Helly Hansen is the Official Apparel Sponsor of the Vendée Globe

“The Vendée Globe is known as the Everest of the seas and is the most challenging round the world race for professional solo sailors," said Michael Uhl, Vice President of Marketing and Brand Partnerships at Helly Hansen. “As a brand committed to helping people stay and feel alive even in the most challenging and harshest of conditions, we are honored to partner with the race to provide their members with the highest level of protection both on and off the water. "

After five days of racing, the remaining skippers have all passed the Iceland Gate, the finish line of the 2nd edition of the Vendée Arctique. Due to extremely tough weather conditions, the race had been shortened, and all skippers are now on their way back to Les Sables d'Olonne. This year’s race has been nothing short of challenging and demanding, expecting constant efforts from the skippers aboard their IMOCAs, who have given their all to cross the finish line of this first qualifying stage for the Vendée Globe 2024.

The Vendée Globe is to date the largest sailing race around the world, solo, non-stop and without assistance. The event took place in the wake of the Golden Globe which, in 1968, initiated the first circumnavigation of this type via the three capes (Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn). Of the nine pioneers to set off in 1968, only one managed to return to Falmouth, the great port of English Cornwall. On April 6, 1969 after 313 days at sea, the Briton Robin Knox-Johnston finally reached the goal. Twenty years later, it was navigator Philippe Jeantot who, after his double victory in the BOC Challenge (Around the world solo with stopovers), launched the idea of ​​a new race around the world, solo, but ... nonstop ! The Vendée Globe was born. On November 26, 1989, thirteen sailors took the start of the first edition, which lasted more than three months. Only seven will return to Les Sables d'Olonne.

The 9 editions of what the general public today calls the Everest of the seas, allowed 200 competitors to start this extraordinary race. Only 114 of them managed to cross the finish line. This figure alone expresses the extreme difficulty of this planetary event where the solo sailors are confronted with the freezing cold, the excessive waves and the heavy skies which sweep over the deep south! The Vendée Globe is above all a journey to the end of the sea and to the depths of oneself. It has consecrated very great sailors: Titouan Lamazouen 1990, Alain Gautier in 1993, Christophe Auguin, in 1997, Vincent Riouen 2005, François Gabart in 2013, Armel Le Cléac'h in 2017 record holder in 74 days) and Yannick Bestaven in 2021. Only one sailor has won it twice: Michel Desjoyeaux, in 2001 and 2009.