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Having lost his J1 headsail, Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) now finds Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires En Peloton by Delanchy) hot on his heels—less than 10 miles behind—while Pierre Quiroga (Wewise) remains poised to strike. The battle for victory in the Ocean Fifty class is going to be a cliffhanger, as it was a year ago in the two handed race to Martinique

A radical change of scenery: after several days of stormy conditions now it his frustrating calms and light winds which are hampering progress towards the finish line.

Sam Goodchild (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) reveals mainsail damage which requires him to sail with one reef

Gilles Lamiré (Groupe GCA, Rhum Multi class) suffered a structural failure—his port-side float broke—but he is safe and has requested no assistance. He is continuing on his course, waiting for more favorable conditions to make a precise assessment of the damage.



In 2022, just eighteen minutes separated the top two Ocean Fifty boats in the Route du Rhum after more than 3,500 miles of racing. Could a similar scenario be unfolding four years later?

The gaps have shrunk as the fleet approaches Guadeloupe, where light winds are putting everyone’s nerves to the test. Corentin Horeau, who holds a commanding lead in the IMOCA class, is no exception. After a high-octane crossing, the frontrunners are now in very light winds and calms. Progress towards the finish line is painfully slow and nerves are very much on edge.


Call my bluff......

"Man, you’re sailing an incredible race. But I’m going to beat you!" In November 2022, just hours before the finish of the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, Erwan Le Roux sent a brief email to Quentin Vlamynck—who at the time appeared poised to claim his first victory. It was a statement of intent that might have come across as mere provocation, but the wily veteran had a plan—and a few tricks up his sleeve. Having, like Bourgnon today, lost a large headsail, he took care not to let his rival know. Convinced that his opponent was working just as hard as he was, Vlamynck exhausted himself with constant maneuvers. The two trimarans then rounded Guadeloupe in close quarters, at times less than fifty meters apart. The skipper of Koesio found a better angle along the southern coast, clinching victory in a nail-biting finish. Meanwhile, the skipper of Arkema—utterly drained—missed the finish line entirely and had to circle back to cross it. An eighteen-minute gap in the final standings served as a valuable lesson, always try to keep enough in the tank to remain lucid,


And so  there are certain elements of the story of four years ago repeating. After building a lead of up to 133 miles, Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) has seen his comfortable cushion evaporate—partly due to damage to his J1 (his large headsail), which was torn while passing through a tropical depression. This Tuesday morning, Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires En Peloton by Delanchy) is less than ten miles behind, Pierre Quiroga (Wewise) is within 35 miles, and Léonard Legrand (Sodebo Fifty) remains in striking distance.

For Thibaut Vauchel-Camus the change of pace is hard to deal with "After crossing the Atlantic at breakneck speed, in very intense conditions, we suddenly find ourselves practically glued to one another. It’s as if we’re in an entirely different race! We knew there would be a slowdown, but we’ve been battling in light winds for 24 hours now, and we’re still more than 170 miles from the finish line!"


He says he has only slept about half an hour a day for the past three days—"I had to furl and unfurl the gennaker six or seven times in just half an hour! Every little breath of wind can lead us to the next one. With boats like ours, the slightest bit of acceleration can create a significant gap. You can close the distance very quickly, but you can just as easily watch a competitor pull away. And physically, these machines are demanding to get moving again. The trouble is, it’s not as if we only set off the day before yesterday,  I know Basile has lost his J1—a crucial sail that’s fixed to the rigging and can’t simply be swapped out on deck. Naturally, that puts him at a disadvantage. But he’s not letting it get him down!"



IMOCA leader Corentin Horeau (MACSF) is  first to encounter the calm, windless conditions that prevail near the Caribbean archipelago. With a lead of over 200 miles over his closest rival, Boris Herrmann (Malizia 4), “Right now, it’s practically dead calm! I’ve managed to make some progress thanks to a few faint puffs of wind, but it requires a lot of constant maneuvering. There’s also a lot of sargassum seaweed. In an IMOCA, it’s usually not too much of an issue—but if you don’t clear it off the rudders, the autopilot starts acting erratically. It feels just like sailing a Figaro Beneteau I’ve definitely had enough! But whenever I start to get frustrated or worked up, I tell myself: 'Calm down—you could be 200 miles further back.' So, I just try to keep the boat moving as best I can."


There are some puffs. "Sometimes you hit a great patch—you’re right on course, and everything feels perfect..." "You take a quick nap, wake up, everything’s still fine—and then, five minutes later, you have to tack again because the wind has shifted the other way! It’s like being in a void. But according to the weather files, things should pick up again—starting with us, the group in the south. You just have to be patient."


Horeau also knows how important it is to arrive well-rested to tackle the final challenges. The problem? Between the excitement and the heat, sleep is hard to come by. He even admits to a slight miscalculation in his preparation: "I went to the extreme—I took all the fans off the boat to save weight! Now, I’m suffering a bit. It’s almost unbearable inside. I did manage to grab a quick nap outside, though; there was a light breeze, which was nice."


