French skipper Louis Burton (Bureau Vallée) has dismasted on the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe while lying in ninth place on the solo race from Saint Malo to Guadeloupe which started on Wednesday at 1415hrs.

He reported the accident at 1700hrs this afternoon. He is uninjured and his team are in contact with him.

Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe Ocean Fifty Class leader Solidarité en Peloton - ARSEP has capsized, the skipper is safe inside the main hull.

Leader of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe in the Ocean Fifty class French skipper Thibaut Vauchel-Camus has capsized this evening when racing in tough conditions between Portugal and the Azores. The solo skipper is not injured and is sheltering in the central hull of his trimaran.

Vauchel-Camus, 43, who had taken the lead in the standings at 2000hrs last night, had just passed through the second cold front since the start of the race and was sailing again towards the south-west on starboard tack when Solidaires En Peloton - ARSEP capsized.

Belgian Class40 skipper Jonas Gerckens has been forced to retire from the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe on Friday evening due to a combination of technical problems, which are exacerbated by his poor state of health.

The 42-year-old solo racer from Liege in Belgium, who is on his second Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe not long after the start, reported that he was suffering from flu-like symptoms (mainly incessant coughing, loss of voice and intense fatigue). The situation continued to deteriorate over time. A general lack of sleep during the first days and nights of the race did not help his health improve.

Gerckens, who is racing a 2021 David Raison designed scow VOLVO 164, was harbouring hopes of a top 10 before he started the 3542 nautical miles race from Saint Malo to Guadeloupe on Wednesday and had made a strong start. But early this afternoon he tore his main J1 headsail and then struggled to get it under control because of his lack of energy and poor health.

Jonas Gerckens - The 42 year old solo racer from Liege in Belgium who is on his second Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe not long after the start reported that he was suffering from flu-like symptoms

“I was exhausted after this manoeuvre which is not usually anything especially hard, I have no more energy I'm at my wit's end," he told his manager Delphine Simon before trying to get more rest.

Even without the J1 headsail, Gerckens could still finish the race but in the afternoon, he suffered an autopilot malfunction. The only way to cure the pilot problem would be to climb the mast, which, in his compromised physical state, he cannot ever consider.

"I have no more energy I'm at my wit's end"

So because of these linked problems, his illness, lack of a J1 and now his pilot malfunctions he has taken the hard decision to abandon the race and return to Lorient, where he should arrive within 24 hours,

“I could have just about coped with my state of health, but the other problems I cannot deal with right now and I no longer felt safe heading into a big front. The situation could very quickly become much worse.”

While title favourite Charlie Dalin (APIVIA) has been enjoying something of a rich-get-richer scenario at the front of the 36 strong Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe IMOCA fleet, his lead of 60 miles ahead of Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOUt) increasing by the hour, Charles Caudrelier on the Verdier designed Ultim 32/23 Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, the out-and-out race pacemaker still has a race on his hands entering what might prove a key phase of the 3542 nautical miles race to Guadeloupe.

As the leading Ultim duo seek to squeeze through a ‘mousehole’ in the low pressure front that would allow them to hook into the best of a northerly breeze generated off the Bermuda high pressure system, Charles Caudrelier, and his routing cell ashore, are keeping a close eye on François Gabart who is 15 miles to his NW.

Closer to the rhumb line Gabart is actually credited with the lead this afternoon but the next hours will be critical. There is the potential for Gabart to get to the front first but the key question is what is on the other side.

Ashore Caudrelier -whose potential OCS penalty was annulled early this morning- has American guru Stan Honey, Franck Cammas and Morgan Lagravière studying the options whilst Gabart has veteran Jean-Yves Bernot and La Solitaire winner Tom Laperche in his corner crunching the weather models during what could be a definitive stage.

Meanwhile in Lorient, where he arrived last night with the Ultim Maxi Banque Populaire XI, dejected Armel Le Cléac’h is trying to be philosophical, waiting to have his broken daggerboard replaced and a hull repair complete whilst looking to find the best weather window to return to the race course to Gaudeloupe.

