# 2016–2017 Vendée Globe

The 2016–2017 Vendée Globe was a non-stop solo round-the-world yacht race for IMOCA 60 class yachts and the eighth edition of the race.

## Summary

The 2016 – 17 race started from Les Sables d'Olonne on 6 November 2016; was the eighth edition of the, with 29 skippers from ten countries. It lasted 124.5 days while going around the three great capes – the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa), Cape Leeuwin (Australia) and Cape Horn (Chile) and saw a record 18 skippers make it to the finish line.
This edition of the race was the first to feature foiling monohull boats equipped with hydrofoils and was therefore closely watched to evaluate the durability of foils in such circumstances. Of note, the four foiling boats sailed by professional skippers that made it to the finish line took the top places, indicating that such appendages are likely to be adopted by other sailors (see table below). The winner of this edition was Armel Le Cléac'h, finishing on 19 January 2017 in a record breaking time of 74 days, three hours and 35 minutes. Other records were set during the course, including the greatest distance covered by a monohull over the course of 24h, the fastest southbound crossing of the Equator and Cape of Good Hope by Alex Thomson. Winner Armel Le Cléac'h also broke the record for the fastest crossing of Cape Leeuwin, Cape Horn and the Equator (northbound).
The race featured the youngest and oldest skippers ever to complete the race – on consecutive days (Alan Roura, 23 years old; Rich Wilson, aged 66). Also, Didac Costa was forced to return to harbour after less than one hour of sailing as a result of water damage to the boat's electric system. He returned to the race four days later and finished in 14th place. In addition, Conrad Colman finished under jury rig after dismasting 715 nm from the finish, while running short on food and electric power. The latter was compounded by the fact that his boat – Foresight Natural Energy – was propelled solely by renewable energy sources and the critical speed required for using hydrogenerators as well as sunlight to feed his solar panels were short of par. Colman was the first skipper to complete the Vendée Globe without using fossil fuels, two weeks after breaking his mast.
Race Director for this edition was Denis Horeau who heads the event management team having done the role for the 1989, 2004, 2008 and 2012 editions.

