While in Les Sables d’Olonne competitors continue to stream across the finish line of the Vendée Globe after three and a half months at sea, in Southampton work continues to train up British sailing talent to give them the best chance of competing in the Vendée Globe in four year’s time.

In its first year, Vendée2020Vision helped with the coaching and development of a 10-strong squad of Britain’s top aspirant solo skippers. For 2017, this field has been narrowed to six and will be pared down further towards the end of this season when the intention is for the two top contenders to take part in November’s Transat Jacques Vabre doublehanded transatlantic race.

Whitecap, the Southampton-based company which runs Vendée2020Vision, has now confirmed the 2017 squad: Sam Matson, Will Harris, Sam Goodchild, Andrew Baker, Lizzy Foreman and Henry Bomby