© A.Courcoux/Virbac-Paprec Sailing Team

J.P. Dick's Virbac-Paprec is one of a half dozen boats built for the 2012-'13 edition of the Vendée Globe. Whether the new rules will improve the boats' safety and speed is a subject of debate.

IMOCA organizers say that the six newest boats signed up for the Vendée Globe are the fastest and safest in the history of the fabled solo, non-stop, around-the-world race. But with seven months until the start, there is significant disagreement on what advantages, if any, the new boats will have over boats built for previous editions of the race.

© Th. Martinez/ BPCE

Loick Peyron and his Banque Populaire team arrive in Brest, France, after breaking the Jules Verne record with a 45-day circumnavigation.

Earlier this month, Loick Peyron and his 13-member crew completed a 45-day, round-the-world sprint aboard the 130-foot trimaran Banque Populaire V to earn the Jules Verne trophy. Since then, Peyron and crew have been the center of media attention in France. Primetime newscasts here show BPV arriving in Brest, where more than 1,000 spectators braved the winter weather just to catch a glimpse of Peyron and company. It was as if the crowd was gathered at the Cannes Film Festival, trying to steal a peak at Johnny Depp or Penelope Cruz.

© Alexis Courcoux

The 2011 Transat Jacques Vabre started two days late due to very strong winds and rough seas.

The weather report was ugly. With less than 48 hours before the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre, sailors were looking at heading into the Atlantic from Le Havre, France, in steady, 40-knot side winds with 60-knot gusts and confused seas of well over 30 feet. There was a chance the fleet of Multi 50s, IMOCA Open 60s, and Class 40s could've slogged through the nastiness and made its way across the ocean to Costa Rica, but that was far from certain.

© Courtesy Servane Escoffier

During the 2010 Route du Rum, Servane Escoffier crossed the Atlantic aboard the aging, lumbering giant of a catamaran, Saint Malo 2015.

Living in St. Malo, France, you run into a lot of talented sailors who have no problem mustering the seamanship skills, mental toughness, and incredible physical stamina required to face fabled offshore challenges like the Vendee Globe and the Barcelona World Race. The one thing many lack, however, is the sponsorship needed to fund a top-level campaign. While working hard to convince sponsors to invest big money in exchange for publicity, brand awareness, or whatever it is that marketing folks seek, these aspiring offshore sailors work day jobs like the rest of us.