The Vendée Globe world sailing route
The Vendée Globe route takes its skippers around the world passing through some of the most formidable places on the planet.
They will face anticyclones and strong depressions, which will challenge their skills and daring to the limit. The Vendée Globe is not nicknamed "Everest of the Seas" for nothing.
A journey around the world
The Vendée Globe route covers a distance of 21,638 miles or 40,075 kilometres. Skippers engaged in the race must go around the world through three capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn, all without stopping and without assistance.
It starts in Les Sables d'Olonne in the autumn, the skippers must descend the Atlantic to reach the Indian Ocean. From here they then head across the Pacific Ocean and return up to the Atlantic.
The Key milestones of the Vendée Globe yacht race
The Vendée Globe is a high-risk event. Indeed, the race does not lack danger zones with anticyclones and depressions both feared by the skippers.
The doldrums on the Vendée Globe Route: this is an area of extremely variable weather conditions. This strip is located between 8 ° and 3 ° North, on the African side of the Atlantic and around the equator on the Brazilian side. It is characterised by the variations of calm and violent squalls, its cloud cover and high humidity.
The Cape Horn Passage: this marks the exit from the South Pacific and the ascent of the Atlantic Ocean towards Les Sables d'Olonne. Skippers must face the Saint Helena anticyclone bypassing it but, also avoiding the heavy stormy depressions coming from Brazil.
The Azores anticyclone: this is the final stretch for the skippers. They are now facing the Azores anticyclone in their ascent of the North Atlantic. The large Atlantic depressions can be more devastating than their southern counterparts.