"We've been preparing for it for the past 6 years" - 3 weeks until the Vendée Globe
Over the course of the summer, skipper Denis Van Weynbergh has been focusing on his training and making the final tweaks to his IMOCA D’Ieteren Group. Objective: to get ready for the start of the Vendée Globe, nicknamed the Everest of the Seas.
“80 to 90% of a fruitful Vendée Globe campaign is achieved on land.” Denis sets the tone, having surrounded himself with a close network of people to successfully carry out a series of offshore training sessions with him and finesse the technical preparation of the boat.
“Back in August, I did a lot of sailing with Sébastien Audigane (Jules Verne Trophy record holder aboard the trimaran IDEC Sport). This was a profile we were lacking in the team. He has experience of circumnavigations of the globe. He’s been coaching me on the water and also coaching the team on shore, which was important for us.” In this way, a few improvements have been made to the IMOCA D’Ieteren Group so that Denis can take the start of the Vendée Globe in the best possible conditions on 10 November.
“2024 has really been about ensuring the reliability of the boat. We’ve upgraded all the electronics and made a new cuddy so that I stay drier. We haven’t made any major changes because, in a Vendée Globe year, it’s good to just focus on the details little by little to my mind.” At the same time, there has been a particular focus on physical preparation.
This involves tailored sessions between 4 and 5 times a week and is divided up into various sports like cycling, swimming and weight training. “That’s also important for the mental state. It enables me to get my head around my preparation plan,” explains the Belgian skipper.
On the subject of mental state, Denis has called on the services of a special coach. “I don’t have a set routine. I’m working on my breathing and I’m doing a bit of meditation, which are some of the little rituals I really like to have.”
In mid-September, the competitors were given some in-depth medical training to enable them to master the basics of treating injuries aboard. Indeed, at times, they will be several days from the nearest land whilst they’re at sea so they will have to rely solely on themselves to administer first aid.
Though Denis is now used to sailing in the Atlantic, the Vendée Globe will be his very first round the world race and hence his initiation in the Southern Ocean, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. As a result, in September, Denis devoted his time to studying the weather systems of the globe: “It’s like being at uni. I got out my coloured highlighter pens again and I’ve been underlining certain elements and doing reviews,” he explains.
The pace has also picked up on the media side with the press conference for the race on 19 September, which saw Denis and all the other skippers gathering together at the Seine Musicale in Paris. It was the perfect opportunity for them to chat with the national media, who had come out in force to meet with them.
The fleet of IMOCAs is expected to make the port of Les Sables d’Olonne on 18 October and they are due to take the race start on 10 November! “My team and I will be up and ready to go and we’ll have carried out all our final checks on everything we’ve installed over the past 4-5 years,” concludes Denis.
“For me and a whole section of the fleet, the Vendée Globe is a major first so that adds a whole new dimension. We’re used to transatlantic passages now. I’m not saying that we can do them easily because a single-handed transatlantic is still a challenge, but a Vendée Globe is something else entirely. I have the advantage that I know the channel really well but I’ve never navigated it with 40 to 50 thousand people watching me. It’s going to be a momentous occasion, which we’ve been preparing ourselves for over the past 6 years and we’re looking forward to it as we know that there’s a real infatuation for the race.”