--- title: "Vendée Globe 2028: start date, qualification and skippers" description: "Starting 12 November 2028 at 13:02 from Les Sables-d'Olonne: 40 places, a solo race to finish, a points championship and the first declared candidates." url: "https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/blog/vendee-globe-2028-start-date-qualification-skippers" lang: "en" --- # Vendée Globe 2028: start date, qualification and skippers Published November 6, 2026 by [Antoine Labbe](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/about) ![Bernard Stamm's IMOCA Cheminées Poujoulat, entered in the 2012 Vendée Globe](https://www.offshoreraces.app/photos/race-vendee-globe.jpg) *Photo: Claude Carnot, [CC BY-SA 3.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/), [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:D%C3%A9part_Bernard_Stamm_Sables_d%27Olonne_Vend%C3%A9e_Globe_%289%29.jpg)* **In short.** The 11th Vendée Globe starts from Les Sables-d'Olonne on **Sunday 12 November 2028 at 13:02** Paris time. At most forty skippers will set off on this solo, non-stop, unassisted race around the world aboard IMOCA monohulls. To get in, a skipper must finish a major solo race before summer 2028 and rank among the top 37 of a points championship; the organiser can invite three more. The [Route du Rhum 2026](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/route-du-rhum/live), under way now, is one of the qualifying races. ## Date and course The notice of race sets the start on Sunday 12 November 2028 off Les Sables-d'Olonne, and the finish line closes on Saturday 10 March 2029 at 13:02 ([Vendée Globe 2028 notice of race](https://www.vendeeglobe.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/avis-de-courses_2028.pdf)). The 13:02 start time is confirmed by the Vendée department ([vendee.fr](https://www.vendee.fr/actualite/vendee-globe-2028-date-de-depart-nouveautes-qualifications-pour-tout-savoir-sur-la-11e-edition)). The course stays the same: down the Atlantic, the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn left to port, then back up to the Vendée, all north of an Antarctic exclusion zone. Follow it on [the Vendée Globe page](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/vendee-globe) and the [Les Sables-d'Olonne starts page](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/starts/les-sables-d-olonne). The whole year is in [the 2028 offshore racing calendar](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/calendar/2028). ## How to qualify Two conditions, both required ([notice of race](https://www.vendeeglobe.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/avis-de-courses_2028.pdf)): 1. **Finish a solo race**, ranked, on the Vendée Globe boat, in no more than **twice the winner's time**. Five races count: the Vendée Arctique 2026, the **Route du Rhum 2026**, Retour à la Base 2027, [The Transat CIC](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/the-transat) 2028 and the New York Vendée 2028. 2. **Rank in the top 37 of the IMOCA Globe Series championship**, which counts points scored between 10 November 2024 and 1 July 2028. Races are split into four grades: The Ocean Race 2027 is grade 1, the Transat Café L'Or 2027 grade 2. Only the nine best results in grades 1 to 3 count, so a skipper can miss a race for technical, personal or medical reasons ([vendee.fr](https://www.vendee.fr/actualite/vendee-globe-2028-date-de-depart-nouveautes-qualifications-pour-tout-savoir-sur-la-11e-edition)). The organiser keeps up to **three invitations**. The final line-up will only be known in summer 2028. ## Entry timeline | Step | Date | | --- | --- | | Applications open | 16 February 2026 | | Applications close | 10 September 2027, noon | | Entries open | 17 September 2027 | | End of the points period | 1 July 2028 | | Entries close | 8 September 2028, noon | | Start | 12 November 2028, 13:02 | | Finish line closes | 10 March 2029, 13:02 | Source: [Vendée Globe 2028 notice of race](https://www.vendeeglobe.org/sites/default/files/2025-11/avis-de-courses_2028.pdf). ## What changes in 2028 - **Less fuel**: 60 usable litres, plus 60 sealed litres as a safety reserve. In 2024 the fleet used about 240 litres on average; onboard power will have to come mostly from wind turbines, solar panels or hydrogenerators ([vendee.fr](https://www.vendee.fr/actualite/vendee-globe-2028-date-de-depart-nouveautes-qualifications-pour-tout-savoir-sur-la-11e-edition)). - **Science**: 100% of the fleet will carry oceanographic instruments. - **Prize money**: €1 million in total, including €250,000 for the winner, up from €200,000 in 2024. What an IMOCA costs is covered in [how much does