Arctic Vendée: Grand North Objective!

The third edition of the Arctic Vendée – Les Sables d’Olonne, which will start on June 7th, was presented on Thursday. Skippers will not have a set course to follow, but they must cross the 66th parallel North.

It is quite rare in offshore racing, but the skippers participating in the third Arctic Vendée – Les Sables d’Olonne on June 7th will not have a set course to follow. They will start and finish in Les Sables d’Olonne, in Vendée, and in the meantime, their only obligation (and no small one!) will be to cross, at the longitude of their choice, the 66th parallel North, also known as the Arctic Circle, north of Iceland. “This unprecedented format opens up a very wide range of possible trajectories, while this extreme latitude, never reached before in IMOCA, reinforces the demanding and engaging nature of the Arctic Vendée,” rejoice the organizers.

Between seven and ten days of racing During the first edition, skippers had to reach a point between Greenland and Iceland, and then another point on the same longitude as Les Sables d’Olonne, to form a triangle. During the second edition, skippers had to sail around Iceland, but the race was ultimately shortened due to the weather. If all goes well, the 2026 edition will last between seven and ten days. A solo and unassisted race, the Arctic Vendée – Les Sables d’Olonne is the first qualifying race for the 2028 Vendée Globe.

Goodchild and Dorange will be there Ten skippers have already confirmed their presence next June. Among them, Sam Goodchild, replacing the defending champion Charlie Dalin, who is battling cancer, at the helm of Macif, as well as the young Violette Dorange, who will start her solo adventure with Initiatives-Coeur, which she joined last year. Muriel Cousin (Coup de pouce) and Arnaud Boissières (April Marine) are also announced. There were 20 and then 25 skippers at the start of the first two editions, but the economic situation is complicated for the Imoca, and the difficulty of the race may also deter some. “The economic, geopolitical, political situation is quite uncertain, and as a result, there is a significant impact on sponsorship, which is still the funding method of our category,” explains Antoine Mermod, the president of the IMOCA class, to France 3. “It’s a race that is extremely engaging for the skippers. It’s true that we have a number of them preparing for the next Vendée Globe, but who have not yet reached the level to take such risks.” It’s up to the skippers present to take advantage of it.