“Everything stopped in a few seconds.” Recalled a hollow eyed Le Cléac’h on arrival at his team base, “There was a big cracking sound and I saw some pieces of the daggerboard pass astern. I was sailing upwind in a bit of wind and choppy seas, but nothing we couldn’t handle. I’ve been through harsher conditions with that daggerboard. So, I can’t explain what happened or why it broke. Some pieces of the daggerboard hit the hull and there are some knocks on it and in one or two places it went through the hull, so we are going to have to see if we can repair that in a reasonable time. Until Saturday evening, the weather conditions are fine and would allow us to set off. After that, the conditions are set to worsen. So we’re giving ourselves 48 hours to decide whether we set off again in the Route du Rhum to finish this story even if the result isn’t what we had hoped for. We won’t be on the podium, but would like to find a way to finish. For now, I don’t know if that is possible.”

François Gabart, skipper of the new trimaran SVR – LAZARTIGUE

Seguin abandons, Dalin gets richer

After being hit by a cargo ship which pulled down his rig of Groupe Apicil in the small hours of the morning Damien Seguin has abandoned, the first time ever in an ocean race for the former Paralympic world and Olympic champion. Remaining self sufficient, sailing under rescue kite power, Seguin has been making steady progress back towards the French coast.

Class leader Charlie Dalin, 160 nautical miles west of Cape Finisterre this afternoon, has everything running in his favour on APIVIA, extending inexorably away from his rivals. Whilst he has many times proven to have a speed edge upwind Dalin has also been always getting into more wind pressure first as he too approaches this weather front which stretches SSW to NNE.

British weather ace Will Harris summarises, “Things are looking a bit easier for the IMOCAs though as this first front is stopping and decreasing in force. Then a second front is arriving and the fronts merge together, crossing it Saturday evening, the key will be to be south where the fronts merge first, then there is less chance of encountering a light winds zone behind the first front. As soon as the leaders get across this front they will be into the westerly airstream and able to tack south. There will be second front Sunday night requiring a tack to the west and then the next big thing is the Azores or Bermuda high which is quite far to the west. There is a wide trough extending E-W which will have very little wind in it. The leader may be able to get through it and away even further, or indeed may get trapped allowing a catch up.”

After a first phase of repairs Swiss skipper Oliver Heer left Saint Malo this morning back in solo ocean racing mode but he must make another pit stop, sailing himself into Port La Foret to lift his IMOCA from the water and make a further composite repair to the hull before he can resume racing. His key objective is to get to the finish line in Guadeloupe and clock up essential Vendée Globe qualifying miles.

Rookies going steady

Around 150 to 170 miles behind the Dalin, International rookies James Harayda of Britain (Gentoo), Hungary’s Szabi Weeores (Szabi Racing) and China’s Jingkin Xu (China Dream-Haikou) are all making good, steady progress on their first major transoceanic IMOCA race,

“I have slept a bit last night when I got a bit of separation from some boats and got a few 15-20min naps and food has been the leftover pizza from the night before we left.” Reported the 24 year old Brit Harayda, “And I am feeling a bit dehydrated and so trying to smash some water down me. I feel good, but I am ready for it to get warmer. We have a transition period coming up which is good for me as I hopefully can pull a few miles back as we get close to it. I will be upwind and then this short lived transition period. And so I will be paying a lot of attention to the weather. It is exciting. I have some miles to catch up but there is a long, long, long way to go.”

Hublot skipper Alan Roura noted that he had almost suffered the same fate as Seguin, “During the second night at sea, it wasn’t much fun. Throughout the night there were a whole lot of cargo ships we needed to avoid in the Bay of Biscay. I managed to snooze for a few moments, as I was really tired. Even my alarm clock took time to wake me. I was lucky, as I was 50 metres away from a huge ship delivering Amazon… A really scary moment, but in the end it worked out fine, so I’m really thinking about Damien and his team.”