## Results
### Finishing time

Classified results for the 2016–2017 edition :
| Pos. | Skipper | Boat Name | Finish time | Elapsed time | Deltas |
| 01 | Armel Le Cléac'h (FRA) | Banque populaire VIII | 19 January 2017 at 16 h 37 | 074 d 03 h 35 m 46 s | Record |
| 02 | Alex Thomson (GBR) | Hugo Boss 6 | 20 January 2017 at 08 h 37 | 074 d 19 h 35 m 15 s | + 00 d 15 h 59 m 29 s |
| 03 | Jérémie Beyou (FRA) | Maître Coq | 23 January 2017 at 19:40 | 078 d 06 h 38 m 40 s | + 04 d 03 h 02 m 54 s |
| 04 | Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) | StMichel-Virbac | 25 January 2017 at 14:47 | 080 d 01 h 45 m 45 s | + 05 d 22 h 09 m 59 s |
| 05 | Yann Eliès (FRA) | Quéguiner – Leucémie Espoir | 25 January 2017 at 16:13 | 080 d 03 h 11 m 09 s | + 05 d 23 h 35 m 23 s |
| 06 | Jean Le Cam (FRA) | Finistère Mer Vent | 25 January 2017 at 17:43 | 080 d 04 h 41 m 54 s | + 06 d 01 h 06 m 08 s |
| 07 | Louis Burton (FRA) | Bureau Vallée | 2 February 2017 at 08:47 | 087 d 21 h 45 m 49 s • | + 13 d 18 h 10 m 03 s |
| 08 | Nándor Fa (HUN) | Spirit of Hungary | 8 February 2017 at 11:54 | 093 d 22 h 52 m 09 s | + 19 d 19 h 16 m 23 s |
| 09 | Éric Bellion (FRA) | Comme un seul homme | 13 February 2017 at 17:58 | 099 d 04 h 56 m 20 s | + 25 d 01 h 20 m 34 s |
| 10 | Arnaud Boissières (FRA) | La Mie câline | 17 February 2017 at 09:26 | 102 d 20 h 24 m 09 s | + 28 d 16 h 48 m 23 s |
| 11 | Fabrice Amedeo (FRA) | Newrest-Matmut | 18 February 2017 at 10:03 | 103 d 21 h 01 m 00 s | + 29 d 17 h 25 m 14 s |
| 12 | Alan Roura (SUI) | La Fabrique | 20 February 2017 at 09:12 | 105 d 20 h 10 m 32 s | + 31 d 16 h 34 m 46 s |
| 13 | Rich Wilson (USA) | Great American IV | 21 February 2017 at 13:50 | 107 d 00 h 48 m 18 s | + 32 d 21 h 12 m 32 s |
| 14 | Didac Costa (ESP) | One planet One ocean | 23 February 2017 at 08:52 | 108 d 19 h 50 m 45 s | + 34 d 16 h 14 m 59 s |
| 15 | Romain Attanasio (FRA) | Famille Mary – Étamine du Lys | 24 February 2017 at 11:06 | 109 d 22 h 04 m 00 s | + 35 d 18 h 28 m 14 s |
| 16 | Conrad Colman (NZL) (USA) | Foresight Natural Energy | 24 February 2017 at 15:00 | 110 d 01 h 58 m 41 s | + 35 d 22 h 22 m 55 s |
| 17 | Pieter Heerema (NED) | No Way Back | 2 March 2017 at 22:26 | 116 d 09 h 24 m 12 s | + 42 d 05 h 48 m 26 s |
| 18 | Sébastien Destremau (AUS) (FRA) | TechnoFirst-FaceOcean | 11 March 2017 at 01:41 | 124 d 12 h 38 m 18 s | + 50 d 09 h 02 m 32 s |
| DNF | Enda O'Coineen (IRL) | Kilcullen Voyager – Team Ireland | Day 56: Dismasted 180 nm SE of New Zealand | Day 56: Dismasted 180 nm SE of New Zealand | Day 56: Dismasted 180 nm SE of New Zealand |
| DNF | Paul Meilhat (FRA) | SMA | Day 49: Hydraulic-keel fissured | Day 49: Hydraulic-keel fissured | Day 49: Hydraulic-keel fissured |
| DNF | Stéphane Le Diraison (FRA) | Compagnie du Lit-Boulogne Billancourt | Day 41: Dismasted 950 nautical miles away from Australia | Day 41: Dismasted 950 nautical miles away from Australia | Day 41: Dismasted 950 nautical miles away from Australia |
| DNF | Thomas Ruyant (FRA) | Le Souffle du Nord pour Le Projet Imagine | Day 44: Damaged hull due to collision with an UFO | Day 44: Damaged hull due to collision with an UFO | Day 44: Damaged hull due to collision with an UFO |
| DNF | Sébastien Josse (FRA) | Gitana – Edmond de Rothschild | Day 30: Hydrofoil Damage off Australia | Day 30: Hydrofoil Damage off Australia | Day 30: Hydrofoil Damage off Australia |
| DNF | Kito de Pavant (FRA) | Bastide-Otio | Day 30: Damaged keel – North of Crozet Islands | Day 30: Damaged keel – North of Crozet Islands | Day 30: Damaged keel – North of Crozet Islands |
| DNF | Kojiro Shiraishi (JPN) | Spirit of Yukoh IV | Day 27: Damaged masthead – South of Cape of Good Hope | Day 27: Damaged masthead – South of Cape of Good Hope | Day 27: Damaged masthead – South of Cape of Good Hope |
| DNF | Tanguy de Lamotte (FRA) | Initiatives-Cœur (2) | Day 23: Damaged masthead – North of Cape Verde Islands | Day 23: Damaged masthead – North of Cape Verde Islands | Day 23: Damaged masthead – North of Cape Verde Islands |
| DNF | Morgan Lagravière (FRA) | Safran III | Day 19: Damaged rudder – South Atlantic | Day 19: Damaged rudder – South Atlantic | Day 19: Damaged rudder – South Atlantic |
| DNF | Vincent Riou (FRA) | PRB 4 | Day 17: Damaged keel – South Atlantic | Day 17: Damaged keel – South Atlantic | Day 17: Damaged keel – South Atlantic |
| DNF | Bertrand de Broc (FRA) | MACSF | Day 14: Damaged keel - South Atlantic near Fernando de Noronha | Day 14: Damaged keel - South Atlantic near Fernando de Noronha | Day 14: Damaged keel - South Atlantic near Fernando de Noronha |
* Penalised two hours for an involuntary rupture of the propeller shaft scrutineering seal.

