# 2008–2009 Vendée Globe

The 2008–2009 Vendée Globe was a non-stop solo round-the-world yacht race for IMOCA 60 class yachts and the sixth edition of the race.

## Summary

The 2008 Vendée Globe began on 9 November 2008 and was won by Michel Desjoyaux, who set a new record at 84d 3h 9' 8".
Race Director for this edition was Denis Horeau who heads the event management team having done the role for the 1989 and 2004 editions.

## Incidents
### Retirement causes

The problems encountered by Jean Le Cam—losing his keel bulb and capsizing in the Southern Ocean—had a major impact on the order of finish. Fellow competitor Vincent Riou diverted and found his boat, circling to try to toss a rope to Le Cam who had exited a security hatch to hang onto the rudder. After three failed attempts, Vincent Riou went in closer, managing to rescue Jean Le Cam but also damaging his mast which failed soon after. Riou retired, but was awarded third place on redress, as he was third when diverted to assist the boat in distress. In addition Armel Le Cléac’h was awarded 11 hours, Sam Davies 32 hours and Marc Guillemot 82 hours for diverting to aid in the rescue

## Results

Table: Order of finish, 2008–2009 Vendée Globe :
| Pos. | Sailor | Yacht | Time | Distance Sailed |
| 1 | Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) | Foncia | 84d 03h 09' 08" (new record) | 28 303 |
| 2 | Armel Le Cléac'h (FRA) | Brit Air | 89d 09h 39' 35" Corrected 89d 20h 39' 35" Elapsed | 27 232 |
| =3 | Vincent Riou (FRA) | PRB 3 | Day 59: Dismasted Redress Given | |
| =3 | Marc Guillemot (FRA) | Safran (2) | 95d 03h 19' 36" Corrected 98d 13h 19' 36" Elapsed | 28 401 |
| 4 | Samantha Davies (GBR) | Roxy (2) | 95d 04h 39' 01" Corrected 96d 12h 39' 01" Elapsed | 27 470 |
| 5 | Brian Thompson (GBR) | Bahrain Team Pindar | 98d 20h 29' 55" | 28 699 |
| 6 | Dee Caffari (GBR) | Aviva | 99d 01h 10' 57" | 27 906 |
| 7 | Arnaud Boissières (FRA) | Akena Vérandas (2) | 105d 02h 33' 50" | 27 841 |
| 8 | Steve White (GBR) | Toe In The Water | 109d 00h 36' 55" | 28 197 |
| 9 | Rich Wilson (USA) | Great American III | 121d 00h 41' 19" | 28 590 |
| 10 | Raphaël Dinelli (FRA) | Fondation Ocean Vital | 125d 02h 32' 24" | 28 140 |
| 11 | Norbert Sedlacek (AUT) | Nauticsport-Kapsch | 126d 05h 31' 56" | 27 706 |
| DNF(18) | Roland Jourdain (FRA) | Veolia Environnement | day 85: lost keel | day 85: lost keel |
| DNF(17) | Jean Le Cam (FRA) | VM Matériaux (2) | day 58: lost keel bulb, capsized | day 58: lost keel bulb, capsized |
| DNF(16) | Jonny Malbon (GBR) | Artemis (2) | day 56: delaminated mainsail | day 56: delaminated mainsail |
| DNF(15) | Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) | Paprec-Virbac (2) | day 53: lost port rudder | day 53: lost port rudder |
| DNF(14) | Derek Hatfield (CAN) | Algimouss Spirit of Canada | day 50: broken spreaders | day 50: broken spreaders |
| DNF(13) | Sébastien Josse (FRA) | BT | day 50: broken rudder system | day 50: broken rudder system |
| DNF(12) | Yann Eliès (FRA) | Generali | day 40: fractured femur | day 40: fractured femur |
| DNF(11) | Mike Golding (GBR) | Ecover 3 | day 38: dismasted | day 38: dismasted |
| DNF(10) | Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (FRA) | Groupe Maisonneuve | day 37: faulty halyards, broken auto-pilot | day 37: faulty halyards, broken auto-pilot |
| DNF(9) | Loïck Peyron (FRA) | Gitana Eighty | day 36: dismasted | day 36: dismasted |
| DNF(8) | Bernard Stamm (FRA) | Cheminées Poujoulat (3) | day 36: ran aground | day 36: ran aground |
| DNF(7) | Dominique Wavre (SUI) | Temenos 2 | day 35: damaged keel box | day 35: damaged keel box |
| DNF(6) | Unai Basurko (ESP) | Pakea Bizkaia | day 28: faulty starboard rudder box | day 28: faulty starboard rudder box |
| DNF(5) | Jérémie Beyou (FRA) | Delta Dore | day 17: damaged rig | day 17: damaged rig |
| DNF(4) | Alex Thomson (GBR) | Hugo Boss 2 | day 6: cracked hull | day 6: cracked hull |
| DNF(3) | Yannick Bestaven (FRA) | Aquarelle.com – Charente Maritime | day 4: dismasted | day 4: dismasted |
| DNF(2) | Marc Thiercelin (FRA) | DCNS | day 4: dismasted | day 4: dismasted |
| DNF(1) | Kito de Pavant (FRA) | Groupe Bel | day 2: dismasted | day 2: dismasted |

