Is the Route du Rhum 2022 the most impressive offshore race fleet yet? Helen Fretter takes a closer look at the entries and how the race might unfold This Sunday, 6 November 2022, 138 solo skippers will take to a single, 3-mile startline off St Malo for the Route du Rhum 2022 single-handed transatlantic race \u2013 the 12th running of the event.
\nIs it the most impressive gathering of offshore competitors ever seen? It would be a bold claim to say that this year\u2019s Route du Rhum is the greatest offshore race ever, but when it comes to strength, depth, and technological advancements, every single fleet in the Route du Rhum 2022 is so exceptional that maybe, just maybe, it deserves that accolade.
\nThe other reason the Route du Rhum is so special is not only because of who has gathered this year, but because of who has gone before. Since it\u2019s first running in 1978, won by Canadian Mike Birch, who recently passed away, its trophies have been littered with the names of legends \u2013 Bruno Peyron, Florence Arthaud, Ellen MacArthur, Yves Parlier, Michel Dejoyeaux, Franck Cammas, Loick Peyron\u2026 to win a class in the Route du Rhum is to take your place among the true elite.
\nMike Birch helming Fujichrome ahead of the 1990 Route du Rhum. Photo by Nicolas LE CORRE\/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
\nAnd what makes it hard, of course, is the variables of mother Nature. The 3,543 mile race from St Malo, Brittany to Point-a-Pite Guadeloupe tests the solo skippers from start to finish.
\nFlung from the protection of St Malo\u2019s mediaeval walled battlements and deceptively protected harbours, the fleet is usually immediately faced with the Bay of Biscay and North Atlantic at its November worst \u2013 rolling depressions, vicious sea states and strong headwinds often characterise the opening sections of the transatlantic, and early indications are that this year\u2019s race looks set to bring similar.
\nTwo days before the start the weather models remain largely in agreement: a low-pressure system in the Atlantic, with a series of fronts moving in, is forecast to bring strong upwind conditions from the outset.
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\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to follow the Route du Rhum 2022<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Route du Rhum is one of the biggest solo offshore races in the world, and will see 138 singlehanded\u2026<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe ultimate foiling machine? Onboard SVR-Lazartigue<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLaunched in July after 150,000 hours of work, SVR-Lazartigue is the latest addition to the burgeoning Ultim 32\/23 fleet. In\u2026<\/p>\n
The Bay of Biscay looks set to live up to its fearsome reputation with conditions likely to worsen on Monday with a deep low generating an active cold front. Cyrille Duschene from Meteo Consult reported a risk of \u201c50 to 55 knots of wind to the north of the system with 18-21 foot high waves out at sea on Monday.\u201d
\nFormer IMOCA 60 skipper Roland Jourdain, this year competing in the Rhum Multi class in the Outremer 50 We Explore, explained: \u201cConditions look like being lively for the start, but not dramatic. The first afternoon should go well.
\n\u201cThe questions we have are more about passing the tip of Brittany. For the moment, we don\u2019t know whether it will be manageable or not, as the wind is set to strengthen. There\u2019s likely to be a 6-metre high swell with some strong tidal currents.\u201d
\nThis is a race we will be nervously glued to the tracker for the first 48 hours.
\n38 IMOCA 60s to start the Route du Rhum 2022
\nThe numbers across the Route du Rhum 2022 are staggering, but the IMOCA pontoon stretches as far as your eye can see, with no fewer than 38 IMOCA 60s lined up side by side. It\u2019s a record entry for the event and perhaps the largest ever gathering of IMOCAs in the class\u2019s history. It\u2019s five more boats than the monster 2020\/21 Vend\u00e9e Globe entry, and almost as many as will be permitted (40) in the 2024\/25 Vend\u00e9e Globe.
\nThere has been much commentary about the current rude health of the IMOCA fleet, where new designs seemingly cannot be built fast enough. But the Route du Rhum 2022 fleet in St Malo is like an exhibition of two decades of offshore racing history, with vintage daggerboard designs nestling alongside latest generation foilers. Nearly every boat has a remarkable history to tell, and above the IMOCA pontoons was an absolute crush of spectators craning to see the iconic yachts.
