Created in June 2020 and organised by the IMOCA Class and See-to-Sea, the Vendée-Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne was intended to replace two major races in the IMOCA GLOBE SERIES Championship, The Transat CIC and the New-York-Vendée-Les Sables d'Olonne, both of which have been cancelled due to the health situation, but which are essential for the qualifications for the 2020 Vendée Globe

This first edition was a success with the participation of 20 IMOCA boats. The event was won by Jérémie Beyou (Charal) in 10 days, 5 hours, 14 minutes and 8 seconds, closely followed by Charlie Dalin (APIVIA) and Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut).

The second edition of the race started on 12 June 2022, with a course of 3,500 miles (6,600 km) taking the fleet around Iceland before returning to Port Olona. Due to weather conditions, the course was initially shortened with a vital point to round to the south-east of Iceland, a point that would become the finish line of the race a few hours later. So Charlie Dalin, on APIVIA, won this edition after four days of racing.

This event, which has a coefficient of 4 for the IMOCA GLOBE SERIES, was the first qualifying stage for the 2024 Vendée Globe. Thus, the skipper-boat tandems having completed the Vendée Arctic are qualified in sporting terms.