The Vendée Globe is arguably the pinnacle of solo ocean racing. On November 10, 40 skippers will set out from Les Sables d’Olonne, France, with the aim of sailing nonstop, unassisted around the world. Many will not make it. In recent years, the race has had an attrition rate between 20 and 30%, with everything from sinking to electrical failures ending campaigns. While the podium always reflects the best of the best, in a race this tough, for most skippers just getting to the finish line is the ultimate goal, and no matter where you look in the fleet, inspirational stories of grit and passion abound. Winning the race is one thing, winning the hearts of spectators is another.

The fleet of IMOCA 60s is dominated by the French, but in total, this year’s 40 skippers will include 11 nationalities, among them Japan, China, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Great Britain, Sweden, and Hungary. Conrad Coleman will sail under the joint flags of the United States and New Zealand and will be the only American in the fleet. The fleet will also include six female skippers and two para-athletes.

In recent years, American offshore racing has really started to come into its own, as seen in particular with 11th Hour Ocean Racing’s victory in The Ocean Race, and Cole Brauer’s record-setting solo circumnavigation in the Global Solo Challenge. If this has put you in the mood to follow the Vendée Globe, but you’re not sure exactly where to start, here are some unsung campaigns to get excited about.

Kojiro Shiraishi

Though this will be Kojiro Shiraishi’s third Vendée Globe campaign, he’s been involved with offshore racing since before the Vendée Globe even existed. He worked on the shore crew for his mentor Yukoh Tada’s BOC Challenge-winning campaign, which still inspires his racing today. “Watching my first BOC Challenge was incredibly emotional. I made so many friends during the Newport stopover, and we’re still in touch today,” Shiraishi remembers. He was back in New England, this time for his own campaign, last spring when sailing the Transat CIC and NY-Vendée.

Shiraishi, who speaks neither English nor French, says being the only Japanese sailor in the fleet has never been a problem for him. “They have been very welcoming. There have never been any issues. The only difference between us is that they carry a fork with them, and I have chopsticks,” he jokes. There are a few other cultural nods aboard DMG Mori, such as the temple hanging on his bulkhead or the rope tunnels that bracket his helm station, which are painted red to evoke the image of a Shinto temple.

“Maybe it’s the Japanese thinking, but we want to make things that last a long time, not just things that go as fast as possible. The main goal isn’t necessarily to win, but to teach. We want to bring young sailors in,” he says. To that end, the team has two bases for emerging sailors, one that races a Mini 6.50 out of Japan, and a French location that has two more Minis and a Figaro. This provides a pathway for young Japanese sailors to compete against the European cohort that tends to dominate the offshore scene. Mentorship was a huge influence on Shiraishi, and giving back is an essential component of his campaign.

“In the IMOCA class, even if we compete in the same race, all of the boats are really different, and the people are really different. But at the end of the day, there’s only one ranking. That’s what makes it unique.”

Follow along on Instagram @kojiro.shiraishi

Sam Goodchild

Sam Goodchild’s calm, understated way of talking about his campaign belies that this has been his dream since he was a teenager, reading about it in magazines at just 14 years old. He got his first taste of the Vendée Globe at 18 aboard Mike Golding’s boat and has never looked back, working on numerous other offshore campaigns, such as Phaedo and Spindrift. He then sailed the first three legs of The Ocean Race with Holcim-PRB, which gave him critical IMOCA experience. Now, 20 years after that first seed was planted (he will turn 35 about a week into the race), Goodchild will be headlining his own campaign. His team is part of a joint endeavor with French skipper Thomas Ruyant, and he will be sailing Ruyant’s former boat, built in 2019 (then called Linked Out).

“We’ll be the only boat ever to do a fully integrated two-boat campaign,” says Goodchild, adding that this arrangement lets the two sailors share resources and expertise, like their design and communications offices. Both boats are sponsored by cybersecurity company Advens, “but instead of putting their brand on the sail, they wanted to put their mission. We need to embrace our vulnerabilities in order to improve,” Goodchild says. “In the 21st century, we’re starting to ask ourselves what we’re doing with our lives and what impact we’re having. It’s nice to support something that’s got a goal and a meaning.” Both his boat and Ruyant’s are officially named Vulnerable, though his is green with “For the Planet” livery, while Ruyant’s is blue with “For People” livery.