### Stage times

This data comes from the official website.
| Skipper | Equator | Cape of Good Hope | Leeuwin | Cape Horn | Equator | Finish Line |
| Armel Le Cléac'h | 09 d 09 h 56 min | 18 d 03 h 30 min | 28 d 20 h 12 min | 47 d 00 h 32 min | 61 d 12 h 21 min | 74 d 03 h 36 min |
| Alex Thomson | 09 d 07 h 02 min | 17 d 22 h 58 min | 29 d 01 h 21 min | 48 d 23 h 40 min | 62 d 05 h 10 min | 74 d 19 h 36 min |
| Jérémie Beyou | 09 d 16 h 49 min | 20 d 12 h 41 min | 32 d 05 h 45 min | 51 d 01 h 42 min | 65 d 01 h 27 min | 78 d 06 h 38 min |
| Jean-Pierre Dick | 10 d 16 h 51 min | 22 d 21 h 13 min | 33 d 15 h 53 min | 53 d 18 h 32 min | 66 d 22 h 31 min | 80 d 01 h 46 min |
| Yann Eliès | 10 d 01 h 17 min | 21 d 03 h 18 min | 33 d 04 h 52 min | 54 d 04 h 54 min | 67 d 12 h 14 min | 80 d 03 h 11 min |
| Jean Le Cam | 10 d 10 h 17 min | 23 d 10 h 21 min | 34 d 07 h 00 min | 54 d 03 h 46 min | 67 d 11 h 43 min | 80 d 04 h 42 min |
| Louis Burton | 11 d 18 h 39 min | 27 d 05 h 06 min | 38 d 14 h 03 min | 58 d 18 h 48 min | 73 d 02 h 42 min | 87 d 21 h 46 min |
| Nándor Fa | 12 d 10 h 28 min | 28 d 00 h 17 min | 40 d 06 h 10 min | 63 d 18 h 36 min | 79 d 05 h 25 min | 93 d 22 h 53 min |
| Éric Bellion | 12 d 19 h 55 min | 29 d 04 h 30 min | 44 d 11 h 28 min | 66 d 02 h 47 min | 83 d 11 h 41 min | 99 d 04 h 57 min |
| Arnaud Boissières | 12 d 01 h 36 min | 28 d 04 h 19 min | 42 d 12 h 07 min | 70 d 17 h 52 min | 87 d 11 h 36 min | 102 d 20 h 25 min |
| Fabrice Amedeo | 12 d 04 h 40 min | 28 d 07 h 59 min | 43 d 21 h 20 min | 70 d 13 h 38 min | 87 d 20 h 20 min | 103 d 21 h 01 min |
| Alan Roura | 13 d 14 h 51 min | 29 d 22 h 41 min | 44 d 01 h 11 min | 71 d 04 h 37 min | 89 d 00 h 23 min | 105 d 20 h 11 min |
| Rich Wilson | 12 d 16 h 45 min | 29 d 16 h 18 min | 44 d 07 h 38 min | 71 d 14 h 55 min | 91 d 06 h 14 min | 107 d 00 h 49 min |
| Didac Costa | 17 d 12 h 21 min | 34 d 01 h 11 min | 48 d 12 h 00 min | 75 d 01 h 41 min | 92 d 15 h 05 min | 108 d 19 h 51 min |
| Romain Attanasio | 12 d 19 h 35 min | 34 d 21 h 56 min | 50 d 13 h 31 min | 75 d 08 h 41 min | 92 d 16 h 07 min | 109 d 22 h 04 min |
| Conrad Colman | 12 d 03 h 36 min | 28 d 08 h 54 min | 41 d 16 h 47 min | 66 d 16 h 14 min | 84 d 20 h 43 min | 110 d 01 h 59 min |
| Pieter Heerema | 13 d 07 h 55 min | 30 d 23 h 06 min | 49 d 08 h 30 min | 79 d 08 h 35 min | 96 d 09 h 56 min | 116 d 09 h 24 min |
| Sébastien Destremau | 16 d 02 h 47 min | 35 d 08 h 10 min | 51 d 04 h 01 min | 84 d 01 h 34 min | 104 d 20 h 15 min | 124 d 12 h 39 min |
| Enda O'Coineen | 14 d 07 h 34 min | 29 d 21 h 54 min | 44 d 02 h 48 min | abandon | | |
| Paul Meilhat | 09 jd12 h 49 min | 20 d 11 h 54 min | 31 d 21 h 38 min | abandon | | |
| Stéphane Le Diraison | 12 d 04 h 07 min | 28 d 01 h 48 min | 39 d 20 h 09 min | abandon | | |
| Thomas Ruyant | 10 d 16 h 15 min | 23 d 06 h 25 min | 36 d 05 h 47 min | abandon | | |
| Sébastien Josse | 09 d 12 h 01 min | 18 d 12 h 42 min | abandon | | | |
| Kito de Pavant | 11 d 03 h 59 min | 25 d 09 h 08 min | abandon | | | |
| Kojiro Shiraishi | 12 d 09 h 57 min | abandon | | | | |
| Vincent Riou | 09 d 10 h 24 min | abandon | | | | |
| Morgan Lagravière | 09 j 17 h 30 min | abandon | | | | |
| Bertrand de Broc | 11 d 20 h 01 min | abandon | | | | |

