Vendée Globe - the last man home

How many events are there in the world in which the last placed finisher crosses the line a full 42 days behind the winner?

Not many probably, but that's exactly what happened over the weekend as the Austrian, Norbert Sedlacek, finally sailed into port after 126 days at sea to become the 11th and final competitor to complete the 2008 edition of the Vendée Globe.

It's a single-handed, round-the-world, non-stop yacht race, which first started in 1989 and takes place every four years.

As the event's official website says "There's a first and a last".

And after the winner, Frenchman Michel Desjoyeaux, who crossed the finishing line on February 1, Sunday afternoon saw the arrival of Sedlacek.

It was a marathon journey for the former tram driver from the Austrian capital, Vienna, as he completed the course after 126 days, five hours, 31 minutes and 56 seconds - yes the event really is timed that closely - becoming the first person from his country to finish it in one piece.

That's far from being a foregone conclusion as over the years there have been a number of accidents, broken masts, boats capsizing, dramatic rescue attempts that have received a great deal of media coverage and three men lost at sea.

The latest edition of the race (the sixth) wasn't without its usual "drama on the high seas" but at the very least Sedlacek's arrival marked the "last skipper home" as all of the original 30 starters are now back on dry land safe and sound, even if 19 of them were forced to abandon.

There's no doubt that the race is a gruelling and challenging one. Competitors are not allowed to offer or receive assistance from one another otherwise they'll be disqualified, and even though modern technology means that virtually their every move is filmed and followed, they are alone at sea for the best part of two months - if not longer.

Not surprisingly perhaps, as it's a French-inspired race, many in this country follow the proceedings avidly. There's daily television coverage on several channels while the race for the title is underway, and interviews with the leaders for the duration of the course.

Of the six editions, all the winners have been French.

Desjoyeaux set a new record in winning his second title. He, and the rest of the field left that start/finishing line in Les Sables-d'Olonne, in the Vendée departement of France on the west coast on November 9.

And 84 days, three hours nine minutes and eight seconds (to be absolutely precise once again) at sea, Desjoyeaux was the first to arrive back - with some 24,000 plus nautical miles behind him.

He was followed in roughly five days later by fellow countryman, Armel Le Cléac’h, with the top three being rounded out by yet another Frenchman, Marc Guillemot, who made it back to Les Sables-d'Olonne on February 16.

Taking just one hour longer than him to circumnavigate the globe and arriving fourth was the first "foreigner" and woman, Britain's Samantha Davies.

And so the remaining competitors who completed the course arrived intermittently over the following weeks until finally Sedlacek sailed into port on Sunday afternoon.

For fans who prefer not to brave the high seas and the solitude, there's also the more mundane version - or "virtual" version, which can be "played" from the safety of the sitting room, with the website claiming that over 100,000 skippers have so far made the journey in their slightly less arduous version of the Vendée globe.

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