Three days before the opening of the village in Saint-Malo (Tuesday, October 25 at 2:00 p.m.), Race Direction has released the final list of ratified entries. There will be 138 solo skippers setting off on Sunday, November 6, on this 12th edition of the most famous French single-handed transatlantic race.
Candidates for La Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe had until midnight on Friday, 21 October to complete validation of their entry and complete the qualification course (1,200 miles including 120 miles upwind) as well as completing the technical and administrative formalities (medical file, measurement certificate, ratification by the respective Classes and fulfilling World Sailing criteria).
Most skippers had already completed this task ahead of the date, but as usual, a small number had to go to the wire to finalise their files. Indeed two sailors only finished their qualification on Thursday and Friday.
“In extremis but in the end, on time.” confirmed race director, Francis Le Goff. In reality, the list has changed little over the past month other than the entries announced a little over 15 days ago, of the Hungarian IMOCA racer Weöres Szabolcs (SZABI RACING) and young Thomas Lurton (Moxie Bâti-Armor) in the Rhum Multi and the withdrawal, due to injury, of Saint Malo’s Julien Reemers (Fédération du Commerce du Pays de Saint-Malo) for the Rhum Mono category”.
Reviewing the fleet
Those 138 sailors are divided into 4 Classes: Ultim 32/23, Ocean Fifty, Imoca, Class40 and 2 categories: Rhum Mono and Rhum Multi. There are seven women and 131 men, i.e. 5% of the fleet, there are 24 non-French sailors (17% of the fleet) representing 13 nationalities. And so it a very strong and typically diverse mix of experienced skippers, many renowned emblematic figures of offshore racing, many returning for another go, former winners, there are four defending champions, and as usual on the ‘Rhum’ there are professional sailors, seasoned amateurs and hardy adventurers.
In terms of actual composition, there is no change for the Ultim 32/23 class, the most impressive category in terms of the size of the boats, which will have eight starters. So too the Ocean Fifty also have eight due to start. There will be 38 Imoca and 55 Class40, the biggest class and finally, 17 Rhum Multi and 12 Rhum Mono.
Competitors depart the pontoons at Saint-Malo, in a previous edition of La Route Du Rhum Photo: Yvan Zedda
A great mix
It is a truly exceptional fleet. The Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, an emblematic transatlantic race, clearly still fuels the dreams of sailors and grows their ambitions.
“The extremely even level in the Ultim 32/23, Ocean Fifty, Imoca and Class40 classes is outstanding,” adds Francis Le Goff, “The best in each class, the favourites of each class are present, which bodes well for some very good battles on the water. The Rum Mono and Rum Multi categories are very open and promise to be just as exciting to follow.”
From legendary sailboats to high-tech boats, benefiting from the latest innovations, there will be something for everyone on the pontoons of the City of Saint-Malo; an eclecticism characteristic of La Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe which will not fail to delight the fervent public.
The boats have already started to moor at the foot of the Cité Corsaire before the first parades scheduled for Tuesday, October 25, the opening day of the race village. Ten days will be left for these 138 sailors to fine-tune their preparation for the big start on Sunday, November 6th, at 1:02 p.m.
