Practical Sailor's gear and boat reviews take the guesswork out of your buying decisions.

Volume 31
Number 1
January 1, 2005

Headings: Future Fixture or Fancy Fad?

Every four years, solo sailing luminaries assemble in France to race non-stop around the world in the Vendée Globe, and the equipment aboard their boats deserves examination as a harbinger of what we may some day see aboard our own boats.

Bonduelle, one of this year's favorites, sails upwind with its keel canted to weather, its leeward daggerboard fully deployed, and both rudders down.

Veteran sailmaker and ocean racer Brian Hancock traveled to Les Sables d'Olonne, France for the start of the fifth edition of this demanding race—around the world, singlehanded, non-stop—and filed the following report.

The Vendée Globe serves as a true test bed for on-board systems and gear because success here depends largely upon reliability. Chances are, the argonauts in this race will spend over 100, hard-charging days at sea, throughout which they must not only pilot their vessels, but maintain the gear that supports them as well. …

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