Blog

Ett helt otroligt startfält i årets race från Saint-Malo i Frankrike till Pointe-à-Pitre på Guadeloupe (3542 distans). Nu är också starten framflyttad till onsdag 14:15 på grund av oväder i går söndag.

Hela 38 IMOCA på startlinjen, varav riktigt många nybyggen. Jag sammanställde en lista nedan.

Pressure relief for Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe skippers as new start date set Wednesday

With the rescheduled start of the 12th Route du Rhum-Destination now confirmed as on Wednesday 9th November at 1415hrs local time, the 138 skippers in six classes, have been able to relax today, Sunday.

The release of the mental pressure built up over the last week or so – especially knowing how bad the forecast has been – really was palpable today. Those sailors who had start-day guests – sponsors and partners – to entertain did so with big smiles and no obvious stress. Others, who could, headed home to spend time with family and friends, especially catching up with quality deep sleep.

“Sailors are used to adapting to circumstances,” smiled Yannick Bestaven (Maître CoQ V) the Vendée Globe winner this morning. François Gabart added, “Being able to adapt and reorganise is part of the game.”

And so while the skippers took some time to unwind, sleep, do sport, eat Sunday lunch and undertake their commercial commitments, behind the scenes the support teams are reshuffling logistics, accommodation and flights to Guadeloupe.

Among those heading home to south Brittany to spend some final moments with their family was Ultim 32/23 favourite Maxi Edmond de Rothschild skipper Charles Caudrelier.

“Charles (Caudrelier) has been to his home but we have to stay in race mode and we are continuing to look at the routing possibilities with the new start time. In terms of logistics, we had to extend our stay at the hotel and flats in Saint-Malo, and postpone our reservations in Guadeloupe. It involves quite a bit of work, but we are getting there,” explained Cyril Dardashti, Director of the Gitana team.

For some, the idea of setting off but then returning to Saint-Malo was already planned, as Fabrice Payen (Ille-et-Vilaine Cap vers l’inclusion) in the Rhum Multi category reported, “I had prepared for that. The weather situation would have been disastrous for everyone. We had already decided to come back into Saint-Malo after the start and had planned to set off again on Wednesday when conditions looked easier to deal with.”

Quentin Vlamynck, the young skipper of the Ocean Fifty Arkema announced, “I’ve just had an incredible deep sleep as the pressure of the start suddenly vanished,”

For the skippers, the postponement was in general a huge relief after all the pressure of the past few days. Isabelle Joschke (MASCF) explained, “The postponement changes a lot of things in our heads. The idea of setting off in such violent conditions drained so much of our energy. The pressure suddenly evaporated when the postponement was announced. I was relieved, but it’s not easy transitioning to a different mode. I’m now looking ahead. But it no longer the same Route du Rhum looming over us.” 

Also in the IMOCA fleet Maxime Sorel and his team quickly adapted to the new situation. “This morning I still ate the breakfast we had prepared for the start. I felt a bit lost in some sort of odd time warp or different space dimension like in the film, Back to the Future.”

It was following a press conference this morning that the skippers learned of the start being confirmed as on Wednesday at 1415hrs

“Now it is good to know when we are going to start. That enables us to take care of our itinerary and do our weather analysis. I’m back in an analysis phase with other skippers from Lorient Grand Large. We regularly talk things over with the weather expert, Christian Dumard,”explained Conrad Colman (Imagine).  Joschke confirmed, “We now have a clear goal – 1415hrs on Wednesday. That gives us something to work on. We can run our routing programmes and see what is going to happen in the race.”