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The Vendée Globe is a legendary solo around-the-world race. It is known as one of the toughest maritime challenges, and often called ‘the Everest of the seas’. The race takes place every four years. It sees sailors race non-stop, without outside assistance, across 21,000 nautical miles around the world. Participants face extreme weather conditions, isolation, technical issues and fatigue over the course of more than three months. The Vendée Globe 2024 started on November 10th 2024 in Les Sables d’Olonne. Sailors have been coming back to the race village one by one since mid-January 2025. Followed by sailing fans worldwide, the new boats, high participation, and new records have made this 10th edition stand out. The remarkable achievements of its participants have marked a milestone in the race’s legacy. As the Vendee Globe 2024 comes to an end, let’s dive in to what has made this race so special.
Record-breaking wins
The most remarkable event of the Vendee Globe 2024 was probably the massive record of this year’s winner. Charlie Dalin, the French Macif Santé sailor, was the first to finish this year’s race. He won with a time of 64 days 19 hours 22 minutes and 49 seconds. Dalin broke the previous record established by Armel Le Cleac’h in 2017 by an astonishing nine days.
In the women’s category, Justine Mettraux also established new heights, beating Clarisse Crémer’s 2020 time by 12 days. Mettraux finished in 8th place, the first woman, and first international sailor, in a time of 76 days, 1 hour, 36 minutes and 52 seconds.
A record number of sailors
This 10th edition was special before the race had even started: 40 sailors were on the start line in Les Sables d’Olonne, the highest number of participants ever! 40 different personalities who would tackle the world’s oceans, taking us along the journey with them.
This year’s start line also featured an internationally diverse set of sailors, with 11 different nationalities represented amongst the participants. Amongst the high number of French sailors, this race was the chance to see talented competitors from Australia, Great Britain, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Japan, China, Hungary and Belgium.
The youngest participant ever
Nationality has not been the only gauge of diversity in the 2024 Vendée Globe. On the start line this year was Violette Dorange. At just 23 years old, she is the race’s youngest participant ever. Mentored by Jean Le Cam, and with experience racing in a range of transatlantic race and multiple editions of the Figaro solo race, she took on the race with calm and determination. She finished the race in 25th place, with a time of 90 days, 22 hours, 37 minutes and 9 seconds. Previous competitors to have taken on the Vendée Globe at such a young age include Ellen McArthur and her astonishing second-place finish in the 2000-2001 edition at the age of 24, and Alan Roura, the Swiss sailor who came 12th in 2017 at the age of 23.
Record-breaking performances
Finally, this edition witnessed unprecedented achievements, with multiple skippers surpassing previous records. Notably, a new solo monohull 24-hour distance record was set!
Over the course of an eventful week, the record was first broken by Nicolas Lunven, then by Yoann Richomme, before finally being set by Sébastien Simon, who covered 615.33 nautical miles in 24 hours. All in the same race!
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And for more sailing news and travel inspiration, discover the Click&Boat blog. And if racing is your new thing, you’ll also find a summary of the sailing events to look out for in 2025!