Goodchild’s boat is an all-arounder, and though he days it will never be the fastest boat, it will also never be the slowest. He’s hoping that consistency will be the key to doing well in a race that lasts for months. His goal is to finish, and he foresees the biggest obstacle being finding a balance between pushing for performance and sailing conservatively enough to keep the boat healthy.

Follow Vulnerable on Instagram @goodchildsam

Clarisse Crémer

Clarisse Crémer is currently the fastest woman to solo circumnavigate unassisted, having finished the 2020 Vendée Globe in just 87 days. From the moment she finished, she says she had one goal: get back out there.

The path wasn’t easy, and when Crémer’s maternity leave impacted her ability to get the necessary qualifying miles and consequently her sponsorship deal, there was an international outcry. Fans demanded that the race organization reconsider systemic barriers that might affect female sailors more their male counterparts. Soon, she had a new sponsor in L’Occitane en Provence and was back on her way to the start line.

Crémer says she learned a lot with her previous campaign and has been able to outfit her IMOCA (formerly Apivia, which took line honors in 2021) better. She says the boat excels in light air, upwind, and in transition zones, while downwind and big seas can be a challenge. To make things more comfortable, she has added a proper bed, a bucket seat, and a fully enclosed cockpit. Making life onboard palatable is essential in a race this long, where it’s critical to keep both the mental and the competitive edge for months on end.

“I was struggling with my mental health at the start of the last Vendée Globe. I was standing at the bottom of a mountain looking up, and it took a full 15 days to get my head straight,” she says. This time, armed with more knowledge and confidence, she plans to be tactically more aggressive than last time.

“Every system that you cross, every mistake that you make, it teaches you something. It’s very hard to accept the technical issues. I really struggled last time with that uncertainty. As things break down, you’re constantly mourning for the boat you had yesterday,” she says. “But I’m more confident now. You learn a lot about the weather, the strategy, but the biggest thing you learn is how to deal with the mental side of it.”

Her first goal is to finish, but beyond that, she hopes to be in the top 10 and stay competitive with the other boats of the same generation.

Follow the campaign on Instagram @loccitane_sailing_team

Oliver Heer

A dismasting during the 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre set Oliver Heer back nearly 7,000 miles on his Vendée Globe qualifying track. The remaining events on his calendar became must-finish races.

Then, during the Transat CIC, disaster struck again. Heer’s boat rolled, and he suffered a complete electronic blackout. Unwilling to give up his chance at qualifying, he managed to rewire the solar panels so that he could use the autopilot for a few hours when it was sunniest. Even when it was bright out, this left him hand steering over 18 hours a day. He used paper charts to navigate. “I was so, so happy to arrive. There were times when I was not sure I would make it. The lesson is to never give up, there is always a way to get the boat to the finish line.”

The Swiss sailor approaches his racing with a humble optimism that distills down to pure grit when push comes to shove. Heer did not make a top 39 spot that would have guaranteed his position on the starting line of the 2024 Vendée Globe, and the 40th spot goes to a wild card team selected by the organizers. “It wasn’t an easy choice, as [all the remaining] skippers are extremely deserving…After careful consideration, I’ve decided between them in the order of the mileage rankings,” explained Alain Leboeuf, President of the Vendée Department and the Vendée Globe. Because he dragged himself to the finish of the Transat CIC instead of retiring, Heer was the final addition to the fleet, securing the 40th spot.

His boat Tut gut., which is an older generation non-foiling IMOCA, can point a lot higher than the foiling boats, he says. It does well upwind and in light air but lags when reaching.

