Alex Thomson's British built (Green Marine, Southampton) Hugo Boss, from the 2016 Vendee Globe, waits for the start of the 2028 race. Smartly suited and booted, in assertive carbon black, beneath the shimmering white heat of the midday sun. Now under the command of Arnaud Boissieres.
Stargazer left Ile d'Yeu in the predawn cool. Her skipper, dressed in shorts and polo shirt, watching as the flames of sunrise lick the horizon. Red turns to pink turns to orange.
Heralding the appearance of the incandescent orb itself.
Stargazer clears the southern tip of Yeu. Making better than six knots, with the help of the Vent Nocturne and a fair tide.
Orange turns to gold, upon the canvas of Stargazer's tautly bellied sails.
Then to a diamond sharp white. To match the foam flecked bow wave, Which streams aft over azure waters.
Wind and tide begin to flag by mid morning. Exhausted by an exuberant sun close to its midsummer zenith. Stargazer skirts Les Barges reefs to shorten her distance in.
Slowly we overtake the red topped land bound lighthouse.
Stargazer closes the pierheads of Les Sables d'Olonne's famous channel. Which turns into a spectator lined amphitheatre, every four years, for the Vendee Globe race.
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