The Vendée Globe round-the-world regatta has passed the equator!

The first participants in the Vendée Globe have successfully crossed the equator.

The competition started on Sunday, November 8th, with 27 athletes and 6 athletes taking part. And on November 19, it became known that the British yachtsman Alex Thomson on the yacht HUGO BOSS, considered the favorite of the race, was the first to cross the equator, entering the South Atlantic. Due to difficult weather conditions, it took him 9 days 23 hours 59 minutes to achieve this goal (the record is 9 days 7 hours 2 minutes). However, as the weather reports show, the yachtsman has every chance to catch up on the way ahead.

At the moment, the second place belongs to the Frenchman Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut. The top three includes another representative of France - Charlie Dahlin on the yacht APIVIA.

At the time of writing the news, the number of participants who also crossed the equator has already exceeded 12 people. At the same time, the greatest distance in the last 24 hours of the race was covered by Sebastian Simon on ARKEA PAPREC - 934.4 km, with a maximum speed of 38.9 km/h. Finishing the race was Ari Huusela from Finland on STARK, who covered 575 km at a maximum speed of 23.9 km/h.

It wasn't without problems. So, the Japanese Kojiro Shiraishi on DMG MORI Global One, was forced to make a stop due to a torn mainsail. Now he is already in 30th place, but he hopes to continue the race.

To date Vendee Globe is the only round-the-world regatta for solo yachtsmen. It is held in the southern latitudes, characterized by difficult conditions and is considered the most difficult competition in the world of yachting. The regatta runs non-stop and yachtsmen cannot count on receiving assistance due to the remoteness of the route, which is 44,996 km long.

The Vendée Globe has been held every 4 years since 1989. The record - 74 days 3 hours 35 minutes and 46 seconds - was set in 2013 by the French yachtsman Armel Le Clay.