\nCharal 2 was designed by Sam Manuard and features a scow-style bow. Photo: Eloi Stichelbaut \u2013 polaRYSE \/ Charal
\nAmong the 38-boat entry are seven brand new launches that were splashed in 2022, for skippers who were able to swiftly move onto the next IMOCA cycle immediately after the 2020\/21 Vend\u00e9e Globe. They are Kevin Escoffier\u2019s Holcim-PRB, Maxime Sorel\u2019s dragon-branded V and B-Monbana-Mayenne, J\u00e9r\u00e9mie Beyou\u2019s radical new Charal, Boris Herrmann\u2019s Malizia-Seaexplorer, Sam Davies\u2019s new scow-bowed Initiatives-Coeur, Yannick Bestaven\u2019s Maitre CoQ V and Paul Meilhat\u2019s Biotherm.
\nIt would be surprising, but not unheard of, for one of the new boats to dominate. Reliability issues, the need for skippers to refine their load management, and well-placed caution, are likely to mean these boats are pushed less hard than those belonging to skippers who have a new boat on order.
\nOf that latter category, Charlie Dalin and Thomas Ruyant are likely favourites \u2013 both sailing exceptionally fast previous generation IMOCAs, but with new boats in the shed for 2024.
\n\u201cIn my opinion, Charlie Dalin and Thomas Ruyant are in the best position with their super well proven, very reliable IMOCAs. Especially Dalin who won everything this year and who even beat fully crewed boats [on the Azimut Challenge]. It\u2019s beautiful to see,\u201d said German entrant Boris Herrmann.
\nIn Charlie Dalin\u2019s hands Apivia has proven itself to be a bit of a rocketship. Photo: Pierre Bouras
\n\u201cThere is a risk that not all new boats will finish into Guadeloupe because of teething problems. I really don\u2019t want to be part of the battle but want to get there. The weather is not looking easy, it is going to be a real adventure.\u201d
\nThe winner of the 2018 Route du Rhum, Paul Meilhart returns this year, also sailing a brand new boat, Biotherm. Meilhart\u2019s boat was launched at the very end of August this year and he admits that he is not expecting to defend his title, though he hopes to be competitive. \u201cYou have to choose your battles. I am setting off feeling humble\u2026\u201d he said.
\n\u201cI\u2019m still currently testing [Biotherm\u2019s] reliability and getting used to my IMOCA\u2026 My main goal is of course to finish, but I want to do battle with the others to see what potential Biotherm might have. In spite of not having much preparation, I still want to be up there in the contest.\u201d
\nHowever, it\u2019s not just the skippers of new boats who will be making some delicate risk versus reward calculations. The more stringent Vend\u00e9e Globe qualification rules for 2024 mean that almost all IMOCA skippers are now in a race against time to accumulate sufficient qualification miles in their Vend\u00e9e boats.
\nEven those who\u2019ve taken delivery of a well-proven previous generation design will be keenly aware that a race-ending breakage would shave thousands of valuable miles from their total, and pile the pressure on for 2023.
\nPip Hare now has a foiling IMOCA 60 having completed the 2020-21 Vend\u00e9e Globe on a 1999 vintage boat.
\n\u201cIt is all fantastic for the Vend\u00e9e Globe to have all this interest and it is fantastic to be part of it and I definitely respect the need for a qualification. But I do joke about the fact that everyone got a free pass before this and then the year I come back to do it again you need to qualify!\u201d commented Pip Hare, who\u2019ll be returning for her second Vend\u00e9e Globe next year and is sailing the new-to-her Medallia in this year\u2019s Route du Rhum.
\n\u201cBut it really has changed the whole dynamic as it is now just mostly about a race for miles, even for the new boats. Everyone has a lot to lose if they don\u2019t finish this race. And that includes the guys who are doing The Ocean Race who have to get the boat back quickly and then have, like, three weeks or so for a refit to do The Ocean Race.\u201d
\nAnother factor which Hare says is playing on her mind is the record fleet size. \u201cThis is a massive fleet. I am really, really nervous about the start.