Favourite Douguet leads compact Class40 peloton

With the Class40 fleet continuing towards the SW there are around thirty skippers grouped together in a radius of fifty miles. Ex Figaro stalwart Corentin Douguet (Queginer-Innoveo) leads on his Lombard Lift V2 Queguiner Innoveo. He is closely followed by Ian Lipinski (Crédit-Mutuel) as the frontrunners approach the first front.

Ian Lipinski's Crédit Mutuel Photo: Christophe Breschi

For the Class 40s also, getting through the front is likely to be a key moment in the race. But the adventure is already over for Laurent Camprubi (Glaces Romanes), Geoffrey Mataczynski (Fortissimo) and Martin Louchard (Randstad-Ausy). Mikael Mergi (Centrakor) and Maxime Cauwe (Wisper) carried out a pit stop in Camaret, Jean Galfione (Serenis Consulting) in Brest, but all three they have set sail again.

Australia’s Rupert Henry admitted today that he was very nearly on the casualty list too, only just seeing that a lashing had failed threatening the rig of his Eora. His quick thinking saved the rig and his race. He reported, “ I had a huge problem this morning, my mast almost fell down. I had to stop and sail the wrong way for an hour while I fixed it. But I am going again now. The lashing underneath the furler broke. I saw the forestay go slack so I turned the boat downwind and put a J2 up and replaced it. But it was close, very close to losing the mast. During the night I saw the forestay a little slack. Now I feel pretty tired. It has been quite rough. I was in a good position and then I just started to put the bow down and try and get across them and line up with them before this happened. I am just trying to make a strategy to minimise my losses and get into the fleet.”

Henry had dropped to 21st, American Alex Meharg on Polka Dot is fifth and the defending title holder Yoann Richomme – who took a four hour penalty after the start - is up to tenth 17 miles behind his former Figaro rival Douguet.

Despite some technical issues, Italy’s Ambrogio Beccaria on his brand new Alla Grande Pirelli is trying to keep the pace of his rivals, and is still in the top ten: “The first hours of the race were really amazing for me because as it is the first race for the boat actually so the start was not easy as I was late to the line, but I did well at Cape Fréhel. I was first or second then. After that I sailed well and I was happy with my course and navigation with a lot of breeze coming in. So it was a super night, a full moon, current, with lots of boats, just what we love. And then after that we left Brittany, at Ushant we had big, big waves. And then last night I had a big, big problem with the boat, I broke the deck fixing point for the J2 tack, that is may main sail for sailing upwind, in more than 22-23 kts. So it broke and it was complicated to get the sail on board, to work on the front of the boat. It was exhausting. I have not found a solution yet. I think I will look again after the front.”

In the Rhum classes Brieuc Maisonneuve leads the Multi fleet on CMA Ile de France-60,000 rebonds, over 30 miles ahead of Roland ‘Bilou’ Jourdain whilst in the Mono division Catherine Chabaud and Jean Pierre Dick are enjoying a spirited match race in second and third, closest to the conventional route.

Eight boats abandon

Ocean Fifty
Leyton

IMOCA
DMG MORI Global One
Groupe Apicil

Class40
Glaces Romane
Randstad Ausy
Fortissimo
E. Leclerc

Rhum Multi
Rayon Vert

La Route du Rhum race organisers say Damien Seguin’s IMOCA Groupe APICIL was hit by a cargo ship and dismasted around 0330hrs (French time) this morning.

The French skipper is racing solo across the Atlantic and was lying in 14th position in the IMOCA class when the incident happened.

He was racing in moderate winds and manageable seas. He immediately notified Jean-Charles Monnet, his technical director and the race management of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe. The skipper is reported to be fine and uninjured. He is currently trying to cut the mast debris clear of his boat and has set up lights to be seen.

He is not seeking assistance. He was positioned about 250 miles to the west of Les Sables d'Olonne at the time of dismasting.

More info to follow.

With the first 24 hours of racing completed and the record-sized Route du Rhum fleet of solo racers settling into their ocean racing rhythm, the biggest threat to the lead of Charles Caudrelier and the Ultim 32/23 pacemaker Maxi Edmond de Rothschild seems to be a potential judgment that he jumped Sunday’s 1415hrs start gun.

