We pick out some of the skippers worth following closely in this year\u2019s Vend\u00e9e Globe, the world\u2019s toughest sailing raceAlex Thomson
\nAge: 46Boat: Hugo BossLaunched: 2019
\nIs this the year that Alex Thomson finally wins the Vend\u00e9e Globe? Second in the last edition, third in the one before that, Britain\u2019s best hope of a Vend\u00e9e victory for many moons rests on the flamboyant Thomson and his newest Hugo Boss.
\nThis Vend\u00e9e Globe campaign, his fifth, has been a little different \u2013 no elaborate stunts, for starters. The focus was laser direct: to create a non-compromise IMOCA design that would give Thomson his best chance yet of winning.
\nHugo Boss was launched intentionally later than Charal, the aim to be last in the design cycle, and to be radical. It was a gutsy decision, but events since have squeezed an already tight schedule further.
\nPhoto: Alex Thomson Racing
\nFirst Hugo Boss lost its keel in last autumn\u2019s Transat Jacques Vabre, then COVID-19 halted all work, including the build of Thomson\u2019s V2 foils at Persico in a badly affected region of Italy.
\nThe rebuild and lockdown have left Thomson short on sailing time, and with race cancellations and quarantine rules making competing in France impossible, Boss has yet to line up against most of the IMOCA fleet. It is not the uninterrupted preparation he will have been hoping for.
\nHowever, Thomson has been here before. Ahead of the last Vend\u00e9e he had to abandon, then almost entirely rebuild Hugo Boss after it was rolled and dismasted in the 2015 Transat Jacques Vabre. Then, he came back stronger, with an improved boat that proved lightning quick: expect him to do the same this time around.
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Photo: Gauthier Ledbec\/Charal
\nJeremie Beyou
\nAge: 44Boat: CharalLaunched: 2018
\nArguably the benchmark boat of the fleet, Beyou\u2019s Charal was launched almost a year before Hugo Boss, and has had the most thorough race testing of the new IMOCAs.
\nAfter retiring with steering issues in the 2018 Route du Rhum, Beyou\u2019s black VPLP design has shown few signs of weakness, winning last year\u2019s Fastnet, the Vend\u00e9e Arctic race and D\u00e9fi Azimut.
\nCharal is now on its third set of foils, which Beyou has reported make the boat more controllable after the V1 design produced some dramatic flights, followed by equally dramatic downward pitches.
\nBeyou\u2019s solo career includes podium places in all the major offshores, winning the Figaro Series in 2005 and 2014, the TJV in 2011, and the Transat New York-Vend\u00e9e in 2016. This will be his fourth Vend\u00e9e.
\nLike Thomson, he has retired from two races, while in the last edition he finished 3rd, behind Thomson and winner Armel Le Cl\u00e9ac\u2019h.
\nWith his apparently smooth campaign, and the speed Charal has demonstrated in racing and training, Beyou is widely considered the French favourite to beat.<\/p>\n
Photo: Charles Drapeau
\nSam Davies
\nAge: 46Yacht: Initiatives-CoeurLaunched: 2010
\nDavies returns for her third Vend\u00e9e start, this time competing against her husband Romain Attanasio.
\nDespite being persistently asked about childcare arrangements for their son, Davies is much more enthusiastic to talk about the technical development work she\u2019s done to her ten-year-old boat, which includes some of the biggest foils in the fleet and an innovative new autopilot system.
\nInitiatives-Coeur also benefits from the class\u2019s \u2018grandfathering\u2019 rule, which allows Davies greater freedom with rig choices and sail plans.
\nWith enormous experience, Davies has clearly taken control of her campaign and is passionate about both the performance modifications and the charity it represents.
\nBut above all she will want a competitive result to assuage just missing the podium in 2008 and dismasting in 2012.
\nPhoto: Yann Riou
\nPhoto: Vincent Curutchet
\nThomas Ruyant
\nAge: 39Boat: LinkedOutLaunched: 2019
\nRuyant is an experienced ocean racer with a new, fast boat, and as such a clear podium contender. Having retired from the last Vend\u00e9e after his boat began breaking up near New Zealand, Ruyant commissioned a brand new Verdier design before he had sponsorship secured.
\nThe gamble paid off, and he now has a fully funded campaign and promising new foiler: LinkedOut took the early lead in the Vend\u00e9e-Arctic Race, before finishing a close 3rd to Charal and Apivia.
\nVincent Curutchet
\nCharlie Dalin
\nAge: 36Boat: ApiviaLaunched: 2019
\nA rookie in this race, but a well-fancied one, Dalin has a new Verdier design which proved an even match for Charal during the Arctic Race, where Dalin was 2nd.
\nA naval architect by trade, Dalin\u2019s IMOCA is more radical than Ruyant\u2019s, with an almost entirely enclosed cockpit, and was built with the expertise of Gabart\u2019s MerConcept project management team.
\nWith a reputation for being both talented and meticulous, Dalin will be well-equipped if the foiling fleet develops into a closely matched race, having a solid track record of podium places in the Figaro.
\nPhoto: Yvan Zedda
\nKevin Escoffier
\nAge: 40Boat: PRBLaunched: 2009
\nPRB\u2019s distinctive orange livery features large in the history of the Vend\u00e9e Globe; the building products company has sponsored an entry in every race since the first edition, winning twice.
\nEscoffier is an enormously well-respected sailor who has been part of some the most successful offshore campaigns. He was on the design team of Banque Populaire for many years, and part of the Volvo Race-winning Dongfeng crew and Lo\u00efck Peyron\u2019s successful Jules Verne Trophy bid. His well optimised 2009 VPLP design includes new Juan K-designed foils.
\nPhoto: Vincent Curutchet
\nLouis Burton
\nAge: 35Boat: Bureau Vall\u00e9e 2Launched: 2015
\nLouis Burton is following a textbook pathway going into his third Vend\u00e9e start.
\nHaving completed the 2016 race on one of the older and heaviest boats in the fleet, which he sailed to an impressive 7th, this time he has acquired the former Banque Populaire VIII, the foiling winner of the last race.
\nPhoto: Vincent Curutchet
\nJean Le Cam
\nAge: 61Boat: Yes we Cam!Launched: 2007
\nA Vend\u00e9e Globe without the presence of the hirsute \u2018King Jean\u2019 is almost unthinkable. This will be his fifth start, following a Vend\u00e9e career that includes finishing 2nd in 2004 and being rescued from his upturned boat off Cape Horn in 2008. This time he\u2019s doing it on a tight budget and with one of the older boats without foils.
\nPhoto: Vincent Curutchet
\nMiranda Merron
\nAge: 51Boat: Campagne de FranceLaunched: 2006
\nBritish sailor Merron has devoted the past 15 years of her life to getting to the Vend\u00e9e Globe start. Taking the experience gleaned from years of Class 40 campaigning, Merron says she is competing in the original spirit of the Vend\u00e9e with the aim of getting round.
\nFor an exclusive interview with fellow Vend\u00e9e Globe contender Pip Hare, pick up the November 2020 issue of Yachting World, which is out now.
\nThe post Vend\u00e9e Globe 2020 contenders: Who will win the world\u2019s toughest sailing race? appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
We pick out some of the skippers worth following closely in this year\u2019s Vend\u00e9e Globe, the world\u2019s toughest sailing raceAlex Thomson Age: 46Boat: Hugo BossLaunched: 2019 Is this the year that Alex Thomson finally wins the Vend\u00e9e Globe? Second in … <\/p>\n