\n\u201cCan you imagine having a collision at the start and in the first 24 hours? And it looks like it will be upwind which then means the fast, new Class40s will be in with the IMOCAs so it will be \u2026 busy.
\n\u201cI think I will approach this all with a sail plan I can handle quickly and easily with the top (roof) open, fully kitted up, alarms on and the minimum possible sleep. I need to be super vigilant and if the situation looks \u2018iffy\u2019 at all then just back off a bit.\u201d
\nFran\u00e7ois Gabart\u2019s foiling UItime, SVR-Lazartigue
\n8 Ultimes
\nThough numerically the smallest, there\u2019s no question that the Ultime 32\/23 fleet is the most impressive, with no fewer than eight of the extraordinary trimarans taking part \u2013 also the largest ever gathering of the latest generation foilers.
\nLined up nose to tail in the race village, their retracted foils looming over the pontoons and leviathan-scale wing masts towering over everything, the Ultimes form a multi-million-Euro kilometre-long F1-style pit lane. To say it is impressive would be, well, an understatement.
\n(And, quick reality check, they\u2019re also sailing solo)
\nCharles Caudrelier on Gitana is the obvious favourite, with the longest optimisation programme and most race victories behind him, including the double-handed Transat Jacques Vabre last November (2021).
\nHowever, in this fleet, and in this race, past success does not guarantee future glory. That\u2019s something Fran\u00e7ois Gabart discovered in 2018 when, a few months after setting his solo around the world record on the 100ft Macif, he lost out to Francois Joyon in the much older, and slower Idec in the final miles of the Route du Rhum finish, finishing just 7 minutes behind.
\nGabart is back this year with his brand new (and controversial, foiling Ultime SVR Lazartigue). As is Joyon, on Idec.
\n\u201cThe standard of the competition is high with a few boats that were there four years ago and have been updated and the new ones, which learnt a lot from the older ones. As for the conditions, I feel curious rather than apprehensive. Is it going to be stronger than what I have already sailed upwind? You can suffer damage because the boat is new and hasn\u2019t been tried and tested, as is the case for some of my rivals, or suffer damage because the boat is too old with its original gear like mine, so it remains open\u2026\u201d commented Joyon before the start.
\nBanque Populaire Xl is the result of a colossal 150,000 hours of design and constructionwork. Photo: J Lecaudey\/BPCE
\nGetting across the Atlantic unscathed is far from a given for these giant trimarans, and the Route du Rhum 2022 sees the return of Armel le Cleac\u2019h with his new Ultime Maxi Banque Populaire XI. His previous maxi trimaran capsized and broke up 24 hours into the 2018 Route du Rhum. The boat was a total write off.
\nThe new Maxi Banque Populaire XI picked up a 3rd place in the Transat Jacques Vabre (2021), while le Cl\u00e9ac\u2019h has already completed the equivalent of a world tour in racing and training miles. During this summer\u2019s crewed Ultime contest, the Finist\u00e8re Atlantique, le Cleac\u2019h enjoyed a close battle with the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. In the end, le Cleac\u2019h finished 2nd, 26 minutes after Caudrelier after more than 3,100 miles of racing.
\nThomas Coville, a previous Rhum winner, returns with Sodebo, also a new generation foiler. This will be Coville\u2019s 7th entry in the race.
\nThe other three older Ultimes are Actual Ultim 3 skippered by Yves Le Blevec, Use it Again! (the original B&Q\/Castorama) skippered by Romain Pillard, and Mieux, skippered by 34-year-old Arthur Le Vaillant.
\n\u201cI\u2019m scared, but I\u2019ll be at 200% on Sunday to get off to a good start. There will be all the sailors I love around me. I\u2019m here for that,\u201d said Le Vaillant before his first Ultim race.
\nThe Class 40 fleet is a hotbed of design innovation. Photo: Rolex\/Carlo Borlenghi
\n55 Class 40 to start the Route du Rhum 2022
\nWith 55 entries, the Class 40 fleet is the largest of all the Route du Rhum classes, and again represents one of \u2013 if not the \u2013 largest gatherings of the class in its history.