Follow along on Instagram @oliverheeroceanracing

If none of these sound interesting to you, don’t worry. There are plenty of other skippers to root for. Consider Sam Davies, the Vendée veteran racing for a lifesaving children’s charity, or Boris Herrmann, The Ocean Race legend who won hearts in 2023. Other familiar faces from The Ocean Race will also be there, including Benjamin Dutreux, Paul Meilhat, Justine Mettraux, Damien Seguin, Charlie Dalin, and Sébastien Simon. Seguin and Jingkun Xu are each competing as para-athletes. Pip Hare’s honest, delightful social media is sure to charm spectators just as it did in 2020-21. Violette Dorange will be setting out on her first around-the-world race at just 23 years old. As is always the case in the Vendée Globe, it’s about more than who makes the podium. With so many inspiring stories, this is sure to be a race to remember.

Here’s the complete list of entrants:

Fabrice Amedeo (Nexans – Wewise) – FRA

Romain Attanasio (Fortinet – Best Western) – FRA

Eric Bellion (STAND AS ONE) – FRA

Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ V) – FRA

Jérémie Beyou (Charal) – FRA

Arnaud Boissières (La Mie Câline) – FRA

Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) – FRA

Conrad Colman (MS Amlin) – USA/NZL

Antoine Cornic (Human Immobilier) – FRA

Manuel Cousin (Coup de Pouce) – FRA

Clarisse Crémer (L’Occitane en Provence) – FRA

Charlie Dalin (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) – FRA

Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Cœur) – GBR

Violette Dorange (DeVenir) – FRA

Louis Duc (Fives Group – Lantana Environnement) – FRA

Benjamin Dutreux (GUYOT environnement – Water Family) – FRA

Benjamin Ferré (Monnoyeur – Duo for a Job) – FRA

Sam Goodchild (VULNERABLE) – GBR

Pip Hare (Medallia) – GBR

Oliver Heer (Oliver Heer Ocean Racing) – SUI

Boris Herrmann (Malizia – Seaexplorer) – GER

Isabelle Joschke (MACSF) – FRA/GER

Jean Le Cam (Tout commence en Finistère – Armor-lux) – FRA

Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare) – FRA

Nicolas Lunven (Holcim – PRB) – FRA

Sébastien Marsset (Foussier) – FRA

Paul Meilhat (Biotherm) – FRA

Justine Mettraux (TeamWork – Team SNEF) – SUI

Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian) – ITA

Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) – FRA

Alan Roura (Hublot) – SUI

Thomas Ruyant (VULNERABLE) – FRA

Damien Seguin (Groupe APICIL) – FRA

Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG MORI Global One) – JPN

Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil) – FRA

Maxime Sorel (V and B – Monbana – Mayenne) – FRA

Guirec Soudée (Freelance.com) – FRA

Denis Van Weynbergh (D’Ieteren Group) – BEL

Szabolcs Weöres (New Europe) – HUN

Jingkun Xu (Singchain Team Haikou) – CHN

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November/December 2024

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In a display of neat perfect sailing, the Brits moved to one win away from winning the LV finals, and facing mighty TNZ. More here.

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We are told that the use of cyclers to deliver power to trim the sails on the America’s Cup boats is a breakthrough – the kind of cutting-edge technological development that only the extreme competitiveness and huge budgets of the Cup cycle can produce.

Baloney. Consider the illustration to the left (click to expand). It’s from the February 1974 edition of the British magazine Yachting World and clearly shows that the idea of onboard cycle-generated power was being explored half a century ago.

The accompanying explanatory text begins: “In the attempt to obtain more power for winching sheets you can be sure that the seaborne sailing bicycle is soon to be seen”.

The system was developed by Lewmar at the request of the French AC campaign. Those concerned about the legality of non-sailors pedaling below deck were assured that “The teamwork required is only an extension of current crewing techniques. As the load increases, the gear can be changed by the cyclists as if they were going uphill.”

An intriguing aspect of the proposal was how it dealt with the angle of heel problem. Simple! “The tandem frame is gimballed fore and aft, because it would be difficult to exert effective leg push at an angle to the vertical.”