## List of participants sailor and boats
### Gallery of sailors

* Alex Thomson (GBR) Hugo Boss 6
* Alan Roura (SUI) La Fabrique
* Arnaud Boissières (FRA) La Mie câline
* Armel Le Cléac'h (FRA) Banque populaire VIII
* Bertrand de Broc (FRA) MACSF
* Conrad Colman (NZL) (USA) Foresight Natural Energy
* Didac Costa (ESP) One planet One Ocean
* Enda O'Coineen (IRL) Kilcullen Voyager - Team Ireland
* Éric Bellion (FRA) Comme un seul homme
* Fabrice Amedeo (FRA) Newrest-Matmutt
* Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) StMichel-Virbac
* Jean Le Cam (FRA) Finistère Mer Vent
* Jérémie Beyou (FRA) Maître Coq
* Kito de Pavant (FRA) Bastide-Otio
* Kojiro Shiraishi (JPN) Spirit of Yukoh
* Louis Burton (FRA) Bureau Vallée
* Morgan Lagravière (FRA) Safran III
* Nándor Fa (HUN) Spirit of Hungary
* Paul Meilhat (FRA) SMA
* Pieter Heerema (NED) No Way Back
* Rich Wilson (USA) Great American IV
* Romain Attanasio (FRA) Famille Mary – Étamine du Lys
* Sébastien Destremau (AUS) (FRA) TechnoFirst-FaceOcean
* Sébastien Josse (FRA) Gitana 16
* Stéphane Le Diraison (FRA) Compagnie du Lit-Boulogne Billancourt
* Tanguy de Lamotte (FRA) Initiatives-Cœur (2)
* Thomas Ruyant (FRA) Le Souffle du Nord
* Vincent Riou (FRA) PRB
* Yann Eliès (FRA) Quéguiner – Leucémie Espoir

### Gallery of yachts

* Banque populaire VIII Armel Le Cléac'h (FRA)
* Bastide-Otio Kito de Pavant (FRA)
* Bureau Vallée Louis Burton (FRA)
* Comme un seul homme Éric Bellion (FRA)
* Compagnie du Lit-Boulogne Billancourt Stéphane Le Diraison (FRA)
* Famille Mary – Étamine du Lys Romain Attanasio (FRA)
* Finistère Mer Vent Jean Le Cam (FRA)
* Foresight Natural Energy Conrad Colman (NZL) (USA)
* Gitana 16 Sébastien Josse (FRA)
* Great American IV Rich Wilson (USA)
* Hugo Boss 6 Alex Thomson (GBR)
* Initiatives-Cœur (2) Tanguy de Lamotte (FRA)
* Kilcullen Voyager - Team Ireland Enda O'Coineen (IRL)
* La Fabrique Alan Roura (SUI)
* La Mie câline Arnaud Boissières (FRA)
* Le Souffle du Nord Thomas Ruyant (FRA)
* MACSF Bertrand de Broc (FRA) '
* Maître Coq Jérémie Beyou (FRA)
* Newrest-Matmut Fabrice Amedeo (FRA)
* No Way Back Pieter Heerema (NED)
* One planet One Ocean Didac Costa (ESP)
* PRB 4 Vincent Riou (FRA)
* Quéguiner – Leucémie espoir Yann Eliès (FRA)
* Safran III Morgan Lagravière (FRA)
* Spirit of Hungary Nándor Fa (HUN)
* StMichel-Virbac Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA)
* Spirit of Yukoh Kojiro Shiraishi (JPN)
* SMA Paul Meilhat (FRA)
* TechnoFirst-FaceOcean Sébastien Destremau (FRA)

