Vendée Globe: Late but worth the wait

Les Sables d’Olonne, France (March 8, 2025) – Forty skippers started the Vendée Globe 2024-25 on November 10, with the final skipper completing the course today… but not finishing the race. After Charlie Dalin took the title in 64 days, Belgian skipper Denis Van Weynbergh missed the race time limit by some 24 hours, thus finishing ‘hors concours’ – outside of the rankings.

With seven retirements during the tenth running of the round the world race, Van Weynbergh showed remarkable resilience and fortitude. Arriving nearly two months after Dalin, his final hurdle was with a mainsail halyard which limited his use of the sail for the final 12 days.

“Everything was complicated, hard,” he admitted. “You have to be a masochist to continue and want to come back! Above all, I tried not to give up. I almost gave up several times, I told myself that I had to hold on and each time, it went well.”

His quest to do the Vendée Globe began in earnest in 2018, when, as an SME boss and sailing instructor he bought an IMOCA, Nandor Fa’s former Spirit of Hungary. But faced with a lack of funding, he had to temporarily put his project on hold.

Refusing to give up, he rethought his plan in 2020 by adopting an innovative and collective approach, focusing on reusing and repurposing equipment. This bold choice meant a collaborative initiative, and all the way through his build up he was supported by a team of volunteers.

From 2021 he built his experience on the IMOCA circuit, looking to accumulate qualification miles and refine his technique. Each race and each training passage allowed him to build a solid experience on top of his miles he had accumulated some 20 years earlier racing on the Mini 650 circuit and then Class40.

With this solid preparation, he made the start of the Vendée Globe 2024-25 and then overcame the successive challenges which came his way. He dealt with the malfunctions of his wind vane and electronic problems showing great determination and tenacity, all the time underlining his desire to complete the course.

His problems and setbacks accumulated to take him deep into his mental and physical reserves, not least realizing he would miss the race time limit. As well as his mainsail problems which required him to spend long periods sailing only under headsail, he suffered a keel ram issue eight days before he arrived back in Les Sables d’Olonne.

But in the end, his inner strength and fighting spirit left their mark. His adventure offered an inspiring lesson in how perseverance and optimism can win out, and how his personal achievement is no less for having missed the finish time limit.

Final Results – Top Ten
1. Charlie Dalin (FRA): 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes, 49 seconds
2. Yoann Richomme (FRA): 65 days, 18 hours, 10 minutes, 2 seconds
3. Sébastien Simon (FRA): 67 days, 12 hours, 25 minutes, 37 seconds
4. Jérémie Beyou (FRA): 74 days, 12 hours, 56 minutes, 54 seconds
5. Paul Meilhat (FRA): 74 days, 22 hours, 38 minutes, 15 seconds
6. Nicolas Lunven (FRA): 75 days, 07 hours, 49 minutes, 41 seconds
7. Thomas Ruyant (FRA): 75 days, 16 hours, 47 minutes, 27 seconds
8. Justine Mettraux (SUI): 76 days, 01 hour, 36 minutes, 52 seconds
9. Sam Goodchild (GBR): 76 days, 02 hours, 01 minutes, 45 seconds
10. Benjamin Dutreux (FRA): 77 days, 03 hours, 39 minutes, 24 seconds

Race updates – Tracker – Ranking – Arrival times – Facebook

Attrition:
Nov. 15: Maxime Sorel (FRA), V and B – Monbana – Mayenne, ankle injury, mast damage
Dec. 4: Louis Burton (FRA), Bureau Vallée, rigging failure
Dec. 15: Pip Hare (GBR), Medallia, dismasted
Dec. 16: Szabolcs Weöres (HUN), New Europe, broken D2 shroud
Dec. 30: Yannick Bestaven (FRA), Maître CoQ V, steerage damage
Jan. 12: Éric Bellion (FRA), STAND AS ONE – Altavia, broken J2 forestay pin
Jan. 30: Arnaud Boissières (FRA), La Mie Câline, dismasted

The Vendée Globe, raced in the 60-foot IMOCA, is the elite race round the world, solo, non-stop, and without assistance. On November 10, 40 skippers started the 2024-25 edition which begins and ends in Les Sables d’Olonne, France.

Armel Le Cléac’h, winning in 2017, previously held the record for the 24,300 nm course of 74 days 03 hours 35 minutes 46 seconds. Only one sailor has won it twice: Michel Desjoyeaux in 2001 and 2009. This is tenth running of the race.

Source: VG, SSN