Email Print Vendee Globe set to begin04 Nov 2016The eight Vendee Globe starts on Sunday 6 November Photo: Jean-Louis CarliThe Vendee Globe starts this Sunday, 6 November, with 29 skippers ready to set sail from Les Sables d’Olonne for the eighth edition of the race.There has been a huge increase in visitor numbers for the Official Village with 300,000 in the first week followed by 380,000 visitors already during the second week.Yves Auvinet, president of the Vendée Globe, said: “We had prepared ourselves for crowds at the Official Village, but I must admit that the figures for the first two weeks surprised us, particularly with crowds strolling up and down the pontoons and in the aisles in the Village.”“The Indian Summer in Vendée since the opening, the high standard of the line-up for this eighth edition and the quality of the events and exhibitions in the Village have clearly attracted a lot of visitors. Once again, the magic of the Vendée Globe is working, as it has done with each edition.”This year there is just one previous winner lining up to take part, Vincent Riou who won the race in 2004-2005. Alongside this, Bertrand de Broc, Jean-Pierre Dick, Jean Le Cam, Vincent Riou and Alex Thomson are lining up for the fourth time.There are 14 rookies lining up for their first Vendée Globe: Didac Costa, Thomas Ruyant, Alan Roura, Morgan Lagravière, Sébastien Destremau, Conrad Colman, Kojiro Shiraishi, Pieter Heerema, Romain Attanasio, Eric Bellion, Fabrice Amedeo, Enda O’Coineen, Paul Meilhat, Stéphane Le Diraison.With Swiss-born Mr Roura the youngest sailor at the age of 23. Japan, the Netherlands, New Zeleand and Ireland are all nationalities being represented by a sailor for the first time.Didac Costa will be the first to cast off then every four minutes a competitor will leave the pontoon, with Vincent Riou being the final sailor leaving at 09:42 local time.On the main website there will be live commentary by Dee Caffari and Alec Wilkinson as well as live video coverage of the boats leaving the Vendée Globe pontoon.The first rankings will be posted at 12:12 UTC with the positions at 12:06, the positions will then be updated every six minutes until later in the afternoon.  From 17:00 UTC, the tracker will be in normal race mode with the 16:30 rankings. Rankings each day are at 04h 08 11h 14 17 21h UTC.“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,” concluded sailor Vincent Riou.

via

Δ