At 1:02pm on Sunday, November 10, they will be alone in the world. And this despite the fact that millions of visitors have come to admire their seaworthy machines docked in Les Sables d’Olonne. Four years after the Covid-19 epidemic, the event was held behind closed doors.

Admittedly, these days, the watch is not the most essential piece of equipment on board: GPS, food and medical kit are undoubtedly more essential. But if you want to keep a grip on time in a daily routine where sleep is no longer an option, a time-measuring instrument is useful. Because running means time. How many days will the fastest solo sailors spend at sea in the tenth edition of the Vendée Globe? The truth is, barely half of all participants manage to complete this non-stop, unassisted solo race, such is the extent to which this adventure requires them to push back their technical, physical and mental limits. Since its first edition in 1989, only 200 sailors have taken part in the Vendée Globe round-the-world race, and just over half of them – 114 in all – have crossed the finish line, after a crazy race of over 50,000 kilometers (31,000 miles). The winner is expected to cross the finish line in January, having spent at least 70 days without setting foot on dry land.

The skippers’ monohulls are 18.28 meters long, with a draught of 4.50 meters. But their gigantic sails enable them to reach a maximum downwind speed of almost 40 knots, making them the most powerful monohulls in the world sailed by a solo skipper. This year, 40 skippers will set sail from Les Sables d’Olonne on November 10, 2024. They will head south to the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, cross the Indian and Pacific oceans and pass Cape Leeuwin in Australia and Cape Horn in South America, before heading north to the finish line in Les Sables d’Olonne. In 2017, Armel Le Cléac’h set a record by winning the race in 74 days. This year, skippers will have to cross the finish line in the time achieved by the last competitor to complete the 2020-21 Vendée Globe, i.e. 116 days, 18 hours, 15 minutes and 46 seconds.

For the second time, independent Swiss watchmaker Ulysse Nardin is partner and Official Timekeeper of the Vendée Globe, following a first partnership in 2020-2021. It is Ulysse Nardin’s job to measure the time spent at sea by the male and female sailors. It has just taken advantage of the start of the race to unveil its Diver NET Vendée Globe, a limited edition of 300 pieces incorporating an incredible selection of recycled and upcycled materials, from steel and carbon fiber to fishing nets. Even more innovative, even if the effort is more symbolic than essential, the movement’s escapement is made from upcycled silicon.

For its part, Hublot has decided to support Swiss skipper Alan Roura, who will be setting off on his third consecutive Vendée Globe aboard Hublot’s IMOCA boat. The 31-year-old sailor will wear his “Big Bang Unico Sailing Team” carbon-fiber collector’s watch on his wrist. “My wish for this Vendée Globe is to share my happiness at sea with my team, my partners and all the Swiss people who follow me,” he explains. Yes, there will be difficulties, hazards and twists of fate. They’re all part of the game. But I want to focus on the positive, and show that a Vendée Globe is above all a great human adventure!”

As for the American high-tech brand Garmin, recently partnered by one of the challengers in the legendary America’s Cup, it will have a strong presence aboard Jérémie Beyou’s Imoca Charal, one of the most successful sailors in French sailing, with three victories in the Solitaire du Figaro, one in the Transat Jacques Vabre and one in the Volvo Ocean Race. Not to mention podium finishes in major races such as the Vendée Globe and the Route du Rhum? Garmin technology enables the Charal Sailing Team to exploit its Imoca to its full potential, with displays, GC 200 cameras on each side of the deck and on the mast giving Jérémie full visibility of the front of the boat and the sails. In addition, the GPSMAP allows all on-board instruments to be grouped together in the cockpit. With the flick of a finger, the solo skipper can activate the cameras, zoom in on the cartography or display a screen copy of the onboard computer. Finally, as official ambassador of the MARQ Captain connected watch, Jérémie Beyou can use it to monitor his fitness level (heart rate, sleep time, etc.) and consult sailing data (wind strength and direction, boat speed and heading…) directly on his wrist.