Vendée Globe: Hungry skippers, tired boats - "Buffet instead of fireworks, please!"

Manuel Cousin still had 842 nautical miles to go at the start of the week. Racing solo in the Vendée Globe since 10 November 2024, the Frenchman fought his way towards the finish line. Behind the "Coup de Pouce" skipper, Fabrice Amedeo ("Nexans - Wewise", 1162 nautical miles "to go") and Denis Van Weynberg ("D'Ieteren Group", 1469 nautical miles "to go") were pursuing the same goal in the morning of 24 February.

Times like the Vendée Globe winners of yore

All three had been racing non-stop for 106 days at the Vendée Globe on Monday afternoon. At the end of their race, they will have sailed for 110 or more days without interruption. This corresponds roughly to the times of the early Vendée Globe winners: premiere star Titouan Lamazou won the race in 1989/1990 in 109 days, 8 hours, 48 minutes and 50 seconds. His successor Alain Gautier took even longer in the second edition in 1992/1993 with 110 days, 2 hours, 22 minutes and 35 seconds.

At the third Vendée Globe, the winner Christophe Augin once again broke the 100-day barrier with 105 days, 20 hours and 31 minutes, before the subsequent races fell further and further below this mark. Charlie Dalin catapulted the Vendée Globe record into a new dimension in this edition with 64 days, 19 hours, 22 minutes and 49 seconds.

The last three skippers to follow him will have taken 45 days or more longer by the time they reach the finish line in the coming days. For them, the sixteenth week of racing in the Vendée Globe has begun. However, unlike the seven who have been eliminated from the 40 starters, they will probably be able to finish their races.

Last trio of the 10th Vendée Globe in sight

Manuel Cousin is expected to be the 31st finisher in Les Sables-d'Olonne on 27 or 28 February. He will be followed by Fabrice Amedeo between 28 February and 1 March and the last finisher, Denis Van Weynbergh, on around 2 March. Click here for the race tracker and the intermediate results. None of the three had expected the race to take so long. Amedeo's team, for example, had planned for up to around 100 days. As a result, they have all been struggling to ration their provisions for a long time.

I'm hungry!" Fabrice Amedeo

"Don't prepare fireworks for me, please prepare a big buffet for me," said sailor and journalist Febrice Amedeo with a smile. His Owen Clarke design from 2007, once built as "Ecover III" and raced with Mike Golding, had never been one of the favourites. But Amedeo, who finished eleventh in the 2016/2017 Vendée Globe, had not imagined that he would have to battle with Denis Van Weynbergh for the penultimate and final place, despite a few setbacks before the start of the race.

After days with little wind and an agonisingly slow journey, Fabrice Amedeo said on Sunday: "I still have about six days at sea ahead of me. And when I start to think about it, the time seems endless. So I keep looking after the boat and pretend I still have a month at sea ahead of me. That's the best strategy for staying mentally on course."

Big test, small moments of happiness

It's the little moments of happiness that inspire all three stragglers in their last days at sea. Random finds like a piece of chocolate work wonders on board the hungry skippers and tired boats. Denis Van Weynbergh says: "The little details make all the difference. Small, simple things that bring comfort." All the Vendée Globe skippers who are still sailing are running low on provisions.

"I have everything I need for the main meals, but I only have freeze-dried food left," says Fabrice. The days of small snacks and biscuits that served as a sweet consolation are long gone. According to Amedeo, the situation is "not dramatic", but at 2,500 calories a day compared to the "3,500 I would need for my stature", it's a bit low.

The fact that you're all alone is a burden after a while." Denis Van Weynbergh

The extra-long lack of closeness to others is also a problem for the skippers. Denis Van Weynbergh has said it: "What I'm really starting to miss is human contact." The Belgian's wishes seem modest, but mean the world to him: "I want to see the people I talk to, to have real social interaction. Fortunately, you can keep in touch with the network and WhatsApp, but that's no substitute for the real presence of others."

At any price: rituals help mentally

Manuel Cousin uses routine to combat his feeling of loneliness: "Personally, I've made it a habit to call my girlfriend once a day. It's an important moment that you hold on to at all costs, no matter what you tell yourself. It's really good to have this little ritual. After such a long time at sea, you also have to cling to the things that are really important."

In the final sprint, the final Vendée Globe trio is once again under high tension. Manuel Cousin said on Sunday: "Normally I should have wind, as the low pressure area is moving in. We will have to be careful, because now is not the time to make mistakes." The boat traffic will also become an additional source of stress again as they approach the finish line, comparable to crossing a crowded main traffic artery in a major city at rush hour, but with 300 metre long lorries that have no intention of slowing down.

Looking back! What it was like at the premiere of the Vendée Globe with 13 second skippers, when winner Tituan Lamazou took about as long as the current stragglers. Impressive pictures tell the story: