The notice of race for the 2020 Vendée Globe is drawn up by the organisers and the race directors, validated by the French Sailing Federation and enables the rules of the race to be set. By publishing it so early, the SAEM Vendée, the company organising the Vendée Globe hopes that the skippers can prepare themselves as well as possible.
"The publication of the Notice of Race is an important milestone in our organisation. Of course, the main principles of the Vendée Globe remain unchanged. In eight editions, the Vendée Globe has lost none of its magic thanks to a simple concept: one man, one boat, one round the world voyage. The event is still very much in vogue, among sailors, but also among the general public. We have seen the latest figures in terms of the economic spin-offs for our department after the last edition, and they are up by 15%, with 35.5 million euros in turnover generated by the event. 2020 promises to be an even greater success" explains Yves Auvinet, Chairman of the Vendée Departmental Council and of the SAEM Vendée
A round-the-world trip around the 3 capes
This 30-page document recalls the founding rules of the Vendée Globe, namely a single-handed round the world voyage, non-stop and without assistance, via the three capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin and Horn to port. The Antarctic continent to starboard.
"If the main principles remain, we wanted to make the text more explicit, to clarify or modify a few points very early on, to make the framework of the game intelligible." says Yves Auvinet.
Clarifying the rules
- The concept of "non-handling" has been extensively detailed, including the prohibition of taking control of the on-board computer from land.
- A time limit to finish the race has been set at 163 days (time achieved by Jean-François Coste, the last competitor of the first edition)
- In case of damage after the departure and return to the Port of Les Sables-d'Olonne (only technical stopover allowed), the team will be able to board the boat within 3 miles before the Nouch Sud buoy
- The rule of replacement in case of incapacity of the skipper has been relaxed with a possibility after the start of the race, under certain conditions.
- The principle of the 72 points of the Antarctic Exclusion Zone is endorsed
- A registration fee has been established ('10,000)
- The amount of prize money is increasing (800,000 euros instead of 600,000 euros in total)
"Previously, those who were quickest to submit their applications were the first "served. For this edition, we've applied the same principle as for the Mini Transat: the more you sail in the Globe Series events, the more chances you have of qualifying (...) The fact that the Notice of Race is published much earlier than the last edition means that the sailors can get ready early enough" explains race director Jacques Caraës
