Philippe Jeantot

Biography

Philippe Jeantot (born 8 May 1952 in Antananarivo, Madagascar) is a French former deep sea diver, who achieved recognition as a sailor for long-distance, single-handed racing and record-setting. He founded the Vendée Globe, a single-handed, round-the-world, non-stop yacht race. Jeantot started his career as a deep sea diver, working on oil rigs; in 1977 he took part in the Janus IV dive of the COMEX during which Jacques Verpeaux and Gérard Vial broke the world record for deep diving, at 501 met…