With unlucky rival Armel Le Cléac’h reporting at midday yesterday that he has a damaged daggerboard and is taking his Maxi Banque Populaire XI to Lorient for analysis – and potentially to fit a spare - favourite Charles Caudrelier was opening the 3542 nautical miles course from Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe in confident style. He was around 20 nautical miles further south than François Gabart who is progressively winding up his SVR-Lazartigue on which Gabart, 2018’s runner up, is contesting his first ocean race.

But Caudrelier’s Gitana team are contesting the call that their Ultim broke the line early. The data from the line marker buoys is updated in real time and is now being analysed against the Gitana team’s positioning software and the tracking.

“All of the data has been recovered from the supplier of the beacons and is being compared to the track of the boat,” reported Race Director Francis le Goff, adding “Either the committee considers that they have made a mistake when they see these elements and the penalty would be cancelled, or the committee will confirm its first judgement and the International Jury will meet to give a decision.”

If there is judged to be no penalty required that will be announced this evening. Otherwise a jury hearing is needed and that will require a further 24 hours. If they agree a penalty should be imposed then it must be taken within 48 hours of that decision.

The leaders were heading upwind across the Bay of Biscay in freshening breezes ahead of the first big frontal system of the course which is expected tonight. Thomas Coville (Sodebo) looks set to venture further west.

Gabart said this morning, “The first night wasn’t easy, fairly technical with quite a few manoeuvres. It was a starry night, so pleasant sailing conditions. I got off to a cautious start with a few mistakes with my trajectory, but in general, there aren’t any surprises with how everyone is performing. Our idea was always to head off west and then south afterwards. I have just changed tack and am sailing upwind in 20 knots. The wind is set to strengthen today and we should cross the front late in the night. The boat is doing well. It’s a bit harder on the port tack in the swell. I think I’m sailing slightly lower than Gitana and sometimes a bit faster than Banque Populaire XI which I was catching. It’s all very close.”

François Gabart's SVR - Lazartigue is competing in the 2022 Route du Rhum race Photo Guillaume Gatefait

In the IMOCA fleet the main peloton has been fighting to get south seeking to find the best point to cross the front, at the same not getting too much of a battering in a short, sharp system which could see 40kts plus, but at the same time looking to get good breeze behind it and not drop into the messy edge of the high pressure system. The indomitable Charlie Dalin on APIVIA is sailing to his seeding and was six miles ahead of perennial rival Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut) but making more than 2.5 to three knots quicker in the upwind conditions. He was also quicker than the new boats Jérémie Beyou’s Charal 2 and Kevin Escoffier’s Holcim-PRB being around 18-20 miles behind.

Kiwi Conrad Colman on the non-foiling Imagine was going well in the early part of the day but as he moved south this afternoon he was crossed by a strong group including wily Seb Marsset (Cap Agir Ensemble) and Eric Bellion (Commeunseulhomme powered by Altavia) both on 2006-7 Farr designs.

Colman explained, “We need to pick a spot which has not too much wind but which does not have a big calm spot behind it. So that is why I am positioning myself a little more to the south now, to try and get through the first front.
The first front should be around early morning tomorrow. I feel pretty tired, I am going to get some food and get a sleep. But overall I feel good, happy with the way I am sailing the boat in these quite challenging conditions. I am full of beans, confident. The weather is nothing horrendous, it is quite lumpy and every once in a while the boat slams with a bang when it comes off a wave, the wind is anything from 18 to 26kts and so we are straight upwind, as tight as we can get with this pretty uncomfortable sea state. What makes it tricky is the wind is extremely variable, your trim the boat for 18 knots and then 26 comes in and you are on your side. It is pretty engaging at the moment.”

In Saint Malo Kojiro Shiraishi’s team announced the official abandon of their DMG MORI Global One which was damaged in a collision with Swiss rookie Oliver Heer (Oliver Heer Ocean Racing). The DMG MORI shore team have combined forces to help repair the bow and bowsprit of Heer’s IMOCA as they try to get the Swiss skipper back on the race course ‘within two or three days’.

