The 2008 Vendee Globe race has begun. It is an around-the-world non-stop solo sailboat race. The means one person sails their boat (typically 60') from France, down the Atlantic, West under The Cape of Good Hope, under Australia, under Cape Horn, then back up the Atlantic to France without stopping and without any outside assistance at all... and it's a race. Sailing is massively popular in France so they are overrepresented as usual, but there is one American skipper this year. You can follow the race here:
http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/
http://www.vendeeglobe.org/en/