The Dx Adventure Radio Club (DA-RC) is thrilled to announce that 14DA496 Rino will be QRV as a Special Event Station, celebrating the Vendée Globe Yacht Race.
The Vendée Globe is considered an extreme quest of individual endurance and the ultimate test in ocean racing.
Named after his own department—Vendee—where the race starts and ends in Les Sables-d’Olonne, this is an exciting single-handed non-stop round the world race fought out by some of the outstanding vessels in the world.
History reveals that the Vendée Globe Yacht Race was founded as “The Globe Challenge” in 1989 by French yachtsman Philippe Jeantot.
Since 1992 it has taken place every four years, generally covering approximately 24,000 nautical miles (44,000 km) and running from November to February.
According to Rino, the race presents significant challenges; most notably the severe wind and wave conditions in the Southern Ocean.
Such is the extreme danger of the Vendée Globe Yacht Race that, to mitigate risks, competitors are required to undergo medical and survival courses prior to taking the water.
They must also be able to demonstrate prior racing experience; either a completed single-handed trans-oceanic race or the completion of a previous Vendée Globe.
In fact, tragically, in the 1996–97 race Canadian Gerry Roufs was lost at sea.
Circumnavigating along the clipper route, the long unassisted duration of the race, and the fact that the race takes competitors far from the reach of any normal emergency response ensure that significant proportion of the entrants usually retired.
According to the rules, competitors may stop at anchor, but may not draw alongside a quay or another vessel; they may receive not outside assistance, including customized WX or routing information.
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