Conrad Colman on Imagine in the 2022 Route du Rhum race Photo: Arnaud Pilpré

In Class40 the leading group is compacted to within a couple of miles, all pushing west together today. Defending champion Yoann Richomme had pulled up to 26th from 51st after taking his four hours penalty yesterday evening and night for breaking the start line early on Arkea-Paprec. He explained, “There were a lot of people pushing towards the line and I forgot to look at the chart. So I was a bit caught out like a schoolboy. There was the possibility of doing the penalty at Fréhel where there wasn’t much wind and a strong current. The idea was to hang around there and then we wouldn’t lose too much ground. It was a good operation after the bad one at the start. I’m sailing upwind and it’s quite rough. The wind got up off Ushant. It’s going to be a long tack westwards for two or three days. It doesn’t look like much fun in the coming days. There are going to be some complicated transitions so I hope to claw my way back into it little by little. It was a wonderful night in the full moon off Northern Brittany.”

Italian skipper Ambrogio Beccaria on his brand new boat (Allagrande Pirelli) is third at less than two miles behind the leader whilst the USA’s Alex Mehran (Polka Dot) is second, closest to the rhumb line.

Italy's Ambrogio Beccaria's Allagrande Pirelli © Vincent Olivaud

Ocean Fifty: There are three rookies in the top four Ocean Fifty boats currently taking advantage of decent winds and pleasant conditions for their multihulls. Quentin Vlamynck (Arkema) has not flinched since the start and continues to ward off the attacks from Sébastien Rogues (Primonial) on a Southerly route, while Eric Péron (Komilfo) is back up to fourth place just behind Erwan Le Roux (Koesio).

The 50-foot trimarans are diving south and as Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires-En-Pelton – ARSEP) explained, “hoping to cross the front 150-200 miles off Cape Finisterre” to avoid the continental shelf and the effects of the hills along the Spanish coast.”

Sébastien Rogues' Primonial competing in the Route du Rhum 2022 Race Photo: Muriel Vandenbempt

Rhum Mono

The first night was more comfortable than expected with the Rhum Mono fleet able to make their way out of the English Channel on one tack. This morning they had to choose whether to round the TSS via the North or head South. Wilfrid Clerton (Cap au Cap Location) chose the former option and is likely to encounter rougher conditions than those who went south, but in so doing will make progress westwards. This afternoon he is in second position, while Jean-Pierre Dick still leads this fleet.

Rhum Multi: In the Rhum Multi category, Gilles Buekenhout (Jess) has been the big surprise. The Belgian got off to a cautious start, but kept his speed up during the night to take the lead. It is a pleasing situation for the skipper who suffered some serious damage to his Multi40 (designed by Martin Fischer/ Benoît Cabaret) when he was arriving in Saint-Malo.

Belgium's Gilles Buekenhout on Jess in the 2022 Route du Rhum Photo: DR

Abandons and pit-stops

Four skippers have retired: Sam Goodchild (Leyton – Ocean Fifty) after being injured during the pre-start phase, Kojiro Shiraishi (DMG Mori Global One – IMOCA) following a collision off Cape Fréhel, Oren Nataf (Rayon Vert – Rhum Multi) with a ripped mainsail, Antoine Magré (E.Leclerc Ville-La-Grand – Class40) after hitting the rocks off the island of Batz.

-11 Pit stops: Maxi Banque Populaire XI (Armel Le Cléac’h – Ultim 32/23), Oliver Heer (Oliver Heer Racing – IMOCA), Mikael Mergui (Centrakor – Class40), Pierre-Louis Attwell (Vogue avec un Crohn – Class40), Martin Louchard (Randstad-Ausy – Class40), Jean Galfione (Serenis Consulting – Class40), Sacha Daunar (Cit’Hôtel – Région Guadeloupe – Class40), Romain Pilliard (Use it Again ! by Extia), Jean-Sébastien Biard (JSB Déménagements – Rhum Mono), Etienne Hochedé (Pir2) et Philippe Poupon (Flo – Rhum Multi).

