Forty solo skippers taking part in the Vendée Globe race 2024

Helen Fretter

The roster of 40 solo skippers for this November’s famous solo non-stop round the world race, the Vendée Globe is now complete

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IMOCA teams have been anxiously counting the qualification miles for this year’s around the world race after 44 skippers initially entered, but organisers stood firm on a limit of 40 competitors (increased since previous editions).

With 13 skippers gaining priority after building new IMOCA 60s for the race, and one ‘wildcard’ entry to be awarded by organisers, that left 26 spots determined by how many miles skippers clocked up in qualifying races.

Inevitably, some skippers had to drop out of the hunt due to funding or their boats not being ready in time, including Briton Phil Sharp, who is building an ambitious hydrogen-powered IMOCA.

Gear failure brought some campaigns into jeopardy, such as Clarisse Crémer, who was one of the last skippers to begin building miles. Crémer was in danger of not finishing the Transat CIC after her L’Occitane en Provence suffered structural damage in the early stages. She pulled into the Azores, repaired, and continued across the Atlantic – chasing the cutoff finish time – to secure the critical qualifying miles.

In the end, 42 skippers qualified for the race, leaving 27-year-old Brit James Harayda, Gosport-based Oliver Heer and French entrant François Guiffant praying for a ‘wildcard’ entry.

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A petition was started to extend the entry numbers by two – signed by fellow skippers including Sam Davies – but organisers confirmed that this race (and the 2028 and 2032 editions) will be limited to 40.

Oliver Heer was awarded the final entry slot. He commented “I am delighted with the decision of the Vendée Globe committee today. Being in position 41 has been incredibly stressful for myself and the team. We have put our hearts and souls into this campaign for the last three years despite some significant setbacks.”

Harayda missed out on qualifying for this year’s race. His team issued a statement saying they were ‘devastated’.

‘Despite having obtained some great results which we are extremely proud of, Gentoo appears to have fallen short by just 300 miles. This is due to not being able to participate in one of the transatlantic qualifying races because of damage to our rigging while on a delivery in 2023.’

The Vendée Globe Skipper 2024

  • Fabrice Amedeo (Nexans – Arts & Fenêtres)
  • Romain Attanasio (Fortinet – Best Western)
  • Eric Bellion (Stand as One)
  • Yannick Bestaven (Maître Coq V)
  • Jérémie Beyou (Charal)
  • Manuel Cousin (Coup de Pouce)
  • Arnaud Boissières (La Mie Câline)
  • Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée)
  • Thomas Ruyant – (For People)
  • Charlie Dalin (Macif Santé Prévoyance)
  • Clarisse Crémer (L’Occitane en Provence)
  • Benjamin Dutreux (Guyot Environnement – Water Family)
  • Benjamin Ferré (Monnoyeur Duo for a Job)
  • Pip Hare (Medallia)
  • Isabelle Joschke (Macsf)Jean Le Cam (Tout Commence en Finistère – Armor Lux)
  • Giancarlo Pedote (Prysmian Group)
  • Alan Roura (Hublot)
  • Maxime Sorel (V and B – Monbana – Mayenne)
  • Damien Seguin (Groupe Apicil)
  • Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG Mori – Global One)
  • Samantha Davies (Initiatives-Cœur)
  • Conrad Colman (Imagine)
  • Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil)
  • Paul Meilhat (Biotherm)
  • Boris Herrmann (Malizia Seaexplorer)
  • Antoine Cornic (Human Immobilier) first time participant in 2024
  • Louis Duc (Groupe Fives – Lantana Environnement) first time participant in 2024
  • Sébastien Marsset (Foussier – Mon Courtier Énergie) first time participant in 2024
  • Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) first time participant in 2024
  • Justine Mettraux (Teamwork.net) first time participant in 2024
  • Sam Goodchild – (For the Planet) first time participant in 2024
  • Guirec Soudée (Freelance.com) first time participant in 2024
  • Denis Van Weynbergh (D’Ieteren Group) first time participant in 2024
  • Szabolcs Weöres (Szabi Racing) first time participant in 2024
  • Jingkun Xu (Singchain Team Haikou) first time participant in 2024
  • Tanguy Le Turquais (Lazare) first time participant in 2024
  • Nicolas Lunven (Holcim – Prb) first time participant in 2024
  • Violette Dorange (Devenir) first time participant in 2024
  • Olivier Heer (Ocean Racing) first time participant in 2024

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