Tom Laperche (SVR) is today closing in on an historic victory on the 13th edition of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe solo ocean sprint across the Atlantic from Saint Malo to Guadeloupe. The 29 year old was tacking upwind this morning with less than 80 miles to the Tête à l’Anglais, the little volcanic islet off the north of Basse Terre where he will turn for the climb to the finish line off Pointe-à-Pitre. Many times positions have been won and lost in those final miles, not least in 2018 when Francois Gabart ceded his long held lead to Francis Joyon who won by just over seven minutes.
But this time winner-elect Laperche is more than 600 miles ahead of second place and looks to have some 18 hours in hand to cover the final 150 miles if he is to break the 6d 19h course record set in 2022 by Charles Caudrelier on Gitana 17, a target which seems likely. He needs to finish before 0847h local time
Of course his is a virtuoso solo performance on the 32m ocean giant, but he has an excellent routing team working from the offices of Gabart’s enterporise Merconcept which includes Jean Yves Bernot, Franck Cammas who won the race in 2010 and who was co-skipper with Laperche when the duo won the double handed race to Martinique one year ago.
While Laperche needs to just stay focused and count down the miles to the line, in second and third Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) and Louis Burton (Ultim Armand Thiery) were this morning in the teeth of a tropical storm. “You just don’t want to venture outside. It has been such a long night in this storm, almost 12 hours, it is so wet and humid with lightning which is not funny when you have a 37 metre tall conductor in the air. The winds are so erratic, turning in all directions and on these huge boats it is difficult to react. But now it is good, it has gone OK, but I have to go right now and look after the boat” said Coville very briefly this morning.
In the IMOCA class Corentin Horeau’s lead is a substantial 364 nautical miles on MACSF with some 850 miles to finish, while in second Sam Goodchild (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) is fighting for every mile with Boris Herrmann (Malizia 4) about 25 miles to his NW in third. Horeau will be the first IMOCA to get into the really difficult conditions caused by this tropical storm. He will have violent, gusty winds with squalls with intense rain showers with the same lightning storms Coville reported.
Herrmann had a problem with a headsail furler, “I lost a few miles, I was unfurling one sail the furler would not work, the sail had twisted high up, it is rare. It was a little bit of a f++k around, but the boat is going pretty well. In fact it is much windier than expected, obviously as always had I known this I would not have changed the sail. It should go back to as forecast, this is maybe just the puff of the morning. We are just at sunrise, a beautiful sunrise so I am just trying to make some miles back.”
A shower and a spruce up has been a mental re-set for Francesca Clapcich (11th Hour Racing). With no bowsprit now she has had to modify her objectives and is fighting to hold miles on Max Sorel (Vaincre la Mucovisdicose) who is about 65 miles astern.
“The sails I have right now, I am on the J2, J3 and full main, that is all I have so of course in this light winds I am struggling. Others have for sure a J0. But these are the options I have. So it is what it is.” Said Clapcich this morning. She will likely struggle most against her adversaries in the final miles which look set to be quite light.
One of the most engaging tussles is in Class40 where Achille Nebout (Amarris) Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran Seafrigo) has taken the lead again at the head of a group of seven in the south. They can finally look forward to a marked improvement in conditions tomorrow night. A northerly group headed by Ian Lipinski, failed to convert their advantage into a gain to the westward—likely because the seas behind the front were too rough to allow them to re. Consequently, they have fallen back into line with the southerly group and are paying a heavy price for their chosen strategy. Spain’s Pep Costa (VSF Sports) is in that peloton, “The race is still very long but for now the objective is to sail fast and safe to get out of this low pressure and then get through another. It will be difficult but the game is still very open and I am trying to give myself 100 per cent as much of the time as possible.”Ireland’s Pamela Lee (Empowher) arrived in the Azores this morning for her pitstop to repair her charging problems and replace her J2 padeye. Spain’s Aina Bauza (Alice Milliat Foundation) is in 34th and has taken the big winds in her stride on her first big solo Class40 race.” This is my first time solo on Class 40 so I’m learning and being careful and I want to finish. I saw 45 knots before and was ok because I set up well and in fact it was not as bad as I thought, so right now I have 18 knots but by I’m going into 30 knots but I’m good I’m happy no problems’