Armel Le Cléac’h one of the favourites to win the Ultim class in the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe solo race from Saint Malo to Guadeloupe is heading to Lorient after breaking the daggerboard of his Maxi Banque Populaire XI at midday.

His team reported that at midday, while sailing close-hauled in 20 knots of wind, Le Cléac’h heard a crack without any apparent shock. He noticed the breakage of the daggerboard under the bottom of the boat's hull. He is reported to be on his way to the technical base of the Maxi Banque Populaire XI in Lorient, which he will reach in about ten hours. All solutions will be studied there with Team Banque Populaire for the rest of this Route du Rhum.

“Armel told us about this breakage which requires him to return to Lorient for us to analyze the situation. Armel is safe, the road to reach our technical base will be in manageable conditions." said Ronan Lucas, Director of Team Banque Populaire.

British skipper Sam Goodchild (32) was injured aboard Leyton during the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe start from Saint-Malo today.

As soon as the alert was received, CROSS (Centre Régional Opérationnel de Surveillance et de Sauvetage maritimes) sent a doctor to the boat. The skipper is being taken care of by the doctor and his injuries are being assessed before being transferred to an SNSM rescue vessel.

British skipper Sam Goodchild

More information to come.

The twelfth edition of the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe started in great conditions at 1415hrs CET off Saint-Malo this afternoon, Wednesday, 9th November.

Ary Chalus (President of the Guadeloupe Region) and Gilles Lurton (Mayor of Saint-Malo) made the start signal off the Grouin headland.

The 138 monohulls and multihulls split up into six classes and categories, set sail towards Cape Fréhel in exceptional weather conditions: a 15-20 knot Westerly wind, slight seas and brilliant sunshine. It was a magic moment for an historic edition which has attracted the biggest-ever entry, and the start having been postponed since Sunday due to stormy weather.

On the 3.5 mile-long start line, the 138 boats (8 Ultim 32/23, 8 Ocean Fifty, 38 IMOCA, 55 Class40 and 29 Rhum) blasted away, forming an incredible panorama as the huge armada set sail for Guadeloupe.

With headwinds directly blowing from Cape Fréhel, the skippers set off upwind and were soon forced to tack to pass the CIC buoy off Cape Fréhel that the Ultim 32/23 boats should reach 75 minutes after the start, followed by the Ocean50 multihulls thirty minutes later, then the IMOCAs, Rhum Mono and Multi boats and finally the Class40 monohulls four hours later.

The twelfth Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe is underway. Ahead of the fleet, 3,542 miles of racing.

With the time and date now set for the start of the 12th Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe on Wednesday, 9th November at 1415hrs, it looks like being a fast race.

After a rather tricky start, the models suggest that the fastest classes will be able to take advantage of favourable conditions allowing them to make fast miles on a course close to the Great Circle Route. Although finishing first is the aim of the competitors, smashing the race record would be the icing on the cake.

7 days, 14 hours, 21 minutes and 47 seconds

That is the outright record for the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe set in 2018 by Francis Joyon aboard IDEC Sport, a trimaran launched in 2006. Since then, there has been a lot of progress made to the Ultim 32/23 boats. On paper, Joyon’s record could be smashed, if the weather patterns allow that, which may well be the case looking at what lies ahead after the start on Wednesday 9th November.

Less than six days for the first Ultim 32/23 boats?

Alongside Franck Cammas, Morgan Lagravière is part of the weather unit working with Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild). “If we had set off on Sunday, chances were slim of beating the record, as the very heavy weather would have impacted the way we managed the boat and her speed. There were a lot of uncertainties about the first few days of the race,” explained Morgan. “With the start postponed until Wednesday, the situation has changed considerably. Today, both weather models we use (CEP and GFS) agree. When we launch routing plans, we come up with some very interesting race times for an Ultim 32/23, beating the record and possibly finishing in less than six days. Finishing in less than a week and achieving such a record would be a bonus.”

