The best offshore skippers in the world are getting ready to set sail again! The 12th edition of the Route du Rhum, the famous solo transatlantic race, will have 138 sailors at the start on November 6 in Saint-Malo in Ille-et-Vilaine, a new participation record. They were all there or almost Wednesday in Paris at the Mogador theater, for the official launch of the event, which has taken place every 4 years since 1978. “This race is going to be absolutely sensational and historic”, promised Joseph Bizard, direct General of OC Sport Pen Duick, in charge of the organization.
The different categories of boats in the race
In 2018, 124 took the start of this legendary race which saw veteran Francis Joyon (Idec Sport) snatch victory in a record time of 7 days 14 hours 21 minutes, seven less than François Gabart, whom he had managed to catch up in the last moments of the crossing.
The fleet (138 sailors, including 5 women and 14 nationalities represented) will line up on Sunday November 6 on a single starting line of several kilometers in Saint-Malo for a departure bound for Guadeloupe. The 138 boats are divided into different categories: on the one hand, multihulls (Ultim, Multi50 and Rhum Multi) and on the other, monohulls (Imoca, Class40 and Rhum Mono). All eyes will be on the performance of the Ultims, these giants of the seas capable of ‘flying’ (32 m long and 23 m wide) thanks to their foils, reaching crazy speeds.
Five multihulls to play for victory
There will be five multihulls to play for victory: François Gabart (SVR-Lazartigue), Charles Caudrelier (Edmond de Rothschild), Yves Le Blevec (Actual), Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire) and Thomas Coville (Sodebo). They should arrive in Pointe-à-Pitre between 6 and 9 days later. “All the boats have progressed, are going even faster, it will still be a spectacular race with a lot of emotions”, rejoiced with AFP François Gabart. “It’s the most emblematic of all the meetings”, according to Thomas Coville who will participate for the 7th time.
New this year, even the Ultims will return to the Saint-Malo basin a few days before the race to be admired by the public. The village will open on October 25 for a period of 13 days, one day more than the previous edition. According to the figures communicated by the organizers, 2.2 million spectators – start and finish villages and start sites – came in 2018, including 1.3 million in Saint-Malo.