2024: D’Ieteren Group Sailing sets a course for the Vendée Globe
As we crack open this new year, Denis Van Weynbergh and his team will be devoting themselves to their main objective: to make the start of the non-stop, unassisted round the world race, the Vendée Globe departing on 10 November 2024. To achieve that a packed 4-season programme awaits them.
To kick off the year with a flourish, the IMOCA D’Ieteren Group will undergo a refresh at the Eole Performance yard in Port Bourgenay (near Les Sables d’Olonne) this January. It is the perfect opportunity to make a few necessary modifications for the upcoming races this spring.
With his foulies consigned to the wardrobe for now, Denis will be getting out his suit!
Indeed, our skipper will also use this winter break to visit D’Ieteren Group’s various subsidiaries to meet up with their teams and share the details of his adventures and his project with them.
IMOCA D'Ieteren Group taken out of the water and stripped of her shell - 11/01/24
With the finer weather, the circuit of offshore races will begin again, starting with The Transat CIC, which will set sail from Lorient on 28 April 2024. The first single-handed transatlantic for 2024.
To return to Les Sables d’Olonne, the fleet of IMOCAs will set off on a second single-handed transatlantic race, the NY Vendée-Les Sables d’Olonne, which starts on 29 May 2024.
Both these races will be an opportunity for Denis to continue raising his game and to check the modifications made to the boat during the winter refit.
Within this context, our Belgian skipper must meet one last condition in order to validate his qualification for the Vendée Globe: to finish at least one of these two transatlantic races within a maximum course time of 1.5 times greater than that of the winner of the race in question.
It’s a challenge made possible for our skipper thanks to the support of his team of volunteers, who are devoted to the project year-round.
Whilst the tourists are making the most of the vast beach on the fringes of Les Sables d’Olonne, the summer will be more studious for Denis, who intends to make the most of this period for a series of test sails in false solo format (the skipper is not alone on the boat in this instance, but he has control of all the boat’s operations and manoeuvring) and physical fitness training. The IMOCA D’Ieteren Group will then go in for her final refit in September.
Objective: unstep the mast, haul out and carry out a complete check of the boat prior to the start of the main event.
Next up, the whole of Denis’ team will turn their attention to the main event on D’Ieteren Group Sailing’s racing programme: making the Vendée Globe start line on 10 November 2024.Earning his ticket for the race meet on 10 November 2024 and ranking among the 40 skippers able to take the start of the Everest of the Seas would be a victory in itself for Denis and all his team.
Within that context, he would have the opportunity to take on the challenge he has set himself: to become the first Belgian skipper to complete this legendary race!
A very busy year awaits then and it is sure to be a thrilling ride. Follow these adventures on Facebook and Instagram.
Transat Jacques Vabre: Finished
Retour à La Base: Finished
The Transat CIC: start on 28 April 2024
NY Vendée - Les Sables: start on 29 May 2024
Vendée Globe: start on 10 November 2024
To date, Denis has already covered 11,386 nautical miles and validated the start of the Retour à La Base. As such, in order to qualify, he has to finish two transatlantic passages in 2024, The Transat CIC and the NY Vendée-Les Sables, within the time allowed. Now it’s over to the winter refit to continue the boat’s optimisation before the return to competition in April with the 2024 edition of The Transat CIC (Lorient > New York). In the meantime, Denis will make the most of his time on land to go and visit the group’s various entities in early 2024!
