The 26-year-old, sailing with co-skipper Alain Gautier, led the 14-strong fleet out of Le Havre en route to Brazil on Wednesday morning.

BBC: SPORT | Other Sport | MacArthur leads across line

At least in the short term, Mr Gautier says, government activity in the Arctic has more to do with transport routes than with under-sea riches.

ECONOMIST: The Arctic

"It's a smart business model, starting off small and allowing us to grow, " says Paul Gautier, head of international marketing for Puma, a league-wide sponsor.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Among the teams that set off were the highly rated duo of Britain's Ellen MacArthur and France's Alain Gautier on Foncia, an Open 60 Multihull.

BBC: Transat Jacques Vabre

Don Gautier, who works for that agency, retorts that it has never done a systematic study of the Arctic, or put a figure on its energy riches.

ECONOMIST: The Arctic

Gautier will rediscover his trimaran Foncia after modification work to improve the layout of the deck, which should make manoeuvres much easier to perform for the crew on board.

BBC: The field: Foncia heads favourites

Also last year, Eurofarma bought 93-year-old Uruguayan laboratory Gautier.

FORBES: What Amgen Faces in Brazil