Vendée Globe: Guide to the Atlantic race home

The Vendée Globe is the world’s final race course: one continuous lap of the globe. The race began in Les Sables d’Olonne, France, on 10 November. There are three marks of the course – the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn – all of which have to be rounded to port, earlier than ending again in Les Sables d’Olonne.

Past these marks, skippers should select our personal means around the globe and that navigation can be primarily outlined by climate, somewhat than geography.

Pip Hare wrote these guides for Yachting World forward of setting off as certainly one of 40 skippers – and the one British-based entry – within the Vendée Globe. Sadly Pip was dismasted on the tail finish of 2024 ending her race and leaving her Vendée dream in tatters.

The main skippers within the 2024-25 version of the Vendée Globe are locked in an in depth battle and already closing in on the end, with the highest three anticipated into Sables d’Olonne a while subsequent week, however the bulk of the fleet nonetheless has a lot of the trick north-bound Atlantic to navigate.

Pip’s Atlantic Northbound information

Passing Cape Horn feels monumental; a launch from the stress of huge Southern Ocean circumstances and like the ultimate 6,500 miles of the course ought to be downhill. However it’s a mistake for any skipper to consider they’re residence and free on re-entry to the Atlantic.

The tactical calls for of this leg, mixed with drained boats and drained brains, will maintain the competitors eager all the way in which residence. The Atlantic Ocean could not carry the reputational would possibly of Southern Ocean circumstances, however the complexity of climate techniques make this return leg sophisticated and painful at occasions.

Exit from the South

As soon as Cape Horn has been rounded, sailors should head north, but it surely’ll be vital to not step off the Southern Ocean practice too early. Making early miles to the east will keep away from getting trapped alongside the Brazilian coast later when getting into the north-east tradewinds.

If there are depressions to consider – both coming via the Drake Passage behind you or forming to the east of Cape Horn – then it will likely be price using another entrance, Southern Ocean-style, to make miles east, after which north.

If no despair is on provide the route will flip north earlier, even passing between Islas Estados and the mainland, however skippers have to be watchful for any small excessive strain techniques growing on the latitude of Uruguay which might then migrate in direction of the Falkland Islands and block a path north.

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Semi-permanent chilly entrance

As soon as heading north, the following function to cross would be the semi-permanent entrance, which extends south-east from the Brazilian coast, near Rio de Janeiro. As soon as once more skippers have to be looking out for growing low strain areas, which kind alongside the semi-permanent entrance and may seem shortly and in speedy succession.

Getting caught to the east of a growing despair will lead to northerly headwinds: passing west of a system can be faster however might drive a competitor nearer in to the coast the place there’s a south-going present.

If there are not any energetic depressions the semi-permanent entrance will create a barrier with mild, fickle airs, via which boats should battle. The sunshine air zone is one other place the place the fleet can compress, holding up these forward whereas others journey the final cease of the Southern Ocean practice, doubtlessly eroding leads of a whole bunch of miles. This occurred to me in my 2020 race and it was heart-breaking.

Rounding Cape Horn is a seminal second for any Vendée Globe skipper, however the Atlantic return remains to be difficult and may see many place modifications. Photograph: Amory Ross/eleventh Hour Racing/The Ocean Race

South Atlantic tradewinds

The temperature will increase quickly as soon as the fleet is again within the tradewinds, with quick reaching circumstances and squall exercise. These circumstances as soon as once more will favour foiling boats and significantly these able to early flight. The stability must be made between holding floor to the east and crusing a quick angle.

Choices will should be made at this stage about the place to cross the doldrums. In Half 1 of this collection, I described how the windless space of the doldrums kinds a wedge form, with the fats finish of the wedge near the African coast.

This implies on a typical ascent of the Atlantic there may be much less danger of being trapped in massive windless areas, as this route on ascent can be up the western facet of the Atlantic.

As an alternative, sailors should pay attention to the place and measurement of the North Atlantic excessive strain which finally will dictate how a lot easting is required and the place it’s possible to cross the doldrums. They’ll must have their eyes some 3,500 miles up the monitor, and their brains quick ahead one other two weeks.

The Atlantic low strain techniques will be far more advanced than these within the south, with a number of fronts. The leg to the end is much from a breeze for drained boats and sailors – sea states will be brutal and boat breaking within the ultimate 1,000 miles

Doldrums

Nearly all of the fleet will select to cross the doldrums between 27° and 32°W – the additional east, the higher the angle within the North Atlantic tradewinds.

