Vendée Globe record: from 109 days to 64
The Vendée Globe is a solo, non-stop, unassisted race around the world, starting and finishing in Les Sables-d'Olonne. Since the first edition in 1989, the winning time has dropped by more than 44 days. That gain tells the story of the IMOCA monohulls, from conventional sails to foils.
The current record: Charlie Dalin, 64 days
The record belongs to Charlie Dalin, winner of the 2024-2025 edition on MACIF Santé Prévoyance in 64 days 19 hours 22 minutes and 49 seconds, finishing in January 2025. He beat Armel Le Cléac'h's 2017 time by more than nine days. Yoann Richomme, second, also finished inside the old record (France 3 Normandie, in French).
How the record evolved
Winning times, from the official Vendée Globe key figures:
| Edition | Winner | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1989-90 | Titouan Lamazou | 109 d 8 h 48 |
| 1992-93 | Alain Gautier | 110 d 2 h 22 |
| 1996-97 | Christophe Auguin | 105 d 20 h 31 |
| 2000-01 | Michel Desjoyeaux | 93 d 3 h 57 |
| 2004-05 | Vincent Riou | 87 d 10 h 47 |
| 2008-09 | Michel Desjoyeaux | 84 d 3 h 9 |
| 2012-13 | François Gabart | 78 d 2 h 16 |
| 2016-17 | Armel Le Cléac'h | 74 d 3 h 35 |
| 2020-21 | Yannick Bestaven | 80 d 3 h 44 |
| 2024-25 | Charlie Dalin | 64 d 19 h 22 |
The record does not fall every time: in 2020-2021, poor weather in the South Atlantic slowed the whole fleet.
The race's other records
- Women's record: Justine Mettraux, 76 days 1 hour 36 minutes in 2024-2025.
- 24-hour distance: Sébastien Simon, 615.33 miles in the South Atlantic, an average of 25.64 knots.
- Average speed over the course: Yoann Richomme, 17.95 knots.
These figures come from the Vendée Globe key figures page; Dalin's finish is reported by ICI (in French).
Further reading
The course is drawn on the Vendée Globe page of the globe, and the next edition is in the 2028 calendar. Other races starting from Les Sables-d'Olonne are listed on the Les Sables starts page. With a crew, the world is sailed much faster: see the Jules Verne Trophy record. Two-handed, the benchmark remains the Barcelona World Race.