## Gallery

* Delta Dore,
* Aviva, Dee Caffari
* Britair,

## Entries
### Participants gallery

* Armel Le Cléac'h (FRA) Brit Air
* Arnaud Boissières (FRA) Akena Vérandas
* Alex Thomson (GBR) Hugo Boss 2
* Brian Thompson (GBR) Bahrain Team Pindar
* Bernard Stamm (FRA) Cheminées Poujoulat (3)
* Dominique Wavre (SUI) Temenos 2
* Dee Caffari (GBR) Aviva
* Jean Le Cam (FRA) VM Matériaux
* Jérémie Beyou (FRA) Delta Dore
* Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) Paprec-Virbac 2
* Kito de Pavant (FRA) Groupe Bel
* Loïck Peyron (FRA) Gitana Eighty
* Marc Guillemot (FRA) Safran (2)
* Marc Thiercelin (FRA) DCNS
* Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) Foncia
* Mike Golding (GBR) Ecover 3
* Norbert Sedlacek (AUT) Nauticsport-Kapsch
* Raphaël Dinelli (FRA) Fondation Ocean Vital
* Rich Wilson (USA) Great American III
* Roland Jourdain (FRA) Veolia Environnement
* Samantha Davies (GBR) Roxy
* Sébastien Josse (FRA) BT
* Steve White (GBR) Toe In The Water
* Unai Basurko (ESP) Pakea Bizkaia
* Vincent Riou (FRA) PRB 3
* Yann Eliès (FRA) Generali
* Yannick Bestaven (FRA) Aquarelle.com – Charente Maritime

