VENDEE GLOBE 2008
This weekend sees the start of the 6th edition of this incredible round the world yacht race and I wish I could be there to watch the start on Sunday.
Some 30 Open 60s will provide an unforgettable sight with an estimated 300 boat plus spectator fleet. Best hope of the 6 UK sailors should be Mike Golding who finished 3rd in the last event despite losing his keel as he approached the finishing line.
The French have a formidable line up in the fleet and I expect Michel Desjoyeaux the winner in 2002 or Loick Peyron the winner of the 2008 Transat to maintain French domination of the event.
The Transat and Funchal 500 have been excellent events staged here in the West Country but are dwarfed in comparison to the Vendee. The support shown by the Vendee Conseil General (County) and Les Sables d’Olonnes (Town) French local authorities just show what can be done given the determination and vision.
To date some 300,000 people have visited the Race Village since it opened on the 18th October and this weekend should see the town packed to the rafters.
If you have never visited the event then I would urge you put it on your bucket list and try to catch the finish in February next year. I saw the finish in 2004 and it remains a vivid image in my memory as probably one of the greatest sporting events I have ever witnessed.
It should also be a compulsory visit for any UK race organizer to witness a fully professional organization stage a world-class event.
The attention to detail is extraordinary and you can easily see why the Vendee has eclipsed all the UK single-handed yacht races, which originally pre-dated the French event.
In the words of the Bond theme “Nobody does it better”.
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