Further back, the battle for the podium has slowed in the light winds but is even more intense. Sam Goodchild (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) revealed the extent of his mainsail repairs yesterday. He shows a detatched tack patch and tear which he has had to repair and he needed to sail with one reef which was a setback at the time.

Élodie Bonafous (Association Petits Princes – Quéguiner) is now in third and Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil – Air Caraïbes) continues his remarkable climb up the fleet and looks poised to snatch fifth place from Francesca Clapcich (11th Hour Racing). With the light winds currently prevailing, this race is far from over!


For the Class40 fleet, the grueling spin-cycle is finally coming to an end. Achille Nebout (Amarris) continues to lead the pack, holding a cushion of about ten miles over Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran – Seafrigo). Pirouelle is clearly relieved. "We’ve really been put through the wringer! There’s still some residual heavy swell, but things are heading in the right direction. Now, I need to get my energy levels back up—I’m absolutely exhausted. Between the strong winds and various minor repairs, I haven’t slept much. I’m getting dangerously close to my limit; earlier, I even struggled to wake up from a nap, despite the alarm. I really need to recover."



Meanwhile, the Atlantic has not finished showing its teeth.

Bad weather is also taking its toll on the Rhum Multi fleet. Gilles Lamiré (Groupe GCA), whose port-side float has broken, has secured his mast and confirmed that he is safe and does not require assistance. He is currently sailing downwind, waiting for the wind to shift to the east—a change that should allow him to rely on his intact starboard float. A more detailed assessment of the damage and potential solutions will be made once conditions permit.


Further east, Patrick Etheimer (Fifty Fifty) and Charlie Capelle (Acapella Proludic La Chaîne de l'Espoir) have opted to wait out the tropical storm by making stops in Lagos, Portugal, and Mohammedia, Morocco, respectively. After battering the northern Antilles, the weather system is now moving toward the vicinity of the Canary Islands. For these skippers, the race is effectively on pause—now they just need the Atlantic to hit "play" again.

In the Rhum Mono category, Kieran Le Borgne (Armor-Lux – Le Finistère Assurance), Sidney Gavignet (Le Cigare Rouge), and Patrick Isoard (Groupe Cogedis pour Enfants du Mékong) are dealing with very changeable conditions.

 




7 hours ago
6 min read

Several solo skippers are expected to arrive into Guadeloupe this Tuesday including Corentin Horeau (MACSF), the solid leader in the IMOCA class who looks to be on course for a memorable victory.

Having lost his J1 headsail, Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) now finds Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires En Peloton by Delanchy) hot on his heels—less than 10 miles behind—while Pierre Quiroga (Wewise) remains poised to strike. The battle for victory in the Ocean Fifty class is going to be a cliffhanger, as it was a year ago in the two handed race to Martinique

A radical change of scenery: after several days of stormy conditions now it his frustrating calms and light winds which are hampering progress towards the finish line.

Sam Goodchild (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) reveals mainsail damage which requires him to sail with one reef

Gilles Lamiré (Groupe GCA, Rhum Multi class) suffered a structural failure—his port-side float broke—but he is safe and has requested no assistance. He is continuing on his course, waiting for more favorable conditions to make a precise assessment of the damage.



In 2022, just eighteen minutes separated the top two Ocean Fifty boats in the Route du Rhum after more than 3,500 miles of racing. Could a similar scenario be unfolding four years later?

The gaps have shrunk as the fleet approaches Guadeloupe, where light winds are putting everyone’s nerves to the test. Corentin Horeau, who holds a commanding lead in the IMOCA class, is no exception. After a high-octane crossing, the frontrunners are now in very light winds and calms. Progress towards the finish line is painfully slow and nerves are very much on edge.


Call my bluff......

"Man, you’re sailing an incredible race. But I’m going to beat you!" In November 2022, just hours before the finish of the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, Erwan Le Roux sent a brief email to Quentin Vlamynck—who at the time appeared poised to claim his first victory. It was a statement of intent that might have come across as mere provocation, but the wily veteran had a plan—and a few tricks up his sleeve. Having, like Bourgnon today, lost a large headsail, he took care not to let his rival know. Convinced that his opponent was working just as hard as he was, Vlamynck exhausted himself with constant maneuvers. The two trimarans then rounded Guadeloupe in close quarters, at times less than fifty meters apart. The skipper of Koesio found a better angle along the southern coast, clinching victory in a nail-biting finish. Meanwhile, the skipper of Arkema—utterly drained—missed the finish line entirely and had to circle back to cross it. An eighteen-minute gap in the final standings served as a valuable lesson, always try to keep enough in the tank to remain lucid,


And so  there are certain elements of the story of four years ago repeating. After building a lead of up to 133 miles, Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) has seen his comfortable cushion evaporate—partly due to damage to his J1 (his large headsail), which was torn while passing through a tropical depression. This Tuesday morning, Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires En Peloton by Delanchy) is less than ten miles behind, Pierre Quiroga (Wewise) is within 35 miles, and Léonard Legrand (Sodebo Fifty) remains in striking distance.

