One month ago, French sailor, Armel Le Cléac’h, 39, crossed the finish line at Les Sables d’Olonne, France to win the 8th Vendée Globe. Since then another 10 boats have followed Le Cléac’h across the line. It is a testimony to the enormity of the single-handed around-the-world race that seven of the original 29 to set sail are still racing, in a competition where finishing is a victory in its own right. Even of the original 29 racers withdrew from the race.

The closest of the remaining racers is Alan Roura sailing La Fabruque, who is less than 100 nm from the finish, while the farthest is Sebastien Destremau sailing TechnoFirst – faceOcean, who has over 3,000 nm to sail. Rich Wilson, sailing Great American IV, , the oldest sailor in the race at 66, will in all likelihood be the next to follow Roura across the finish line. Roura is the youngest sailor in the Vendee Globe at 23.

Conrad Colman, sailing Foresight Natural Energy, was dismasted just over a week ago but has managed to jury rig a mast using his boom and has kept sailing. He commented, “Never have I worked so hard to go so slowly!”  He should finish just behind Rich Wilson. 

Didac Costa sailing One Planet One Ocean, Romain Attanasio on Family Mary – Étamine du Lys, and Pieter Heerema sailing No Way Back, round out the remaining racers, spread across the Atlantic from around 800 to 2,000 nm from the finish.