Utilizing radar, satellite tv for pc imagery to keep away from massive areas of cloud, and confirming GRIB file forecasts with actual time scatterometry the tactic is to select your spot after which make finest floor due north. It ought to be much less painful than on the descent however can present one other alternative for compression.

The North Atlantic

One other curveball for these ultimate few weeks is that some boats could not have a full sail stock, having broken sails past restore over the earlier 10 weeks. Some sailors have misplaced reefing factors within the mainsail, in addition to headsails, which might severely impair efficiency.

However the race will nonetheless very a lot be on – positioning relative to different opponents can be essential – and we might even see boats selecting routes that work for their very own modified circumstances to keep away from underperforming in sure circumstances.

The north Atlantic will be risky in January. Programs develop shortly and totally different forecast fashions don’t all the time align weeks forward. The place, measurement and stability of the Azores Excessive is vital to the ultimate two-week technique of the Vendée Globe race. In a traditional situation, the place the Azores excessive is steady and centred over the Azores, the quickest route can be a attain via the tradewinds, arrival to the west of the excessive strain, then spherical the highest. Nevertheless, within the final two years I’ve made two Atlantic returns in December and neither certainly one of them confirmed this traditional situation.

Blended circumstances for the Vendée fleet in January 2021 as they sailed north up the Atlantic and thru the doldrums. Photograph: Romain Attanasio/PURE – Finest Western Resorts and Resorts

A excessive strain system centred to the east will permit a extra direct route via the mid latitudes from the tradewinds. An elongated form or a centre additional west will present mild airs throughout the course and headwinds alongside the European coast – yet one more likelihood for compression of the fleet.

Within the case of an enormous excessive strain blocking the rhumb line we may see a marked distinction between foiling and non-foiling methods. The pace differentials between the 2 sorts of boats permit huge foilers to sail many extra miles than the direct route. This might take boats a good distance north of their ultimate meant latitudes, to make sure good breeze all the way in which in.

This phenomenon was nicely demonstrated within the New York-Vendée Race in June 2024, the place a excessive strain blocked the rhumb line and the foiling boats selected routes across the excessive strain, which added practically a thousand miles, whereas non-foilers went via the center.

Experience the ultimate Entrance

As soon as the Azores Excessive has been cleared, we hand over to the North Atlantic’s despair practice, in search of a ultimate entrance to push east and residential. The trajectory of North Atlantic depressions usually permits their trailing chilly fronts to move into the Bay of Biscay, grazing Cape Finisterre. The wind forward of the entrance is from a south-westerly course.

Nearing Les Sables d’Olonne after 24,000 miles: an enormous aid however skippers should stay vigilant– Boris Herrmann suffered a collision approaching the end in 2021 (see harm to bowsprit). Photograph: Yvan Zedda/Alea

North Atlantic fronts journey slower than their southern hemisphere counterparts, at a pace of round 25 knots so – for a not-too-tired foiling IMOCA skipper – it might be potential to position themselves forward of a chilly entrance and journey all of it the way in which to the end.

Cape Finisterre

If there isn’t any despair to benefit from then the direct route would be the quickest one to the end. Coming into the Bay of Biscay there are challenges and benefits that may be supplied by Cape Finisterre. At this stage the fleet will begin to encounter common site visitors. There may be an exclusion zone across the Visitors Separation Scheme off Cape Finisterre, however on both facet of this zone there’ll be a gentle stream of site visitors heading throughout Biscay to Ushant or up and down the European Atlantic coast. Inshore at Finisterre a wind acceleration zone can be utilized to benefit and the results of wind shadows or accelerations attributable to the Cantabrian Mountain Vary in northern Spain will even be of notice.

Apivia skipper, Charlie Dalin on the end of the 2021 Vendee Globe. Photograph: Jean-Marie Liot/Alea.

The Vendée Globe End

The ultimate strategy to the end line at Les Sables D’Olonne can be bringing skippers again to the additional complexities of navigating to a vacation spot port. To this point we’ve focussed nearly solely on the climate, crusing in areas the place there may be little to no site visitors and hundreds of miles from the land.

Approaching the Vendée shores, AIS and radar alarms will mild up with collision warnings and in prevailing circumstances the end line can be forward of a lee shore. There’ll be no second to sit down again and suppose, ‘That is within the bag’. There will be no stress-free till our toes are on the dock.

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