Christian Dumard, who has helped Francis Joyon (IDEC Sport) in particular with his routing, also imagines a fast race. “Its not going to be that brilliant at the start with a front to cross and some heavy seas, but this is after all the starts to the Route du Rhum,” he explained. “After that, it should be very fast for all the different classes and particularly for the Ultim 32/23 multihulls. If they don’t break, we are looking at six days or even five and a half.”

Kevin Escoffier's Hocim PRB Photo: Polaryse 

A record too for the IMOCAs?

In the IMOCA class, the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe record has been held by François Gabart since 2014 with a race time of 12 days, 4 hours, 38 minutes and 55 seconds. He was then sailing on his boat launched in 2011, which did not have foils. The boat is back this year in the hands of Benjamin Ferré (Monnoyeur - Duo For a Job). Progress has been considerable since then with the arrival of foilers which perform increasingly well, particularly when reaching or sailing downwind. Morgan Lagravière is also working alongside Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut). “The routings for the best IMOCAs suggest a race time of less than eleven days,” he said. “The start of the race is difficult with a front to cross. After that, the conditions will be favourable with a wind allowing them to sail with the wind on the beam or downwind, which should enable high speeds. The trade winds seem to be well established. On top of that, the routes appear to be close to the Great Circle Route.” Christian Dumard, who is working with several IMOCA skippers sees the first boats finishing in ten to eleven days. “The sea state will be the deciding factor determining whether they can stay close to the routing or not,” he stressed.

Ocean Fifty Koesio Photo: Jean-Marie Liot 

Ocean Fifty: the Atlantic in ten days?

The Ocean Fifty boats will probably be slower than the most recent IMOCAs during the first three or four days of the race, while the fleet heads west, as if the finish was in Charleston. Afterwards, they should gain an advantage in the trade winds. Given the sea state and wind conditions, it looks like being very physical for the fifty-foot boats, particularly between the Azores and Ireland. For an Ocean Fifty, the race record was set in 2014 by Erwan Le Roux with a time of 11 days, 5 hours, 13 minutes and 55 seconds. Once again competing this year, the skipper of Koesio is optimistic and hopes to do better. “With the initial start, it would have taken us eleven days. Now we’re down to less than ten, as the ideal route is close to the Great Circle Route. We are going to have to be wary of the dangers ahead of the big front, which we should encounter at the longitude of the Azores.”

Queguiner-Innoveo Photo: Alexis Courcoux

Class40: aiming for the record more than ever

The record held by Yoann Richomme since 2018 (16 days, 3 hours, 22 minutes and 44 seconds) is likely to be shattered in Pointe-à-Pitre. Tanguy Leglatin follows many of the Class40 skippers. “It looks like we are seeing a routing close to the direct route with more or less the same number of fronts or maybe one fewer. It should be quicker,” he explained. Christian Dumard agrees, “Even if we’re looking some way ahead in the forecasts, the Class40 boats should complete the race quickly, maybe in fourteen or fifteen days.” Fabien Delahaye, who has been working in particular with Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa) and Corentin Douguet (Queguiner-Innoveo) gave us this analysis. “From the tip of Brittany, the way is open to choose the route you want. We’re going to have to wait and see how the weather patterns develop, but a record is really possible.” Apart from the weather, other factors have come into play, such as the power and ability of the new boats to cut through the water (scow bows) and the fact that there will be a fight to the finish. “The competitors will be watching each other all the time and know full well whether a skipper is pushing hard or not. We’ll see whether they are all ready to give it that little bit extra,” added Tanguy Leglatin.

 Ille-et-Vilaine Cap vers l'inclusion Photo: DR

Finally in the Rhum Multi and Rhum Mono categories, the sailors are expecting to make good headway across the Atlantic. Fabrice Payen (Ille-et-Vilaine Cap vers l’inclusion) said, “I’ll continue to keep a close eye on the charts, but it looks like we’ll be setting sail in good conditions. The good news is that the charts indicate we should sail close to the shortest route. We’ll grab that opportunity as that is very different from what was forecasted with the initial start date. We can look forward to some great battles in each category with some fast race times in sight.