At just less than five months before the start of the Vendée Globe, twenty IMOCA skippers set off today (Saturday 4th July) to compete in the first race of the season: the Vendée-Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne. The race course is unprecedented for the IMOCA class and major ocean races, taking the fleet on a northwards loop to a mark south of Iceland then passing the Azores then returning to Les Sables d'Olonne. There will be no shortage of challenges for the skippers and their craft.
