Saturday is the big day. At 13:02hrs (French, 1202hrs UTC) the twenty solo skippers who will compete in the Vendée Globe solo non stop around the world race take the start line, heading into the open ocean for their legendary passage round the three great Capes. As it is at each successive start, every four years Les Sables d’Olonne will be engulfed by huge crowds of passionate fans. Here is everything you need to know about following the race start on land and sea.
Start day
In Les Sables d’Olonne
Follow the signs to the Vendée Globe village where there will be live coverage of the docking out of the skippers (note that the pontoons will no longer be accessible to the public from Thursday, November 8, 20 hours). At 9:30 am, after the parade of legendary boats which starts at 0845hrs. Cheminées Poujoulat be the first to leave the pontoons Port Olona and boats will follow one another every 4 minutes, until 10:46. Banque Populaire will be the last to cast off. The famous channel from the marina out to the sea and also the main beaches will then be good places to watch the parade of boats.
Live and Direct TV
Thanks to a unique (13 cameras on land, air and sea, 5 live aboard IMOCA 60’s), the Vendée Globe start will be broadcast live on TF1, France 3, Planète Thalassa +, BFM TV, Infosport +, iTV, LCI, Sport +, L'Equipe TV and TV Vendée. Other channels will broadcast," including France 3 Region (Upper and Lower Normandy, Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Poitou-Charentes). Internationally, six channels also broadcast live the start of the race: France 24, SkyItalia, nsport Léman Bleu Poland and Switzerland, BBC and ITV.
Find the complete list of channels broadcasting on the departure site www.vendeeglobe.fr, "How to watch the start."
Internet / applications for iPhone and Android tablets / official social networks
9am to 13:45, the departure of the pontoons, the output of the channel and the start of the 7th Vendée Globe and the first minutes of the race will be filmed and broadcast live on www.vendeeglobe.org and www.dailymotion.com / VendeeGlobeTV with commentary from Pierre-Louis Castelli and Alain Gautier (French) and Clare MacNaughton and Alec Wilkinson (English). Also find all the information, photos, recent stories and information at www.vendeeglobe.org, www.facebook.com / VendeeGlobe and official twitter account @ VendeeGlobe.
On November 10, tracking and ranking of the website will be updated at 14h, 15h and 16h.
On the water
For sailors wishing to watch the start on the water, listen to VHF channel 1 for complete information and instructions useful (and dual standby on channel 16). Access to and from Port Olona between 8:45 and 12:15. Once on the water, boaters must observe the safety zone established by the Race Direction, marked by yellow cylindrical buoys and red.tetrahedrals.
Who will be on the race committee boat: Bruno Retailleau, President of the Vendée Council, Bernard Schmeltz, prefect of Vendée and François Cluzet (the patron of the race) and his wife. At 13:02hrs, the French actor, currently filming for the movie "En Solitaire", will sound the official start gun of the 7th Vendée Globe.
From November 11
From Sunday, November 11, Race HQ (equipped with a TV studio and open to the public) moves to Paris, in front of the Montparnasse Tower, until the end of January.
On the website, social networking applications and official reports find all the news, pictures and skippers quotes.
Tracking and rankings are updated 5 times a day: 5:00, 9:00, 12:00, 16:00 and 20:00 French time.
Every day at 12:30, 45 minutes of live vacation with the sailors, in public, filmed and broadcast live on the site.
The TV images of the Vendée Globe will be broadcast by over 60 channels to reach two billion households in 180 countries.
For all practical information, visit www.vendeeglobe.org under "Follow the start."
Opening hours
The Race Village opens from 10AM to 8PM until November 11 (free admission).
Extended opening hours (until 10PM): November 9.
The Race Village will be exceptionally open from 8AM to 8PM on November 10 and from 10AM to 6PM on November 11.
Pontoons open from 10AM to 8PM every day until November 8 (included).
For further information (pictures, videos…), please visit Vendée Globe’s press area: http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/
Photo Credit: Jena Marie Liot
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