THE BOATS
6 BOAT CLASSES (4 pro classes and 2 amateur classes)
As desired by the creator of the race, Michel Etevenon, the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe is the transatlantic race where freedom is key. Living up to its initial values, this year the race will once again welcome boats in excess of 39 feet, including four classes and two categories. For this twelfth edition, it will once again offer fans of ocean racing and those who are preparing for the event the finest ocean racing line-up.
IMOCA
The IMOCA class brings together ocean racing monohulls measuring 60 feet in length. For this 13th edition of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, 37 competitors will be competing within the class, which is 15 more than in 2018. The IMOCAs are the boats that compete in the Vendée Globe and are considered to be experimental boats. The class can boast more than thirty years of technological innovations: keels, sail plans, cockpits, coach roof, and most recently the arrival of foils, which continue to encourage the creativity of designers and sailors. Even if they are limited by class rules concerning their length, beam, the number of appendages and sails for example, IMOCA boats offer a huge amount of freedom to designers and sailors. That is why these boats and their skippers are ready to face the most extreme, harsh conditions on the world’s oceans. That explains why some of the world’s leading ocean racers are in this class showing their total determination in this dash across the ocean, the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe.
OCEAN FIFTY
The Ocean Fifty class brings together 50-foot multihulls. It was set up in 2021 by the Multi50 class, which over the past fifteen years has constantly developed. Their boats, which fit in with class rules aim nevertheless to keep development costs down, while offering designers the possibility of showing off their skills. That can clearly be seen with the whole of the fleet since 2017 (10 boats) being fitted with one-design foils (as opposed to five boats in the 2018 Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe). We can look forward to a toughly fought contest, with some highly experienced sailors on these boats, like Armel Tripon, who was the class winner in the 2018 Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, Erwan le Roux and Thibaut Vauchel-Camus. There are also some newcomers to the circuit we should watch, like Eric Peron, Sam Goodchild, Sébastien Rogues, Quentin Vlamynck and Gilles Lamiré. Sailors with a lot of experience who have already raced on many other types of boat and are likely to put the pressure on the whole of the fleet.
CLASS40
Class40 brings together 40-foot monohulls. Their aim is to establish a race programme with coastal and ocean races for experienced amateur racers, who can compete alongside the professionals and enjoy and share the same experience. It is the result of a joint development programme set up by sailors and designers, who wanted to see ocean racing boats fit in between the 6.50 mini racers and the 60-foot boats, and which were nevertheless capable of crossing the Atlantic. The main advantages of this class are down to its simplicity and the conditions imposed by class rules to allow people to take part with limited budgets. Today, its success is clear to see and has been proven. No fewer than 55 sailors will be lining up at the start this year of the famous Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe. While that makes this class the one with the most entrants in this 12th edition of the race, it also makes it one where the battle is likely to be the most exciting. In fact, out in front there are likely to be around ten favourites, who will be giving it their all to win the race in Pointe-à-Pitre, while behind them there is a large group of outsiders and amateurs who are keen racers and will certainly be giving it their all throughout the crossing. We can look forward to a great deal of suspense all the way to the finish, which is something that will please both racers and spectators.
ULTIM 32/23
The ULTIM 32/23 boats are fast. These giants of the sea fly through the air and will of course be present in Saint-Malo. The leading category, as they are almost certainly going to be the first to reach the coast of Guadeloupe, features eight committed sailors this year. Eight Ultims, all designed to smash records and take up extreme challenges, including the newest boats in the category, SVR-Lazartigue (2021), the Banque Populaire XI maxi (2021) and Sodebo Ultim 3 (2019). Against them, some top class racers who have already shown what they can do on the world’s oceans: Francis Joyon’s IDEC Sport, a boat that has won the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe three times, including last time with her current skipper; Yves Le Blévec’s ACTUAL and Charles Caudrelier’s Edmond de Rothschild maxi. We will also see some other sailors on multihulls from previous generations, including a newcomer to the class: Arthur le Vaillant on the Ultim 32/23 Mieux and another sailor returning to the class, Romain Pilliard on Use it Again! by Extia. The battle in this legendary transatlantic race looks like being very exciting for the skippers, who may well beat the record time for the crossing yet again. It was set by Francis Joyon – the title-holder – with a time of 7 days 14 hours 21 minutes and 47 seconds. Rest assured that this contest over the water will once again be one for the history books.
MONO RUM
The Rhum Mono category is reserved for monohulls measuring 39 feet or more, which cannot enter any other class. There is a wide range of boats in the fleet, with some historic vessels and some prototypes. This year, sixteen solo sailors have chosen to line up with most of them aiming for victory on the other side of the Atlantic. The sailors are well prepared with their means allowing them to fulfil their dreams. Some, like Jean-Pierre Dick and Catherine Chabaud, figure among the top names in ocean racing. Obviously when you are looking at boats ranging between 40 and 60 feet with builds ranging from 1967 to 2011, they are not all on the same footing, but that doesn’t matter. That is what makes this Rhum Mono category so interesting and we can look forward to some fascinating stories. But, let there be no mistake about it, some of these sailors aim to show what they can do and as keen racers, will be giving it their all.
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