WHAT A WEEK FOR SAILING!

The Vendée Globe and the America’s Cup has kept us glued to our screens and caused a lot of late nights

Do we all agree it’s been a great week for sailing?

Like you, many of us within the North Sails family were glued to our screens and had a few late nights, fueled by the Vendée Globe’s excitement, quickly followed by the start of The PRADA Cup Semi-Finals in Auckland.

VENDEE GLOBE LIVE BLOG PRADA CUP LIVE BLOG

Let’s start with the Vendée Globe – the closest finish for this incredible around the world race ever. Nine IMOCAs crossed the line within 30 hours, and all nine of those skippers chose North Sails to power their engine above deck. Beyond, 22 skippers who started the 9th edition of the Vendée Globe had North Sails onboard during their solo, non-stop, and without assistance adventure.

The 2020-21 Vendée Globe is the closest finish for this incredible around the world race ever. Nine IMOCAs crossed the line within 30 hours, and all nine of those skippers chose North Sails to power their engine above deck.

For 80 days, the Vendée Globe left us on the edge of our seats, and the race finish was no exception. To start, this race unofficially has multiple winners, Apivia’s Charlie Dalin took line honors, while Maitre COQ’s Yannick Bestaven was crowned the overall race winner, after a 10-hour, 15-minute time credit for his support in Kévin Escoffier’s rescue. Boris Herrmann, who was in the leading pack of three, collided with a fishing boat 90 miles off from the finish. Herrmann limped into Les Sables-d’Olonne line with a badly bruised boat, ultimately claiming 5th overall. Herrmann is the first German sailor to partake in this iconic race. With the French sailors filling the majority of the roster, Giancarlo Pedote (8th overall) claimed the highest finish position of any Italian to have entered the Vendeé Globe.

And then there was race veteran and fan-favorite Jean le Cam. Le Cam secured fourth place on the leaderboard after receiving a time compensation of 16 hours and 15 minutes for his assistance to Kévin Escoffier. He won the hearts of fans worldwide for his bold recovery mission of Escoffier from his life raft on December 1st. In a race where emotions ran high, Escoffier was at the finish line to welcome Le Cam into Les Sables-d’Olonne.

Les Sables-d’Olonne is continuing to welcome the 2020-21 fleet back home. We’ll be keeping tabs and sharing more updates as they become available.

We also have the America’s Cup! From near sinkings to do-or-die racing (on 75ft foiling monohulls nonetheless), the 36th America’s Cup literally has it all.

As we write this update Luna Rossa PRADA Pirelli sit two points ahead of American Magic after Day One of the PRADA Cup Semi-Finals. The team to claim four points first secures their ticket to the Finals against INOES Team UK. Day 2 begins at 1500 NZL time today. Can Luna Rossa wrap this up on Day 2 or will racing continue through the weekend. For now, we’re on standby.