News Around the World
How big a draw is the modern Vendée Globe, with its oversubscribed grid of cutting-edge monohulls capable of delivering 24-hour runs of 500nm or more without the skipper ever going on deck? Arguably the most successful ocean racer of all, Franck Cammas, (above) concedes that, yes, this new VG does look quite cool and, yes, he is seriously considering giving it a go. Cammas worked with Jérémie Beyou and Charal this time; what he saw has clearly not disabused him of the idea that he could have done a better job
Also, the margin of improvement is perhaps easier to achieve
on an existing Imoca than starting from scratch with all the ground- work needed with a new unit. I note here that the average age of the boats in this VG is 9.6 years. Maybe this figure will have increased again in four years? SH: The 2025 Imoca calendar has six events. It seems huge! AM: Three races are sailed double-handed: the 1000 Race (Brest/Brest) in June, the Azimut Challenge in September, and the Transat Café L’Or (formerly Transat Jacques Vabre) this autumn. The three other races are with a crew: the new Course des Caps starting from Boulogne sur Mer at the end of June, which rounds the British islands, the Rolex Fastnet Race at the end of July, and The Ocean Race Europe. This last race starts from Kiel on 10 August, then heads to
Portsmouth, Cartagena and Genoa, and finishes at Boka Bay in Montenegro with an overall distance of 2,000nm. It’s a very inter- esting course, racing with a crew of four, including one woman and two nationalities minimum, as well as an onboard reporter (OBR). Each race has a scoring coefficient. Our strategy is to offer a wide range of events to skippers to meet their preferences and those of their partners better – focusing on quality more than quantity. On a long race like the Vendée Globe we find a favourite, share
the stories and follow the progress of the fleet. On the other hand, on a race that lasts two days, like the Azimut, even 10 or 12 days for the Transats, it is more complicated to get everyone to pay attention long enough for sponsors to see as much benefit. Plus these races with crew allow the new skippers some valuable
time before they start racing longer distances singlehanded. SH: The countdown for the next Vendée Globe has already started? AM: The end of a VG marks the end of one cycle and the beginning of the next. The 2024 Imoca Championship thus ends with the victory of Charlie Dalin, who succeeds the British Sam Goodchild, 2023 winner. Boris Herrmann and Yoann Richomme complete the podium in 2024. This VG also counts for the four-year championship which ends
22 SEAHORSE
on the eve of the Vendée Globe 2028/2029 (which will surely be fully booked). The four-year qualification system will be used for a second time, but with some changes. In 2028 there will be two new conditions to be fulfilled to qualify
for the VG: the first is to finish a Grade 2 solo race in the Imoca Championship, within a time not exceeding the winner’s time plus 50 per cent. Skippers will also be able to add points each time they compete in the Imoca series, starting with the Vendée Globe 2024 and continuing until 30 June 2028. That is also the date on which the list of 37 VG qualifiers is published, with three wild cards given out at the discretion of the organisation. The number of points awarded varies according to the race. The
world tours (Vendée Globe and Ocean Race) are ranked Grade 1; races of more than 2,500nm, like the Route du Rhum and the New York Vendée, Grade 2; races between 1,000nm and 2,500nm are Grade 3; and races of less than 1,000nm are Grade 4. At the end of the four-year cycle the three races with the lowest
score of each entry will be removed from the final calculation. This allows competitors to move away from the circuit for a certain period for any reason – such as maternity leave (as for Clarisse Crémer). Furthermore, sailors who have been injured or are ill can take time out to recover without compromising their chances of participating in the next edition of the Vendée Globe. Also international ‘non- French’ teams may wish to take time out for public relations programmes outside Europe. SH: Qualification is no longer by accumulation of miles? AM: Yes. The new qualification system for the next Vendée Globe is no longer based on a number of miles, but on a number of points. Previously you had to, in short, make the maximum possible races or even all the races to qualify. With the points system the skipper will choose with less pressure which races they want to participate in. In fact, as mentioned above, we find ourselves more in qualitative mode than quantitative. Patrice Carpentier
BENOIT STICHELBAUT/DPPI
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