an offshore racing boat cost](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/blog/offshore-racing-boat-price-ultim-imoca-class40). - **Older boats welcome**: as in 2024, any IMOCA measured after 1 January 2005 can race ([Vendée Globe](https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/article/outline-rules-vendee-globe-2028-are-published)). ## The first candidates The official candidates page lists four skippers: **Loïs Berrehar** (Banque Populaire 14), **Benjamin Dutreux** (4CAD Group Sailing Team), **Justine Mettraux** (TeamWork – Team Snef) and **Yoann Richomme** (Paprec) ([Vendée Globe](https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/2028-candidates)). Berrehar's IMOCA is due to be launched in spring 2027; Mettraux, who holds the race's women's record, is having her first new boat built. The 2028-generation IMOCAs are already leaving the yards: Thomas Ruyant, then Kojiro Shiraishi with DMG MORI Global One have launched theirs, with Boris Herrmann's next ([Vendée Globe](https://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/article/2028-generation-imoca-launches-keep-coming)). The IMOCAs racing the Route du Rhum are already playing for qualification: they are listed in [the IMOCAs and their skippers](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/blog/route-du-rhum-2026-imoca-skippers), with their positions on the [live tracker](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/route-du-rhum/live). ## The record to beat The record belongs to [Charlie Dalin](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/skippers/charlie-dalin), winner of the 2024-2025 edition in **64 days 19 hours 22 minutes and 49 seconds**. He died in June 2026, aged 42, of a cancer he had revealed after his victory ([franceinfo](https://www.franceinfo.fr/sports/voile/charlie-dalin/mort-de-charlie-dalin-la-disparition-brutale-d-un-heros-du-large_8056412.html), [IMOCA class](https://www.imoca.org/en/news/news/thank-you-charlie)). The story of the record is told in [Vendée Globe: the history of the record](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/blog/vendee-globe-record-history). ## Frequently asked questions ### When does the Vendée Globe 2028 start? On Sunday 12 November 2028 at 13:02 Paris time, off Les Sables-d'Olonne in the Vendée, France. ### How many skippers will start the Vendée Globe 2028? Forty at most: the top 37 of the IMOCA Globe Series championship who have completed their qualifying race, plus up to three invited by the organiser. ### How do you qualify for the Vendée Globe 2028? Finish, ranked, one solo race of the programme (Vendée Arctique 2026, Route du Rhum 2026, Retour à la Base 2027, The Transat CIC 2028 or New York Vendée 2028) on your own boat in less than twice the winner's time, and rank in the top 37 of the points championship closed on 1 July 2028. ### Which skippers are candidates for the Vendée Globe 2028? The official page lists Loïs Berrehar, Benjamin Dutreux, Justine Mettraux and Yoann Richomme. More will join until applications close on 10 September 2027. ### What is the Vendée Globe record? 64 days 19 hours 22 minutes and 49 seconds, set by Charlie Dalin in the 2024-2025 edition. In this article 1. Date and course 2. How to qualify 3. Entry timeline 4. What changes in 2028 5. The first candidates 6. The record to beat 7. Frequently asked questions ## Races in this article - **[Vendée Globe](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/vendee-globe)** The solo, non-stop, unassisted race around the world. Start: Les Sables-d'Olonne · Finish: Les Sables-d'Olonne · 24,300 nm · Next start: November 12, 2028 [IMOCA](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/classes/imoca) - **[Route du Rhum](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/route-du-rhum)** The solo transatlantic race from Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe. Start: Saint-Malo · Finish: Pointe-à-Pitre · 3,542 nm · Racing since November 1, 2026 [Ultim](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/classes/ultim) [IMOCA](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/classes/imoca) [Ocean Fifty](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/classes/ocean-fifty) [Class40](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/classes/class40) - **[The Transat CIC](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/the-transat)** The former OSTAR, the solo transatlantic race to New York. Start: Lorient · Finish: New York · 3,500 nm · Next start: 2028 (to be confirmed) [IMOCA](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/classes/imoca) [Class40](https://www.offshoreraces.app/en/classes/class40)