The 1996–1997 Vendée Globe was a non-stop round the world yacht race for

IMOCA 50 The Open 50 is a type of monohull right A monohull is a type of boat having only one hull, unlike multihulled boats which can have two or more individual hulls connected to one another. Fundamental concept Among the earliest hulls were simple lo ...

and

IMOCA 60 The IMOCA ("Open 60") is a 60ft (18.3 m) development class monohull sailing yacht governed by the International Monohull Open Class Association (IMOCA). The class pinnacle event are single or two person ocean races, such as the Route du Rhum an ...

class yachts crewed by only one person. It was the third edition of the race, starting on 3 November 1996 from

Les Sables-d'Olonne Les Sables-d'Olonne (; French meaning: "The Sands of Olonne"; Poitevin: ''Lés Sablles d'Oloune'') is a seaside resort and port on the Atlantic coast of western France. A subprefecture of the department of Vendée, Pays de la Loi ...

. The overall winner was Christophe Auguin who crossed the finish line on 17 February 1997 after a total time of 105 days, 20 hours and 31 minutes.

Summary

Another heavy-weather start in the Bay of Biscay knocked Nándor Fa and Didier Munduteguy out of the race early, and several others returned to the start for repairs before continuing. The rest of the fleet raced to the Southern Ocean, where a second attrition began:

Yves Parlier Yves Parlier (born 14 November 1960) is a French sailor. He is very well known in the offshore sailing world and generally in France, where he waFrance's top sports personality in 2002. Nicknamed "The extra-terrestrial" for his amazing explo ...

and Isabelle Autissier broke rudders, leaving Christophe Auguin to lead the way into the south. The race was won by Christophe Auguin. Catherine Chabaud, in sixth place, was the last to cross the finish line and the first woman to complete a solo navigation of the globe without stopping. Ten of the sixteen boats that started the race did not finish. The book ''Godforsaken Sea'' by Derek Lundy profiles the 1996–1997 running of the race.

Incidents

Gerry Roufs

The yacht Groupe LG 2 and its Canadian sailor Gerry Roufs were lost in the Southern Ocean; his body was never found, but his boat was found five months later off the Chilean Coast.

Retirement causes

Heavy weather took a serious toll on the sailors in the far Southern Ocean. Unofficial competitor Raphaël Dinelli's boat capsized, and he was rescued by Pete Goss. Then, within a few hours of each other, two other boats capsized, with both rescues performed by the

Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the navy, naval branch of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (admiral), Ma ...

. Pete Goss was later awarded the

Légion d'honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

for his rescue of Dinelli. The capsize of several boats in this race prompted tightening up of the safety rules for entrants, particularly regarding boat safety and stability.

Results

Table: Order of Finish, 1996–1997 Vendée Globe

Gallery

File:Algimouss au départ du Vendée Globe 1996-1997.jpg, File:Bertrand De Broc.jpg, File:Budapest bateau de Nandor Fa.jpg, File:Crédit Immobilier De France.jpg, File:Groupe LG de Gerry Roufs.jpg, File:Groupe LG-Traitmat.jpg, File:Géodis.jpg, File:Marc Thiercelin.jpg, File:PRB bateau d'Isabelle Autissier.jpg, File:Vendée Globe 1996-1997.jpg, File:Whirlpool bateau de Catherine Chabaud.jpg, File:Yves Parlier.jpg,

Competitors

Entries gallery

File:Bertrand_de_Broc_VG2012_(1).jpg,
'' Votre Nom autour du Monde
- Pommes Rhône Alpes'', alt=Bertrand de Broc (FRA)Votre Nom autour du Monde - Pommes Rhône Alpes File:Catherine Chabaud.JPG,
''Whirlpool-Europe 2'', alt=Catherine Chabaud (FRA)Whirlpool-Europe 2 File:Blank.png,
''Geodis'', alt=Christophe Auguin (FRA)Geodis File:Blank.png,
''Club 60è Sud'', alt=Didier Munduteguy (FRA)Club 60è Sud File:Blank.png,
''Café Legal-Le Goût'', alt=Éric Dumont (FRA)Café Legal-Le Goût File:Blank.png,
'' Groupe LG 2'', alt=Gerry Roufs (CAN)Groupe LG 2 File:Isabelle Autissier par Claude Truong-Ngoc octobre 2015.jpg,
'' PRB (1)'', alt=Isabelle Autissier (FRA)PRB (1) File:Blank.png,
''Groupe LG-Traitmat'', alt=Hervé Laurent (FRA)Groupe LG-Traitmat File:Marc-Thiercelin-Vendée-Globe-2004 (1).jpg,
''Crédit Immobilier'', alt=Marc Thiercelin (FRA)Crédit Immobilier File:Nandor Fa (8) cropped.jpg,
''Budapest'', alt=Nándor Fa (HUN)Budapest File:Blank.png,
''Afibel'', alt=Patrick de Radiguès (BEL)Afibel File:Pete Goss 2.jpg,
'' Aqua Quorum'', alt=Pete Goss (GBR)Aqua Quorum File:Photo dinelli.jpg,
''Algimouss'', alt=Raphaël Dinelli (FRA)Algimouss File:Blank.png,
'' Exide Challenger'', alt=Tony Bullimore (GBR)Exide Challenger File:Thierry Dubois Skipper.jpg,
''Amnesty International'', alt=Thierry Dubois (FRA)Amnesty International File:Yves Parlier.jpg,
'' Aquitaine Innovations'', alt=Yves Parlier (FRA)Aquitaine Innovations

Entries boats

Fifteen skippers started the race a qualification passage was required to validate the registration of each boat, this course could have been carried out as part of another sailing race.

References

External links

*
Official You Tube Channel
* {{Vendée Globe Vendée Globe Vendée Globe Vendée Globe Vendée Globe Vendée Globe 1996-1997