For Thibaut Vauchel-Camus the change of pace is hard to deal with "After crossing the Atlantic at breakneck speed, in very intense conditions, we suddenly find ourselves practically glued to one another. It’s as if we’re in an entirely different race! We knew there would be a slowdown, but we’ve been battling in light winds for 24 hours now, and we’re still more than 170 miles from the finish line!"


He says he has only slept about half an hour a day for the past three days—"I had to furl and unfurl the gennaker six or seven times in just half an hour! Every little breath of wind can lead us to the next one. With boats like ours, the slightest bit of acceleration can create a significant gap. You can close the distance very quickly, but you can just as easily watch a competitor pull away. And physically, these machines are demanding to get moving again. The trouble is, it’s not as if we only set off the day before yesterday,  I know Basile has lost his J1—a crucial sail that’s fixed to the rigging and can’t simply be swapped out on deck. Naturally, that puts him at a disadvantage. But he’s not letting it get him down!"



IMOCA leader Corentin Horeau (MACSF) is  first to encounter the calm, windless conditions that prevail near the Caribbean archipelago. With a lead of over 200 miles over his closest rival, Boris Herrmann (Malizia 4), “Right now, it’s practically dead calm! I’ve managed to make some progress thanks to a few faint puffs of wind, but it requires a lot of constant maneuvering. There’s also a lot of sargassum seaweed. In an IMOCA, it’s usually not too much of an issue—but if you don’t clear it off the rudders, the autopilot starts acting erratically. It feels just like sailing a Figaro Beneteau I’ve definitely had enough! But whenever I start to get frustrated or worked up, I tell myself: 'Calm down—you could be 200 miles further back.' So, I just try to keep the boat moving as best I can."


There are some puffs. "Sometimes you hit a great patch—you’re right on course, and everything feels perfect..." "You take a quick nap, wake up, everything’s still fine—and then, five minutes later, you have to tack again because the wind has shifted the other way! It’s like being in a void. But according to the weather files, things should pick up again—starting with us, the group in the south. You just have to be patient."


Horeau also knows how important it is to arrive well-rested to tackle the final challenges. The problem? Between the excitement and the heat, sleep is hard to come by. He even admits to a slight miscalculation in his preparation: "I went to the extreme—I took all the fans off the boat to save weight! Now, I’m suffering a bit. It’s almost unbearable inside. I did manage to grab a quick nap outside, though; there was a light breeze, which was nice."


Further back, the battle for the podium has slowed in the light winds but is even more intense. Sam Goodchild (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) revealed the extent of his mainsail repairs yesterday. He shows a detatched tack patch and tear which he has had to repair and he needed to sail with one reef which was a setback at the time.

Élodie Bonafous (Association Petits Princes – Quéguiner) is now in third and Sébastien Simon (Groupe Dubreuil – Air Caraïbes) continues his remarkable climb up the fleet and looks poised to snatch fifth place from Francesca Clapcich (11th Hour Racing). With the light winds currently prevailing, this race is far from over!


For the Class40 fleet, the grueling spin-cycle is finally coming to an end. Achille Nebout (Amarris) continues to lead the pack, holding a cushion of about ten miles over Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran – Seafrigo). Pirouelle is clearly relieved. "We’ve really been put through the wringer! There’s still some residual heavy swell, but things are heading in the right direction. Now, I need to get my energy levels back up—I’m absolutely exhausted. Between the strong winds and various minor repairs, I haven’t slept much. I’m getting dangerously close to my limit; earlier, I even struggled to wake up from a nap, despite the alarm. I really need to recover."



Meanwhile, the Atlantic has not finished showing its teeth.

Bad weather is also taking its toll on the Rhum Multi fleet. Gilles Lamiré (Groupe GCA), whose port-side float has broken, has secured his mast and confirmed that he is safe and does not require assistance. He is currently sailing downwind, waiting for the wind to shift to the east—a change that should allow him to rely on his intact starboard float. A more detailed assessment of the damage and potential solutions will be made once conditions permit.


Further east, Patrick Etheimer (Fifty Fifty) and Charlie Capelle (Acapella Proludic La Chaîne de l'Espoir) have opted to wait out the tropical storm by making stops in Lagos, Portugal, and Mohammedia, Morocco, respectively. After battering the northern Antilles, the weather system is now moving toward the vicinity of the Canary Islands. For these skippers, the race is effectively on pause—now they just need the Atlantic to hit "play" again.

In the Rhum Mono category, Kieran Le Borgne (Armor-Lux – Le Finistère Assurance), Sidney Gavignet (Le Cigare Rouge), and Patrick Isoard (Groupe Cogedis pour Enfants du Mékong) are dealing with very changeable conditions.

 




 
 
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