The 2004–2005

Vendée Globe --> The Vendée Globe is a single-handed (solo) non-stop, unassisted round the world yacht race. The race was founded by Philippe Jeantot in 1989, and since 1992 has taken place every four years. It is named after the Département of Vendé ...

was a non-stop solo round-the-world yacht race for

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. The fifth edition of the race started on 7 November 2004 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 ...

Summary

The start of the 2004 race was watched by an estimated 300,000 people, which took place in mild weather. A fast start was followed by a few minor equipment problems, allowing the first racers to cross the

equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

just after 10 days. This was three days faster than the previous race, with all of the starters still sailing. Attrition began on entry into the

Roaring Forties The Roaring Forties are strong westerlies, westerly winds that occur in the Southern Hemisphere, generally between the latitudes of 40th parallel south, 40° and 50th parallel south, 50° south. The strong eastward air currents are caused by ...

: Alex Thomson diverted to

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

to make unassisted repairs and continue racing. The fleet encountered a number of other problems. Hervé Laurent retired with serious rudder problems, Thomson abandoned, and Conrad Humphreys anchored to make unassisted rudder repairs. Gear problems and abandonments continued, then the fleet ran into an area of ice, and Sébastien Josse hit an iceberg head-on. The lead changed several times as the fleet re-entered the Atlantic. The race remained close right to the finish, which saw three boats finish within 29 hours. The first Race Director Denis Horeau returned to the role after 15 years to head the event management team.=

Results

Entries

Participants gallery

File:Alex Thomson VG2012.jpg,
''Hugo Boss'', alt=Alex Thomson (GBR)Hugo Boss File:Anne Liardet.jpg,
'' ROXY'', alt=Anne Liardet (FRA)ROXY File:Dominique Wavre VG2012.jpg,
'' Temenos (1)'', alt=Dominique Wavre (SUI)Temenos (1) File:Jean Le Cam (11).jpg,
'' Bonduelle 2'', alt=Jean Le Cam (FRA)Bonduelle 2 File:Jean-Pierre Dick VG2012 (1).jpg,
'' Virbac-Paprec (1)'', alt=Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA)Virbac-Paprec (1) File:Marc-Thiercelin-Vendée-Globe-2004 (1).jpg,
''

Pro-Form In linguistics, a pro-form is a type of function word or expression (linguistics) that stands in for (expresses the same content as) another word, phrase, clause or sentence where the meaning is recoverable from the context. They are used eithe ...

'', alt=Marc Thiercelin (FRA)Pro-Form File:Mike Golding VG2012.jpg,
'' Ecover 2'', alt=Mike Golding (GBR)Ecover 2 File:Vendée Globe 2008-2009 Norbert Sedlacek.jpg,
''

Brother A brother (: brothers or brethren) is a man or boy who shares one or more parents with another; a male sibling. The female counterpart is a sister. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used ende ...

'', alt=Norbert Sedlacek (AUT)Brother File:Transat Jacques Vabre 2013 - Sébastien Josse.jpg,
'' ''VMI'''', alt=Sébastien Josse (FRA)VMI File:Photo dinelli.jpg,
'' Akena Verandas'', alt=Raphaël Dinelli (FRA)Akena Verandas File:Transat Jacques Vabre 2013 - Roland Jourdain.JPG,
'' Sill Véolia (2)'', alt=Roland Jourdain (FRA)Sill Véolia (2) File:Vincent Riou 2006.jpg,
'' PRB 2'', alt=Vincent Riou (FRA)PRB 2

Participant facts equipment

Twenty 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 YouTube Channel
* {{Vendée Globe

Vendée Globe Vendée Globe 2004-2005