But with typical British reserve, Yachting World felt compelled to ask its readers: “Now comes the question of whether this is absurd.” Fifty years later, that’s still a good question.

– anarchist David

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Today’s AC LV Series
AM v Prada

Do or die for American Magic. Lose and go home.

Lumpy with 8 knots. Once again AM wins the start, forces Prada to tack, Prada going better but AM crosses and tacks on Prada, Prada sails through their Lee and forces AM to tack, Prada first at the weather mark by 14 seconds.

Prada builds a 400m lead, AM jibes away, Prada rounds the leeward mark 20 seconds to the good. Huge split on the next beat, no real change, but AM creeping a bit closer, now within 80m.

Prada only 8 seconds ahead at the weather mark, but Prada sails into more breeze and builds a 250m lead, which AM promptly eats into, then AM blows their jibe, Prada boogies away to round 22 seconds ahead at the bottom mark.

Prada is going very well, sailing strong, and they have this guy named Jimmy Spithill, perhaps you’ve heard of him? They build a 500m lead to round the final weather mark by 51 seconds, build the lead to 700m and baring breaking their traveler, this one is over. And it is.

AM was good, if not a bit strange. They had moments, but then they had a lot of control issues and other moments of mediocrity. The boat didn’t seem like it wanted to turn very well, but in fairness, none of the boats did. However, in comparison, Prada did it much better, as could be said for their overall effort.

A word about Spithill: he is, by far, the best skipper out there. His leadership skills are superb, his positive, cheerful and calm demeanor onboard is inspirational. His experience, knowledge, and skills are going to be very hard to beat going forward.

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The big bad Maxi Yacht Rolex Cup and Rolex IMA Maxi 1 Worlds canceled their racing as they claimed it was too windy (25+) but yet, here were a bunch of pictures of the big boys out sailing in those conditions. That is the crew led by Ken Read on Karel Komarek’s V took the opportunity blast around in the lively conditions. Photo: IMA / Studio Borlenghi

And we get nobody wants to break their boat, but can nobody race in 20+ knots anymore?

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Just when I was looking forward to getting up early and watching the AC “racing”, the threat of 50-knot gusts and possibly even more lightning than yesterday canceled today’s sailing. Apparently, tomorrow’s forecast looks more promising.

And we didn’t know it at the time, but Luna Rosa’s  impressive win over TNZ yesterday was all for naught, as the race was officially abandoned when lightning appeared. Bad break for LR, and a lucky break for TNZ.

Clearly, the most anticipated race will be a rematch of those two…

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Anarchist Layne sent us this…

Just finished watching a full replay of yesterday’s AC “racing”.

What a joke! It’s like a bad sitcom. “Yachts” that don’t turn up for the start, “yachts” that can’t sail because of software glitches, “yachts” that need to be towed by speedboats to get up on their foils, “yachts” that then fall off their foils and wallow around like dead ducks.

I think what we’re watching is the inevitable end game of an extreme, mutated, unworkable development that will have to be put out of its misery by the next Challenger of Record protocol. I am reminded of when Reliance was such a distorted idea of a “yacht” that the Cup turned to J Boats.

This title ripoff, is from one of the darkest, insane movies ever… Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke.

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Dufour 44

The latest from Dufour continues the French builder’s move toward refining its performance cruising chops under the guidance of naval architect Umberto Felci, “integrating elements from the Dufour 470 and Dufour 530, emphasizing fluid communication in the cockpit, facilitating easy passage to the deck, and optimizing the overall length of the boat.”

The big sister to the Dufour 41, a SAIL Top 10 Best Boats winner for 2024, this boat adopts the same design philosophy of bringing the beam far forward for maximum interior space yet keeping the hull relatively narrow below the waterline for improved performance. Sailing the 41 last year, we were impressed with how it would heel to a certain angle—in this case, about 18 degrees—and park there, a sweet spot for brisk upwind work in 20-plus knots of breeze. The new 44 shows the same pronounced flare above the waterline, and we would expect it to perform much the same.

