran skipper Bertrand de Broc this afternoon took shelter in the lee of Fernando de Noronha, a South Atlantic island chain off the coast of Brazil, to inspect damage caused when he hit an object off the coast of Portugal. De Broc dived underneath MACSF and was able to see some damage but couldn't establish what it was before he was forced to board his drifting boat. It is thought he will anchor to allow him to dive for longer.

Meanwhile Dutch competitor Pieter Hereema was relishing the 'champagne sailing' on offer in the south easterly trade winds. Despite being in 24th place, the 65-year-old was high in spirits as he forged a path south on No Way Back. “It's fine, beautiful weather – beautiful sailing conditions,” he said. “It's a shame it's all upwind but that's what it is in this part when you want to go south. I'm enjoying it very much and I hope in a few days to be able to crack the sheets and have a little bit of an easier angle to sail. This part here is not what the Vendee Globe is famous for – this is champagne sailing. The race is not only about big waves, freezing cold and 45 knots of wind. It's a long race and there are many more weeks to come that will be more difficult and more uncomfortable.”

Britain's Alex Thomson lead the eighth edition of the Vendee Globe solo non stop around the world race into the Southern Hemisphere when he crossed the Equator at 1905hrs UTC this Tuesday evening. The solo skipper of Hugo Boss sets a new reference time for the passage from Les Sables d'Olonne of 9 days 7 hours and 3 minutes. This betters the 2004 passage time of Jean Le Cam by 1 day and four hours.

For the seven front runners, the Doldrums are in their wake. But further back, there are races within the race. They still have the Doldrums to deal with and the fleet is likely to stretch out over the coming days.

Enda O Coineen (Kilcullen Voyager Team Ireland) in 27th place: "Upfront Alex Thomson seems to be pulling clear, I would love him to win. Back here, we're happily moving along on a more leisurely fashion. I think my detour around the Canaries did not help - together with sail problems. Also being away from the fleet, one possible explanation is that I have been sailing at slightly wider angles. The next big decision is to whether to take a course straight through the Islands (Cape Verde) or gybe and go more west where the wind angles and breeze could be a bit better - though since I will hit the island durning the day, the scenic route may be more interesting."

British sailor Alex Thomson this morning has strengthened his first position as he continues to lead in the Vendée Globe 2016. As Ireland woke up this morning, Alex found himself 65 Nautical Miles ahead of the next competitor Armel l’Cleac’h, racing on Banque Populaire VIII. The Vendée Globe is a non-stop unassisted, race around the world. Ireland's Enda O'Coineen lies in 27th place.

48 hours after the race started on Sunday 6th November Alex expressed his frustrations with his decision to Gybe early on in the race and head inland. This cost Alex many miles placing him in 9th place.

The fleet of Oceanmasters then began to head towards the Island of Madeira. Alex made the decision to keep with the pack and leave Madeira to the East. He channelled his frustration foregoing sleep and focusing on speed. By Friday night Alex claimed 7th place and the tracker showed HUGO BOSS achieving incredible speeds as he hunted down the leaders of the pack.

HUGO BOSS continued to pick up pace as Alex steered her towards the Canary Islands. Throughout Saturday Alex Thomson climbed through the fleet of IMOCA 60’s. During the afternoon Alex made the decision to pass through the islands leaving Cape Verde to the West. A manoeuvre which placed him almost 100 miles ahead of the leaders, allowing Alex to take pole position in the Vendée Globe.
The doldrums is renowned as a difficult part of the race as the North and South trade winds of the Atlantic meet and the winds decrease. Alex was fortunate to keep HUGO BOSS moving through this difficult part of the course.

With a full moon lighting the deck last night Alex explains ‘’ It's been a fantastic day today. I think that is the easiest Doldrums crossing I have ever had. Normally the rich get richer at this stage. As I get further south I'll get more wind and the wind will get more left which means I can ease the sails and go faster. That's the normal trend and looking at the forecast that should happen."

Alex is approaching the Equator on the 9th day of the race which could see Alex as the first non-French sailor to reach the Equator in the Vendée Globe. On top of this he is set to break the current record to the Equator which was set by Jean Le Cam in 2004 when he reached the Equator in 10 days 11 hours.

Once crossing the Equator Alex will heads for the next mark in the race the point where HUGO BOSS will turn left as he rounds the most southern tip of Africa the Cape of Good Hope.

