Vendée Globe, UNESCO and the IMOCA Class: when sport and science join forces to protect the ocean

by Vendée Globe media 16 Oct 2024 11:17 BST 10 November 2024

Manuel Cousin, Groupe SETIN © Manuel Cousin / Groupe SETIN

Twenty five sailors who will take part in the Vendée Globe 2024, the biggest ever solo round-the-world race, racing non-stop and without assistance, will take scientific equipment provided by UNESCO and its scientific partners on board their IMOCA yachts to deploy during the race as they look to advance oceanographic research and weather forecasting models. These skippers will receive and be trained in the use of the instruments on October 22 and 23, in Les Sables d'Olonne.

Thanks to the innovative partnership between UNESCO, the Vendée Globe and the IMOCA Class, twenty-five solo skippers have volunteered to take weather-marine measuring instruments on board during the competition.

These skippers will enable the collection and distribution of essential data to scientists in real time looking to expand global knowledge of climate and the ocean, seeking to improve operational weather forecasting services, particularly in the less frequented areas of the globe such as from the Big South, the remote Southern Ocean.

Several types of instruments are being utilised such as surface buoys, weather stations, autonomous Argo subsurface profiling floats, educational buoys (Calitoo) and thermosalinographs.

The data collected during and after the race, as well as the buoys deployed, will feed the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) which is coordinated by UNESCO.

This scientific equipment is provided by a number of institutes sharing the same vision, stakeholders of GOOS: Ifremer, Météo France, UK MetOffice, CNES, GEOMAR, CLS, the TARA Fondation, ETH Zurich. The technical coordination of all these instruments and operations will be ensured by the UNESCO International Centre of Excellence for the Coordination and Monitoring of Meteorological and Oceanographic Observing Systems (OceanOPS).

In line with the environmental commitments made by the Vendée Globe to UNESCO, taking such scientific equipment will be made mandatory for all competitors in the rules of the race from the 2028 edition.

Bureau Vallee 2 - photo © Louis Burton / Bureau Vallee 2

Provisional program

Tuesday, October 22
2 p.m. - 4 p.m., pontoons: Presentation of scientific instruments to the skippers, in the presence of partner scientists and researchers.
4:00-5:30 p.m., Race Village Media Centre: Media time Press briefing

Wednesday, October 23
9:00-10:00 a.m., Conference area: Skippers will familiarize themselves with the protocol to be followed and with the deployment zones previously identified for the use of these instruments.
2:15 p.m., Public Bar: Round table open to the public with representatives from the Vendée Globe, UNESCO, the IMOCA Class, Météo France, Ifremer, CNES and OceanOPS.

Alain Leboeuf, President of the Vendée Globe and the Vendée Department: "Last February, we presented our ten ambitious environmental commitments in partnership with UNESCO. It is important to us that this is now rolled out by real actions such as the embarkation of these measuring devices during the race thanks to the support of many partners. This is a strong gesture from these 25 skippers who are contributing to advancing scientific knowledge about our ocean and thus helping to protect it better."

Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of UNESCO: "To protect the ocean better, we must also know it better. I salute the commitment of the Vendée Globe, the IMOCA Class and the skippers alongside UNESCO to advance oceanographic research by integrating these instruments on board their sailboats. This project illustrates the tremendous potential for cooperation between the worlds of sport and science."

Claire VAYER, co-responsible for sustainability, IMOCA Class: "It is a real achievement to see so many sailors involved in this collaborative project that the IMOCA Class has been proudly carrying out since 2018. After nearly five years of work with all the scientific partners, it is gratifying and encouraging to see how essential the contribution of sailors is to science today. As soon as the Vendée Globe project was announced, many sailors offered their contribution. A record number of scientific instruments will be on board, thus placing science at the heart of our sporting challenges. "