With 9 days to go, time is speeding up in Saint-Malo, but on La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe. Let’s summarize the main figures of this extraordinary race.
491 awakenings, a common concern
Beneath the 138 hulls that still haul their oars in the Saint-Malo lagoons lie 491 keels, daggerboards, rudders and other sheets. These appendages will make their way over the North Atlantic from November 6. ” In Ultim 32/23, the winner will be the one who was able to keep them intact until the end Thomas Coville said yesterday, aware of the random nature of a competition held in an increasingly crowded ocean.
5 conferences on the theme of the engaged ocean
Surfrider Foundation Europe, NGO Partner of La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe organized today a day of fascinating conferences with the theme “Engaged Ocean”. About thirty speakers took turns testifying to their commitment to protecting and protecting this ecosystem essential to humanity, but oh so fragile! 5 topics were shared with the general public:
– Cruise engaged in plastic research;
– A maritime transport of goods engaged in the ecological transition;
– Financing a healthy ocean;
– Sailing with a dedicated sport;
– Territories dedicated to sustainable sport and healthy users.
3 course grades: the freedom of an unchanged playground
SIC – Cap Fréhel, Tête-à-l’anglais (island north of Guadeloupe), Basse-Terre anchorage at the entrance to the Saintes channel, route of La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe never had real life. The Queen of the Sunbeds offers complete freedom to reach Pointe-à-Pitre, 3542 miles away on the orthodrome (direct route)
7 days, 14 hours, 27 minutes,… will the record be broken?
Information or stainless steel? Some captains think it is possible to reach Pointe-à-Pitre in… 6 days. Between the ideal world of the pre-race journey and the climatic reality of the start, will the record set by Francis Joyon in 2018 be beaten? ” Most likely “the answer to those interested. The same in IMOCA where François Gabart’s record set in 2014 (12 days 4 hours) looks very fragile as the new spokes have advanced at all speeds. In other categories, betting is open; even if whatever the race time, the first to cross the finish line wins.
81% repeat offenders: for the love of rum!
It is in the Rhum Multi category that the percentage of repeat offenders is the highest, 81%: 13 of the 16 sailors involved return to work and accumulate 31 participations in La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe!
Of all entries, 51% of runners have already taken part in La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe. And it is in the Class40 category that the number of beginners logically reaches its peak with 63% of the 55 registered.
2,179 km of hulls were collected!
This is indeed the total length we would get if we put the 138 boats participating in La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe end to end, so 21 football fields. It would therefore be 200 meters less from the Avenue des Champs Elysées to accommodate the entire fleet! Beyond its anecdotal character, this clue is crucial because it determines the length of the starting line. That of La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe is 3 miles or 5.5 km. “There is no written rule on this matter, but it is a matter of making the line visible, and above all of allowing the boats to maneuver in complete safety, says Jean Coadou, President of the Race Committee. Here, therefore, we have doubled the length of the boats to reach this line of 3 miles in total”.
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25 foreigners and some good customers
25 foreign captains (12 in IMOCA, 11 in the 40 class, 1 in the Rum category, 1 in the Ocean Fifty) come to rub shoulders this year with the most French single-handed transats. Sailors from all over Europe, but not only, as there is also an Australian (Henry Rupert), two Americans (Leonard Greg and Alex Merhan), a Chinese (Jingkun Xu), a South African (Alexander Donald), a Japanese (Kojiro ). Shiraishi) and a New Zealander (Conrad Colman). Therefore, 20% of the fleet will fly the colors of many countries around the world, with each captain having very different ambitions. Britain’s Sam Goodchild (Leyton) remains one of the favorites in the Ocean Fifty, Italy’s Ambrogio Beccaria in ALLAGRANDE PIRELLI and his new Class40 will surely play at the front, while Switzerland’s Justine Mettraux in Teamwork.net (Jérémie Beyou’s former Charal) can perform well in IMOCA. Others were driven by a taste for adventure, challenge and discovery. American Alex Mehran (Polka Dot) explains: “I remember the races that we watched as a family and that were discussed on the other side of the world, that fascinated me! “. Above all, Alex wants to go to the other side…
20 and 68 years old: There is no age to participate in the Route du Rhum
The youngest captain of the 2022 edition is called Martin Louchart. In his early 20s, young Granvillais is far from an offshore racing novice. Martin already has two Transat Jacques Vabre under his belt (2019 and 2021) in Class40 and will race the Route du Rhum – Destinacion Guadeloupe in the colors of Randstad-Ausy (Class40).
As for Philippe Poupon, the dean of the race, he will start at the age of 68 for the fifth time in a race he won during the terrible edition of 1986. In a legendary trimaran after Flo is none other than the former Pierre 1st to his friend Florence Arthaud, after whom he finished second in the 1990 edition.
200 In KVA, the power of Energy Observer’s hydrogen generators.
The big wheel at the end of the village La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe could not escape any visitor present in Saint-Malo. It is powered by two EODev (Energy Observer Developments) electro-hydrogen sets of 100 kva each. Energy Observer explores concrete solutions and develops technologies to accelerate the ecological transition. ” We are present at La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe as well as other major events, which we try to decarbonize by reaching different audiences explains Louis-Noël Vivies, Managing Director of Energy Observer. ” We consume an average of twenty kg of hydrogen per day, which generates neither emissions nor noise. Our presence here makes it possible to show that EODev’s GEH2 works with the objective, among other things, to encourage as many organizations as possible to replace diesel generators with electro-hydrogen. ».