Vendee Globe Day Four: Ireland's Enda O'Coineen lies 26th in the 29–boat Vendde fleet as the leaders are approaching Madeira, which the leaders are passing this morning, the middle ground, direct course continued to work for the pacemaker. But the Banque Populaire solo skipper has seen his lead shrink slightly as he tries to hold his distance ahead of a chasing pack which are pushing each other hard in the light to moderate breezes. For Le Cleac'h it is key to get south of Madeira with a margin intact, knowing that first into the NE Trade winds will accelerate away. The Azores high pressure, and the fickle, unsettled winds it produces has proven hard to escape. The leading group of eight are within 30 miles of each other, the lateral spread at 120 miles between Le Cleac'h and British skipper Alex Thomson (Hugo Boss) in eighth.

The pace to Madeira remains slightly quicker than that of the 2012-13 race when Francois Gabart was at approximately the same point in some four days, compared to the three days of Le Cleac'h who was Gabart's principal rival all the way round the globe in that race. Once into the trade winds the average speeds should be higher - 450 mile days commonplace for the foilers - and so the Equator should certainly take less than ten days. If the weather models prove true that should mean one new record on this race from the outset.

In the lighter airs - 8-12kts - it seems local choices, finding lanes of extra breeze has been more important than boat speed. Gains and losses have been irrespective of whether the IMOCA has hydrofoil daggerboards or not. Sebastien Josse's investment to the west has paid slightly and his Edmond de Rothschild was up to second place. Paul Meilhat on SMA improved overnight from seventh to second, then third. A gybe to the east dropped Jean-Pierre Dick to fourth. Thomson has held eighth through the day but has been as quick as the leaders, gained a little westing back and with it six miles on Le Cleac'h.

#VendéeGlobe - Enda O’Coineen’s homegrown entry is not the only Irish connection in the latest Vendée Globe, as the Irish Examiner reports.

In fact, three other Irishmen have significant mangerial involvement in the round-the-world yachting challenge, which began on Sunday 6 November as the fleet set off from Les Sables.

Apart from Cork’s Stewart Hosford, chief executive of the Alex Thomson Racing/Hugo Boss team, there’s also Marcus Hutchinson from Kinsale, who is team director for French contingent SMA.

Meanwhile, Dubliner (by way of Japan) Tony O’Connor is general manager of the Japanese team Spirit of Yukoh, sailing the reconditioned Hugo Boss act that finished third in the last Vendée Globe in 2013.

The Paul Meilhat-skippered SMA is currently the best of these boats in third position, with Hugo Boss in seventh, Spirit of Yukoh 19th and O’Coineen’s Kilcullen Voyager in 26th following a premature start on Sunday.

Enda O'Coineen was a premature starter in today's dramatic Vendee Globe Race start. The Irishman showed how eager he was to get underway on the 26,000 nautical mile voyage when he was one of three in the 29–boat fleet that were called back after crossing the line a few seconds early off Les Sables d'Olonne. The three boats had to go back and cross the line again.

O'Coineen is seeking to boldly go where no Irishman has gone before on the first day of an anticipated 100–day journey around the world.

With more than 300,000 spectators lined up along the harbour entrance channel in Les Sables d'Olonne and more than a thousand boats out on the water around the start area, the 29 competitors in the 2016-2017 Vendée Globe set sail at 1202hrs UTC in exceptional weather conditions: sunshine, a 14-knot NNE'ly with slight to choppy seas. HRH Prince Albert II of Monaco signalled the start after greeting all the sailors as they cast off.

From the gun, Kito de Pavant (Bastide Otio), Paul Meilhat (SMA), Tanguy de Lamotte (Initiatives Cœur) and Vincent Riou (PRB) were out in front with the rest grouped together behind them. Bertrand de Broc (MACSF) and Enda O'Coineen (Kilcullen Voyager – Team Ireland) were called back after crossing the line a few seconds early. They had to go back and cross the line again.

The eighth Vendée Globe: off to a good start. Photo: Vincent Curutchet / DPPI / Vendée Globe

The 8th Vendée Globe is underway. The race around the world has begun.

This Sunday, Irish sailor Enda O'Coineen, will begin his bid to become the first Irish sailor ever to enter and complete one of the toughest sporting challenges on the planet, The Vendée Globe.

A gruelling single-handed, non-stop, unassisted race around the world – often termed ‘the Everest of Sailing’ – the Vendée Globe sees sailors pushed to their very limits in the quest for victory. This year, 29 skippers will depart from the start line on Sunday, November 6 in Les Sables d'Olonne, France. 14 of them are rookies including O'Coineen. 

One of the Galway man's main aims is to build a 'living legacy' for the future of Irish offshore challenges and to see other sailors continue world girdling campaigns.

