Vendée Globe: Emotions, tears and a sea of cheers before the slow-motion start

"The winner will be the one who can push their limits the most," said Armel Le Cléeac'h about the Vendée Globe. The Frenchman should know: He won the race eight years ago. Since then, he has held the record with 74 days, 3 hours, 35 minutes and 46 seconds. At least the first few hours of the tenth edition did not point to a new record.

"Three brilliant weeks" in Les Sables-d'Olonne

Alain Leboeuf bid farewell to the skippers on the water. Half an hour before the start, the President of the Vendée Globe recalled "three brilliant weeks" in Les Sables-d'Olonne and wished the fleet a good and safe race around the world. The starting field on this super Sunday spanned 40 daredevils from the youngest participant Violette Dorange (23) to the oldest and most experienced challenger Jean Le Cam (65), who is already contesting his sixth solo around the world. Both are using non-foilers.

Earlier that morning, touching farewell scenes had taken place in Port Olona. Fully aware that they would no longer be able to embrace their loved ones, friends and companions for around three months, many family members, friends, team mates and the sailors themselves were gripped by emotion. Some, such as the youngest Violette Dorange, the Swiss Alan Roura and Boris Herrmann's wife Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann, could not hold back their tears.

The journey through the canal turned into a rollercoaster ride of emotions for all the starters. The fans' motto could be read on an XXL banner: "Rock the globe!" The desire for the big sailing spectacle in the small town was gigantic after the Covid edition four years ago.

Boris Herrmann was up early

"I feel good and am very excited," said Boris Herrmann as he arrived in the mixed zone for final interviews on Sunday morning. "I slept well, although I was woken up an hour too early by my alarm clock. Then I had a little cuddle with my dog Lilli. I'm glad that she can still accompany me on the jetty when I go to the boat in a few minutes."

Boris Herrmann continued: "I'm looking forward to seeing the crew before I set sail and to being on board. We have just been waiting in the crew area with a few other skippers and I have enjoyed being with them in these final moments before our circumnavigation."

Race favourite Charlie Dalin said at the farewell: "I'm in top form and over the moon to be here. Storm, zero knots... I'm taking it all in! I'm so happy to be casting off! I can't wait to get going! Four years ago, nobody was here because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The exit from the canal with all the crowds is one of the most symbolic elements of the race and I'm very happy to be able to experience it this year. I want to return the favour for the last race."

Charlie Dalin goes for the win

The 40-year-old was referring to the ninth Vendée Globe. On that occasion, he crossed the finish line in first place, but slipped back to second place due to a time credit for Yannick Bestaven for his involvement in the rescue mission for Kevin Escoffier. Charlie Dalin said: "Last time it (ed.: victory) wasn't far away: two hours and a bit of 80 days at sea. I will try to do better than last time."

But Dalin knows only too well how difficult that will be: "It will be a great race, I'm sure of that. The level of competition is very high this year. I enjoyed my last night in a real bed and a hot shower before January. As well as my last moments with Perrine, my wife, and Oscar, my son. I'm looking forward to taking part in this race again!"

One of Dalin's strongest rivals is Boris Herrmann, who emphasised this directly in the slow-motion start after a highly acclaimed race through the channel of Les Sables-d'Olonne. The "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper managed a good pin-end start in the gruelling doldrums conditions with as many wind holes as in an Emmental cheese. Boris Herrmann led the fleet at the start, before Paul Meilhat on "Biotherm" initially took the lead ahead of Brit Sam Goodchild on "Vulnerable".

First stumble: line in the propeller

The official starting signal for the Vendée Globe was given punctually at 1.02 pm on Sunday. The most famous and challenging of all round-the-world races is underway and features the usual many changes of position in the early stages of the race in a fleet that is still very close together. More than 24,000 nautical miles (45,000 kilometres) have to be covered alone, non-stop and without assistance.

Only Conrad Colman's "MS Amlin" was initially unable to cross the line as planned due to a technical problem. A line had paralysed Colman's propeller. The skipper with the big fighting heart and chronically tight budget, who holds New Zealand and American citizenship, had to return to the harbour, but was able to resume the race at 2.17 pm.

And then he was directly compensated for the agony at the start: because the wind had shifted in the meantime, Colman was able to choose a straight course to the west and, in the style of David against many Goliaths, took the lead for a short time before Oliver Heer on "Tut gut." was also able to enjoy the view as the front runner.

Into the first night at sea

Light winds of only four to seven knots, a sky that soon opened up and sunshine ensured that the race started almost without a hitch. The last team members had jumped off the Imocas into the water five minutes before the start. The teams' support boats collected them afterwards.

The wind was expected to pick up a little during Sunday before the participants had to spend the first of many, many nights in a row alone at sea.

Click here for the Vendée Globe tracker and the interim results. Here's a tip: If you are missing the automatically displayed data for all yachts, you can use the "Display" (bottom right of the tracker card), switch off the "Simplified Report" mode by clicking on it.

Here Boris Herrmann rides towards the start line through the canal of Les Sables-d'Olonne:

Start replay: Click here for the replay of the English-language live broadcast of the start of the race: