Irish offshore sailor Pamela Lee will make history as the first Irishwoman to compete in the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe when she lines up in the race’s largest division, the 49-boat Class40 fleet, this November.
The 38-year-old will race the 12.2-metre Class40 #EMPOWHER (FRA178) from Saint-Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe, in one of the most competitive fleets assembled for the famous solo transatlantic.
Lee is the only Irishwoman in the Class40 fleet and has established herself on the international offshore circuit with results including podium finishes in major offshore events and three double-handed around-Ireland world records set in a Figaro 3 in 2020, which her official Route du Rhum profile says remain unbeaten.
Her record also includes victory in the 2022 SSE Round Ireland Race, while her 2025 Class40 campaign featured 11th in the Fastnet Race, 12th in the CIC Normandy Channel Race, ninth in La 40 Malouine and 17th in the Transat Café L'Or.
Lee's #EMPOWHER campaign also aims to promote inclusion and opportunity through sport. Her 2022-built Pogo Structures Class40 measures 12.2 metres overall, with a 4.5-metre beam and three-metre draught.
Rhum Ready: Pamela Lee’s Class40 #EMPOWHER (FRA 178), aboard which the Irish offshore sailor will tackle the 2026 Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe
Class40 Is Route du Rhum's Biggest Fleet
With 49 entries, Class40 is the biggest division in the 2026 Route du Rhum and brings together professional and amateur solo skippers aboard a mixture of newer scow-bowed designs and more traditional pointy-bowed boats.
The class will crown a new winner following Yoann Richomme's victories in 2018 and 2022.
Among the leading contenders identified ahead of the race are Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran Seafrigo) and Corentin Douguet (SNSM, Faites un don!), while a sizeable group of potential challengers includes Fabien Delahaye, Ian Lipinski, Axel Tréhin, Achille Nebout and Alexis Loison.
Fleet Force: Class40s will form the biggest fleet in the 2026 Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, with 49 solo skippers set to race across the Atlantic. Photo: Vincent Olivaud
Loison, skipper of Groupe Réel, expects the competition to be particularly deep.
“It's a class with a very high level of competition. In short, there's both quantity and quality!”
International Line-Up for Saint-Malo Start
The international Class40 entry also includes former Vendée Globe winner Vincent Riou, as well as sailors from Italy, Spain, Belgium, Australia and the Czech Republic.
Among them is Catalan sailor Pep Costa, identified by organisers as winner of the Round Ireland and among the Class40 outsiders capable of challenging near the front.
Four Guadeloupean sailors — Kéni Piperol, Ulysse Pozzoli, Rodolphe Sepho and Yannick Rebuffat — will meanwhile be racing towards home waters.
The 13th Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe starts from Saint-Malo at 1.02 pm on Sunday, November 1, with the solo fleet racing approximately 3,543 nautical miles across the Atlantic to Pointe-à-Pitre.