'While my boat is 10 years old I don't expect to be out front however she is strong and we are well prepared - the first Irishman the youngest Irishman (and oldest) and hopefully not the last....Most importantly we have we have three reserve skippers: Andrew Barker, Andy Mcarthur and David Kenefick who all want to be involved in future editions of this race'.

Read more of this interview in today's Irish Times here. 

On Sunday, the start gun will send 29 intrepid solo skippers off on the eighth edition of the Vendée Globe. In a modern age where the pursuit of instant gratification and always-on social interconnection prevails in even the most remote corners of the world, the challenge of racing non stop around the globe without outside help – one person, one boat non stop 24,020 nautical miles Les Sables d'Olonne to Les Sables d'Olonne via the three great capes for somewhere between 75 and 120 days, retains an enduring, magical appeal.

The purity and simplicity of the race remains unchanged since the first edition in 1989 when 13 pioneering soloists started. But it is testament to its incredible magnetism that the race which starts Sunday will be the most international yet as for the first time the challenge is taken up by soloists from the Australasian and Asian continents. Twenty French skippers and nine from Great Britain, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland and the USA will answer the start cannon Sunday. Ireland, New Zealand and Japan are represented for the first time. The performance and age spectrum of the skippers and their respective IMOCA 60 foot racing yachts has never been greater.

Set on January 27th 2013 by the youngest skipper ever to win the race, François Gabart at the age of 29, the benchmark of 78 days 2hrs 16m 40 secs is thought likely to fall. Since the last race four years ago there has been a technological leap as innovative hydrofoiling daggerboards have been adopted on the IMOCAs of seven skippers. These new foils generate substantial lift on the hull, literally allowing the 7,5 tonne boats to fly almost clear of the waves to sustain speeds averaging 2-4kts faster than their conventional modern generation counterparts. When they were first used in a full ocean racing environment just over one year ago there was a high proportion of mechanical failures associated with these foils. Even after months of further development and reinforcement of the hull structures there are still question marks over their potential reliability and seeming susceptibility to hitting objects.

Briton Alex Thomson on his latest generation Hugo Boss took third place in the last edition of the Vendée Globe race. After numerous failures in different high profile ocean races Thomson's choice of a solid, slightly older proven design - which he pushed hard and sailed smartly to finish third – this time sees him back to pushing the technology frontiers. His new boat bristles with the latest design interpretations and technology. He is widely considered a major threat to the top, all-French hierarchy. Last night Thomson and his team sailed one final, overnight testing mission, checking different foil and sail set ups. During the summer his Hugo Boss proved to have race winning potential when he lead the New York – Vendée warm up Transatlantic Race before electrical problems compromised his winning challenge. Since then, despite having to resort to his set of first generation foils after the second generation set failed, Thomson asserts that Hugo Boss is even faster.

Even among seasoned race watchers the perennial question ‘Who will win the Vendée Globe?' has many different answers. Including Thomson there are six highly experienced, top skippers equipped with foils. Armel Le Cléac'h has finished second in the last two Vendée Globes, only three hours behind winner Gabart in 2013, the conclusion of a mind bending match-race all the way around the world when the two near identical IMOCAs raced all the way as if joined by bungee elastic. Sébastien Josse lead the epic 2008-9 race at different stages before he was forced to abandon with rudder damage. Edmond de Rothschild is the highly optimised, immaculately prepared new IMOCA aboard which he won last winter's solo Transat Saint Barth's-Lorient race before finishing second in this year's New York- Vendée race. His experience racing the Edmond de Rothschild Multi 70 trimaran crewed and short handed has fine tuned his ability to race on the edge for long periods. Jean Pierre Dick on StMichel-Virbac is a multiple winner of big ocean races, such as the Transat Jacques Vabre and two Barcelona World Races around the world. He missed third in the last race when his keel failed 1500 miles from the finish, dropping to fourth. Jéremie Beyou has yet to finish the Vendée Globe despite starting twice. He is the only skipper to retro-fit foils, to his Maitre-Coq, the 2010 launched boat which finished second in 2013 as Banque Populaire.

The only skipper to have won the race before who will be on the start line this time, 2004-5 winner Vincent Riou on PRB, has stayed with a conventional, non foil set up. But his March 2010 launched boat is considered the most optimised, furthest refined IMOCA which possesses a great all round potential. While the foiling IMOCAs are at their best fast reaching in winds over 15kts, they are still felt to have a disadvantage in increased drag in lighter airs and less efficiency upwind. Riou is a firm believer that his choice will give him an at least even chance over the long game. So too Yann Eliès has a well optimised IMOCA with more conventional boards. A three times winner of La Solitaire du Figaro, he returns to the Vendée Globe eight years after being rescued 800 miles south west of Australia. Eliès lay stricken and unable to move suffering from multiple leg fractures inside his yacht for two days before being taken to safety.

