French sailor Marc Thiercelin is participating in the Vendée Globe, one of the world’s toughest sailing races. The race commenced from the harbour of Les Sables d’Olonne in France on 7 November 2004. Thiercelin's boat Pro Form has been equipped with several advanced technologies from Europe's space programmes, including lighter batteries, more efficient solar cells and an intelligent energy management system – these have cut critical weight and optimised the vital electricity systems on board.