Despite all that beam carried to a nearly plumb bow, the flat sheerline and low deckhouse keep the profile sharp. The sailplan offers multiple gears with a self-tacking jib, overlapping furling genoa, and a tack point on the sprit for an asymmetrical headsail.

The large cockpit, which seats at least six, has cleaner access to the side decks than the 41, as well as a massive lazarette, outdoor grill accessed while standing on the swim platform, and access on both sides to that platform.

The interior, designed by Luca Ardizio, is enormous for a 44-footer and comes in four layouts with three or four cabins, the option for a C-shaped galley forward or a linear fore-and-aft arrangement, and a hexagonal salon table that seats up to 10 people.

LOA 45’7” LWL 40’1” Beam 14’7” Draft 7’2” (std) or 5’10” Air Draft 66’8” Displacement 22,487 lbs (light) Ballast 6,283 lbs Sail Area 1,076 sq ft (main, genoa) 366 sq ft (self-tacking jib) Power Yanmar or Volvo 50-60 hp options (option for hybrid electric)

HH52

Despite already having an award winning cat in this size range, the 50, HH has launched a new model with a new purpose: electrification. With owners increasingly asking for quieter, more sustainable, fume-free, long range cruising, electric options are looking like the future of the industry.

The purpose-driven design features a new cabin top to accommodate a solar array and additional sail area so that owners can spend more time sailing and less time motoring. Small wings have been added to the keels, which calculations suggest should reduce leeway by up to a degree while sailing upwind, adding back some of the efficiency that cats aren’t known for. This all supports a 48 volt electrical system with a 43.2kWh house bank and EcoDrive Parallel Hybrid Electric/Diesel propulsion system.

The cat itself maintains a svelte and sharp appearance despite spacious lounge areas and comfortable cabins. Much of the boat is customizable, with two or three cabins; an option for a workshop with pullman berths; and a U-shaped or an island galley. You can even swap some of the aft seating for a BBQ with dive tank storage. But the big choice for owners is going to be in the helm position, with two options: dual aft helms or an interior forward helm. Both come in an Ocean Cruising (50/50 e-glass/carbon) or Sport Cruising (100% carbon fiber) version. If you opt not to put the helms aft, you can instead get outboard seats with instrument panels that have a distinctly space-age vibe. In any configuration, it will be a lux, comfortable ride.

SC Specs LOA 55’11” LWL 49’6” Beam 24’4” Draft 5’5” (brd up) 11’7” (down) Air Draft 79’7” Displacement 24,500 lbs (light) Sail Area 1,742 sq ft (main and overlapping solent) Power 2x BETA 38 hp

SAIL New Boats & Gear 2025 is here and it’s chock-a-block with new boat reviews by SAIL’s boat review team, info on the latest models hitting the water, and gear SAIL‘s editors have checked out as well. It’s available on newsstands, so head to your nearest West Marine or Barnes & Noble, or catch us at the U.S. Sailboat Show in Annapolis in October to say hi and get your issue. 

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NBGR 2025

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Photo courtesy of Xquisite Yachts

The new Xquisite 30 Sportcat looked like a drag racer, tugging at her dock lines at the Annapolis sailboat show. At 30 feet, she was by far one of the smallest boats in the water, but this carbon speedster looked like she’d give the big boats a run for their money. She was, in a word, enticing.

With a rotating carbon mast, carbon deck beams, displacement of just 1,872 pounds, an interior whose greatest luxury is a mattress, and a construction methodology that lets it be dismantled and fit onto a trailer and inside a 40-foot shipping container, this little rocket is just begging to be sailed fast and fun—and that is precisely its purpose, according to Tamas Hamor, Xquisite’s founder and CEO.

A cruising sailor himself, Hamor launched Xquisite just 10 years ago after deciding he could build a better cat and provide better service to boatowners. The company has since launched 50 boats built in South Africa—large, luxury bluewater cats—and now they’ve expanded into power cats as well…

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