An unprecedented five sailors will be racing the Vendée Globe for their fourth time. Riou, Thomson, Dick and veterans Jean Le Cam and Bertrand de Broc. Two of the 14 first timers will start with realistic aspirations of emulating Gabart's feat, winning the Vendée Globe at their first attempt, never having raced solo in the Southern Oceans. Morgan Lagravière, 29, is an Olympic skiff sailor turned Figaro sailor turned Vendée Globe racer. He was selected by Safran as the best of the new, younger generation talent to fly their colours and he has a foiling, March 2015 launched design. His programme has been managed latterly by Roland Jourdain's organisation. Similarly Paul Meilhat's SMA is the leading IMOCA programme for double Vendée Globe winner Michel Desjoyeaux's Mer Agitée stable. Meilhat, 34, is also an ex 49er sailor who moved through the one design Figaro circuit, winning the 2014 Transat AG2R.

There are set to be many races within the race as different generations of boats and skippers compete against each other. A posse of skippers with 2006-7 designs are expected to have equally intense, hard fought battles. Tanguy De Lamotte on Initiatives Couer which publicises a charity which provides life saving heart surgery for children, Louis Burton on Bureau Vallée, Arnaud Boissieres on La Mie Caline, Jean Le Cam on Finistere Mer Vent and Thomas Ruyant on Le Souffle Du Nord, are all expected to form the middle and upper middle order of the fleet.

The race has drawn an engaging cross section of adventurous skippers of all ages who set off with the only common theme being their shared dream of finishing the race, completing the circle. Twenty four year old Swiss soloist Alan Roura has a low budget campaign which bottomed out financially when he did not have enough money to put fuel in his team van. Kiwi-American Conrad Colman starts his third round the world race having only just secured a last minute sponsor for his 100% Natural Energy. He is looking to be the first skipper to finish the race using only naturally generated electrical energy. Sébastien Destremau will realise an almost fleeting ambition which only took him over when he was reporting for TV at the start of the last race. Irish businessman, adventurer and sailor Enda O'Coineen on Kilcullen Voyager Team Ireland is looking to fulfil a lifetime ambition but also to spearhead a lasting legacy for Ireland which also encompasses building a sail training vessel and, in the future, a sail training academy. Similarly Holland's Pieter Heerema is a successful businessman looking to fulfil a sailing ambition, racing a latest generation foiler. Hungary's Nandor Fa, 64, starts his third Vendée Globe twenty years after his first one, racing a boat he mostly designed and built himself. American Rich Wilson is driven to compete in his second Vendée Globe, the oldest skipper in the fleet, by the burning desire to share the educational values of the race. His Sites Alive program run from on board Great American 4 will reach over 1 million youngsters, including 3000 schools in China, an educational program approved by the French Education Department, and 50,000 students in Taiwan.

Fair weather expected for the start
The weather is now becoming clear and more precise for Sunday: 15 to 20 knot northerlies, ideal conditions to get the world's most extreme race underway. “A north to NW'ly air stream blowing at between 15 and 25 knots out at sea, probably lighter on the coast with squally showers possible around Les Sables d'Olonne. The NW'ly swell should remain below 1m,”announced the Great Circle team, the official weather partner for the 8th Vendée Globe. Decent conditions are expected for the 29 IMOCAs as they cross the Bay of Biscay in a northerly flow offering good speeds on seas that remain slight, before they reach Cape Finisterre and then the coast of Portugal in stronger winds (gusting to 35 knots).

In other words, we can look forward to a fast start for the non-stop solo round the world race allowing them in theory to sail downwind all the way to the Equator. “Conditions should enable us to get a good time for this first portion of the race with everyone going down quickly to the Equator. We could see a day less to get there than it took four years ago. We're not about to be shaken up like in 2012. This weather should favour the foilers. That much is clear,” explained Vincent Riou (PRB).

A relief for the sailors and their families
“We're not looking at a deep low and strong headwinds . I can remember how complicated the start was eight years ago. This time we're not getting thrown in at the deep end and so that removes some of the stress,” admitted Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire VIII), who is already drawing up his route for the first part of the course. A huge relief too for the families. Arnaud Boissières, (La Mie Câline) told us this morning, “The weather is looking decent for the start I'm pleased in particular for my family and friends and sponsors, as that makes it easier to bear, even if there is bound to be some stress. That means that the fleet should remain intact for longer, which is good.”