The Vendée Globe is a legendary solo, non-stop, and unassisted around-the-world sailing race. Held once every four years, it starts from Les Sables-d’Olonne, France. Participants cover about 45,000 kilometers, rounding the three major capes: Good Hope, Leeuwin, and Horn.
The 2024–2025 edition, which started on November 10, 2024, marks the tenth edition of the race. However, Vendée Globe is more than just a test of endurance—it has also become a scientific expedition, contributing to ocean research.
A Sailing Race as a Floating Laboratory
Many participants in the Vendée Globe transform their yachts into floating research stations. For example, skipper Paul Meilhat has equipped his boat with an automated microscope to study plankton. Despite facing harsh weather conditions off the coast of Uruguay, he continues to explore the biodiversity of the Southern Ocean.
This microscope pumps seawater through a laser, detecting phytoplankton—tiny organisms that are essential to the marine ecosystem. When plankton is detected, the device automatically captures high-resolution images of individual cells. By the midpoint of the race, Meilhat had already collected nearly a million images, significantly contributing to marine life research.
Who Supports the Research?
This initiative is backed by the Tara Ocean Foundation, which has been studying ocean ecosystems for over 20 years. Their previous expeditions have identified more than 100,000 new species of microalgae and provided extensive genetic data on marine biodiversity.
Additionally, half of the Vendée Globe participants deploy Argo floats—autonomous sensors that measure ocean temperature and salinity at depths of up to 2,000 meters. These data help improve the prediction of ocean currents and weather conditions, making them crucial for both science and environmental studies.
Why Is This Important?
Phytoplankton plays a key role in the planet’s carbon cycle, absorbing CO₂ from the atmosphere. Studying its behavior allows scientists to better understand how the ocean influences the climate and the processes occurring in its depths.
Vendée Globe 2024 is not just a race—it is a powerful example of how sports and science can work together, unveiling new horizons in ocean exploration.