### Participant facts equipment

Thirty skippers started the race a qualification passage was required to validate the registration of each boat, this course could have been carried out as part of another sailing race.
List of participants and equipment used :
| Skipper | Prev. participation (Start/Finish) | Name of boat | Sail no. | Naval architect | Builder | Launch date |
| Alex Thomson (GBR) | 1 / 0 | Hugo Boss 2 | GBR 99 | Finot-Conq | Carrington/Hutton (Lymington, GBR) | 2007 |
| Armel Le Cléac’h (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Brit Air | FRA 62 | Finot-Conq | Multiplast | 2007 |
| Arnaud Boissières (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Akena Vérandas | FRA 14 | Finot-Conq | Kirié | 1998 |
| Bernard Stamm (SUI) | 1 / 0 | Cheminées Poujoulat (3) | SUI 7 | Farr Yacht Design | Cookson Boats (NZL) | 2003 |
| Brian Thompson (GBR) | 0 / 0 | Bahrain Team Pindar | GBR 32 | Juan Kouyoumdjian | Cookson Boats | 2007 |
| Dee Caffari (GBR) | 0 / 0 | Aviva | GBR 222 | Owen Clarke Design Group | Hakes Marine (NZL) | 2008 |
| Derek Hatfield (CAN) | 0 / 0 | Algimouss-Spirit of Canada | CAN 84 | Owen Clarke Design Group | Ocean Challenges | 2007 |
| Dominique Wavre (SUI) | 2 / 2 (4th) | Temenos II | SUI 9 | Owen Clarke Design Group | Southern Ocean Marine (NZL) | 2006 |
| Jean Le Cam (FRA) | 1 / 1 (2nd) | VM Matériaux | FRA 118 | Marc Lombard | JMV Industries (FRA) | 2004 |
| Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Groupe Maisonneuve | FRA 8 | Angelo Lavranos – Artech Design Team | Artech | 2005 |
| Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) | 1 / 1 (6th) | Paprec-Virbac 2 | FRA 06 | Farr Yacht Design | Southern Ocean Marine (NZL) | 2007 |
| Jérémie Beyou (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Delta Dore | FRA 35 | Farr Yacht Design | JMV Industries (FRA) | 2006 |
| Jonny Malbon (GBR) | 0 / 0 | Artemis 2 | GBR 100 | Rogers Yacht Design Ltd | Hutton (GBR) | 2008 |
| Kito de Pavant (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Groupe Bel | FRA 360 | VPLP-Verdier | Indiana Yachting (ITA) | 2007 |
| Loïck Peyron (FRA) | 2 / 1 (2nd) | Gitana Eighty | FRA 80 | Farr Yacht Design | Southern Ocean Marine (New Zealand) | 2007 |
| Marc Guillemot (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Safran (2) | FRA 25 | VPLP-Verdier | Larros – Thierry Eluère | 2007 |
| Marc Thiercelin (FRA) | 3 / 2 (2nd) | DCNS | FRA 1000 | Finot-Conq | Multiplast (coque et intégration), Chantier naval de Larros (pont) | 2008 |
| Michel Desjoyeaux (FRA) | 1 / 1 (1st) | Foncia | FRA 101 | Farr Yacht Design | CDK Technologies | 2007 |
| Mike Golding (GBR) | 2 / 2 (3rd) | Ecover 3 | GBR 03 | Owen Clarke Design Group | Hakes Marine (Wellington, NZL) | 2007 |
| Norbert Sedlacek (AUT) | 1 / 0 | Nauticsport-Kapsch | AUT 36 | Joubert-Nivelt-Sedlacek | Garcia / N. Sedlacek | 1995 / 2003 |
| Raphaël Dinelli (FRA) | 3 / 1 (12th) | Fondation Océan Vital | FRA 77 | Nándor Fa | Fa Hajó | 1996 |
| Rich Wilson (USA) | 0 / 0 | Great American III | USA 37 | Nivelt | Thierry Dubois | 1999 |
| Roland Jourdain (FRA) | 2 / 1 (3rd) | Véolia Environnement | FRA 29 | Marc Lombard | JMV Industries | 2004 |
| Steve White (GBR) | 0 / 0 | Toe In The Water | GBR 55 | Finot-Conq | JMV Industries | 1998 |
| Samantha Davies (GBR) | 0 / 0 | Roxy | FRA 40 | Finot-Conq | MAG France Fontenay le Comte | 2000 |
| Sébastien Josse (FRA) | 1 / 1 (5th) | BT | EUR 888 | Farr Yacht Design | Offshore Challenges, Cowes, GBR | 2007 |
| Unaï Basurko (ESP) | 0 / 0 | Pakea Bizkaia | ESP 26 | Murray-Burns & Dovell | Jarkan – Kanga Birtles | 2005 |
| Vincent Riou (FRA) | 1 / 1 (1st) | PRB 3 | FRA 85 | Farr Yacht Design | CDK Technologies | 2006 |
| Yannick Bestaven (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Aquarelle.com – Charente Maritime | FRA 01 | Finot-Conq | Thierry Eluère | 1996 |
| Yann Éliès (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Generali | FRA 22 | Finot-Conq | Multiplast | 2007 |