Vendee Globe route seen from above   The Vendee Globe solo round-the-world yacht race started on 9 November 2008 in Les Sables d'Olonne, western France. ESA’s Envisat satellite radar are being used to observe meteorological conditions.   Strong winds from a southern storm over the Indian Ocean on 6 December 2008 are clearly visible on the south-western side of the image with associated gusts where wind speed can easily reach 50% over the average wind speed.   Storm swells radiating away from a storm over the Indian Ocean on 6 December 2008 on the south-western side of the image are clearly visible on this map in which significant swell height has been overlaid on an Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) sea surface roughness image.   Global observation of swells in the Indian Ocean from Envisat Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) wave mode. Colour indicating the swell wave length together with swell propagation speed and direction are all retrieved from near-real time Envisat ASAR wave mode level-2 products. Release date: 28 February 2012