### Sailors and boat details

List of participants and equipment used :
| Skipper | Prev. participation (Start/Finish) | Name of boat | Sail no. | Naval architect | Builder | Launch date |
| Alex Thomson (GBR) | 3 / 1 (3rd) | Hugo Boss | GBR 99 | Verdier / VPLP | Green Marine | 2015 |
| Armel Le Cléac'h (FRA) | 2 / 2 (2nd) | Banque Populaire VIII | FRA 18 | Verdier / VPLP | CDK Technologies | 2015 |
| Arnaud Boissières (FRA) | 2 / 2 (8th) | La Mie câline | FRA 14 | Farr Yacht Design | Southern Ocean Marine | 2007 |
| Alan Roura (SUI) | 0 / 0 | La Fabrique | SUI 07 | Pierre Rolland | Globe Surfer-Lesconil / Bernard Stamm | 2000 |
| Bertrand de Broc (FRA) | 3 / 1 (9th) | MACSF | FRA 21 | Finot-Conq | Multiplast | 2007 |
| Conrad Colman (NZL) (USA) | 0 / 0 | Foresight Natural Energy | NZL 80 | Artech Design Team | Artech do Brasil | 2005 |
| Didac Costa (ESP) | 0 / 0 | One planet One ocean | ESP 33 | Owen Clarke Design | Marten Yachts | 2000 |
| Enda O'Coineen (IRL) | 0 / 0 | Kilcullen Voyager – Team Ireland | IRL 3 | Owen Clarke Design | Hakes Marine | 2007 |
| Éric Bellion (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Comme un seul homme | FRA 1000 | Finot-Conq | Multiplast | 2008 |
| Fabrice Amedeo (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Newrest-Matmut | FRA 56 | Farr Yacht Design | Southern Ocean Marine | 2007 |
| Romain Attanasio (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Famille Mary – Étamine du Lys | FRA 72 | Marc Lombard | MAG France | 1998 |
| Jérémie Beyou (FRA) | 2 / 0 | Maître Coq | FRA 19 | Verdier / VPLP | CDK Technologies | 2010 |
| Jean-Pierre Dick (FRA) | 3 / 2 (4th) | StMichel-Virbac | FRA 06 | Verdier / VPLP | Multiplast | 2015 |
| Jean Le Cam (FRA) | 3 / 2 (2nd) | Finistère Mer Vent | FRA 001 | Farr Yacht Design | CDK Technologies | 2007 |
| Louis Burton (FRA) | 1 / 0 | Bureau Vallée | FRA 35 | Farr Yacht Design | JMV Industries | 2006 |
| Kito de Pavant (FRA) | 2 / 0 | Bastide-Otio | FRA 30 | Verdier / VPLP | Cookson Boats | 2010 |
| Kojiro Shiraishi (JPN) | 0 / 0 | Spirit of Yukoh | JPN 11 | Bruce Farr Yacht Design | Offshore Challenges Sailing Team | 2007 |
| Morgan Lagravière (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Safran III | FRA 25 | Verdier / VPLP | CDK Technologies | 2015 |
| Nándor Fa (HUN) | 1 / 1 (5th) | Spirit of Hungary | HUN 77 | Nándor Fa / Attila Déry | Nándor Fa | 2014 |
| Paul Meilhat (FRA) | 0 / 0 | SMA | FRA 1859 | Verdier / VPLP | CDK Technologies | 2010 |
| Pieter Heerema (NED) | 0 / 0 | No Way Back | NED 160 | Verdier / VPLP | Persico Marine | 2015 |
| Rich Wilson (USA) | 1 / 1 (10th) | Great American IV | USA 37 | Owen Clarke Design | Southern Ocean Marine | 2006 |
| Sébastien Destremau (FRA) | 0 / 0 | TechnoFirst-FaceOcean | FRA 69 | Finot-Conq | JMV Industries | 1998 |
| Sébastien Josse (FRA) | 3 / 1 (5th) | Gitana 16 – Edmond de Rothschild | FRA 16 | Verdier / VPLP | Multiplast | 2015 |
| Stéphane Le Diraison (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Compagnie du Lit-Boulogne Billancourt | FRA 92 | Finot-Conq | Neville Hutton | 2007 |
| Tanguy de Lamotte (FRA) | 1 / 1 (10th) | Initiatives-Cœur (2) | FRA 109 | Farr Yacht Design | CDK Technologies | 2006 |
| Thomas Ruyant (FRA) | 0 / 0 | Le Souffle du Nord | FRA 121 | Verdier / VPLP | Indiana Yachting | 2007 |
| Vincent Riou (FRA) | 3 / 1 (5th) | PRB 4 | FRA 85 | Verdier / VPLP | CDK Technologies | 2010 |
| Yann Eliès (FRA) | 2 / 1 (5th) | Quéguiner – Leucémie espoir | FRA 029 | Verdier / VPLP | Eluère | 2007 |