( CNN ) -- After less than a week at sea , the Vendee Globe single-handed round the world yacht race has lived up to its moniker as `` the world 's toughest race '' -- with nearly a quarter of the field crashing out in the first few days . Earlier this week , 20 sailors set off from Las Sables d'Olonne in France to begin the 38,700 kilometer circumnavigation -- in which they are expected to battle everything from fierce storms in the Southern Ocean to the dreaded doldrums of the equator , with just themselves and an 18 meter yacht for company . In the six editions of the race , first held in 1989 , only half of the competitors have ever completed it . So it is yet another testament , if one were needed , to the Vendee Globe 's notorious difficulty that after five days , four competitors have already pulled out . French skipper Marc Guillemot retired on the first day after his boat Safran broke her keel , just 95 kilometers off the coast of France . Guillemont , 53 , had been one of the favorites to win this year 's Globe after finishing third in the last race , held in 2008-2009 . Day two was similarly dramatic with compatriot Kito de Pavant , 51 , also pulling out after his yacht Groupe Bel was struck by a fishing boat off the coast of Portugal . `` I went to sleep at the wrong time , '' De Pavant told organizers . `` I am not angry at the fisherman but at me because it should not have happened . You ca n't anticipate this , '' he said . Skippers are pushed to the limit , sleeping in snatches as they first sail the Atlantic , then the Southern Ocean , round Cape Horn and head back through the Atlantic to France -- all in the hope of winning $ 190,600 in prize money . When Sir Robin Knox-Johnston made history as the first person to sail non-stop around the world in 1969 , the epic voyage took him more than 10 months . Fast forward 20 years and the Globe 's competitors are expected to complete the course in just 90 days . French sailors have won all previous races , held every four years , with Michel Desjoyeaux taking the last one . But the third casualty was another Frenchman , Vende Globe first timer Louis Burton who , like his compatriot De Pavant , endured a dramatic collision with a shipping trawler on Wednesday . Finally , hoping to have made history as the only woman to ever win the race was Briton Samantha Davies , the only female sailor in this year 's competition . But the mother-of-one , who finished fourth in 2009-2009 , announced Thursday that the mast of her Open 60 Saveol yacht had come crashing down in rough seas north of Madeira in the Atlantic . Both Davies and Burton are prevented by race rules from stopping at the nearest port to make repairs with a return to Les Sables d'Olonnes the only option under the rules for a repair and continuation . In both cases , however , their boats are too badly damaged to make the six-day journey back to France . For the remaining 16 contestants -- currently led by 35 year-old Frenchmen Armel Le Cleac ' h -- it 's just the beginning of what is shaping up to be another drama-packed Vendee Globe .
Vendee Globe around the world yacht race sets sail from Les Sables d'Olonne , France . 20 sailors in 18m yachts single-handedly race around world in 90 days . Score: 6 Five days in to race and already four sailors have pulled out .