\nUnsurprisingly, picking out a likely favourite to win is near impossible, with at least 10 boats widely tipped for the top slot. Even then, \u201cthere are so many outsiders around that anything is possible. It\u2019s a pity that betting is not allowed,\u201d points out Halvard Mabire, the president of the class.
\nAmong them will surely be Yoann Richomme on Paprec Arkea, winner of the last edition of the Route du Rhum and also a double winner of the La Solitaire du Figaro. \u201cThere is no magic formula to decide who the top contenders might be,\u201d Richomme mused ahead of the start.
\nWhile the Class 40 has always been seen as a precursor to the IMOCA fleet for many skippers, it is increasingly becoming a design test bed also, and there are now 30 scow-style designs in the fleet. This partly reflects the continued success story that is Sam Manuard\u2019s Class 40 design development, but also the sheer number of well-funded and skippers campaigning in the fleet.
\nSam Goodchild\u2019s Leyton is one of the favourites. Photo: Yann Riou\/polaRYSE
\n8 Multi 50
\nAlthough the eight-strong fleet of Multi 50s is much smaller, the evenly matched trimarans make it almost equally hard to predict the podium. British skipper Sam Goodchild (Leyton) is often ranked as the favourite, though S\u00e9bastien Rogues (Primonial) and Quentin Vlamynck (Arkema) are also likely front runners.
\nMeanwhile the considerable offshore experience of Vend\u00e9e veteran Armel Tripon (Les P\u2019tits Doudous), three times TJV winner and former Route du Rhum winner Erwan Le Roux, and the former Figaro, Volvo Ocean Race and Tour de France a la Voile sailor Eric Peron certainly mean they too have clear podium potential.
\nFor the smaller, non-foiling trimarans, the biggest concern is likely to be the early forecast conditions, which will make for a nerve-jangling start for the eight solo skippers.
\nAcapella (the sister ship of Mike Birch famous Olympus) built by Walter Green in 1980 will compete in the Route du Rhum 2022. Photo: Christophe Launay
\n16 Rhum Multi, 14 Rhum Mono
\nThe \u2018Rhum\u2019 classes represent an eclectic mix of modern and vintage designs, often sailed by passionate but more Corinthian campaigners.
\nBooks could be written about the storied entrants in these fleets. Among them is Catherine Chabaud, the first woman to have raced around the world solo, non-stop in the 1996\/97 Vend\u00e9e. She returns to solo racing in the Route du Rhum 2022 aboard the 1990-built ketch Le Cigare Rouge.
\nPen Duick III will be sailed by Arnaud Pennarun. Vend\u00e9e veteran Jean-Pierre Dick sails his Verdier-designed custom 54-footer Absolute Dreamer, while St Malo resident and Jean-S\u00e9bastien Biard, a removals company boss, will be racing his 42ft Beneteau in the Mono fleet.
\nThe Multi fleet has an even more intriguing mix, with former round the world skippers lining up in everything from new high performance cruising monohulls to vintage Walter Green designs.
\nThey include Marc Guillemot, racing a new 50-foot catamaran apparently built using parts recovered from previous offshore racing yachts. Charlie Capelle returns sailing his invincible little yellow trimaran Acapella. Loic Escoffier, brother of IMOCA skipper Kevin, is racing a Marsaudon ORC 50. Roland \u2018Bilou\u2019 Jourdain is racing a sustainably built Outremer 50. Philippe Poupon is racing Flo, the iconic 60ft trimaran which Florence Arthaud sailed as 1st Pierre to victory and worldwide fame in 1990.
\n(Perhaps the question of which is the greatest fleet of all time remains up for debate\u2026)
\nNonetheless, this Sunday\u2019s Route du Rhum 2022 start is a tantalising prospect for offshore racing fans.
\nFollow the 2022 Route du Rhum<\/p>\n
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Is the Route du Rhum 2022 the most impressive offshore race fleet yet? Helen Fretter takes a closer look at the entries and how the race might unfold This Sunday, 6 November 2022, 138 solo skippers will take to a … <\/p>\n