The start of the 12th edition of the Route du Rhum will be given early Wednesday afternoon.
The start of the 12th edition of the Route du Rhum, initially scheduled for Sunday and postponed due to the weather, (50 knots and waves of 6 to 7 meters) will be given on Wednesday at 2:15 p.m. (1:15 p.m. GMT) in Saint-Malo (Ille -et-Vilaine), the organizers announced on Sunday.
«The start will be given Wednesday afternoon at 2:15 p.m. on the planned line at the Pointe du Grouin (…) the weather is more favourable. It remains engaged, but it is completely acceptable“Explained Francis Le Goff, race director, at a press conference. The 138 skippers entered were initially due to start on Sunday, but the very degraded weather conditions announced off Brittany from Monday had led to a postponement, a first in the history of the race since its creation in 1978.
Situation favorable
«On the new niche, the weather conditions are expected to be very manageable with a westerly wind of around fifteen knots, detailed Francis Le Goff. The situation will be favorable for the exit of the Channel, with an excellent reliability of the forecast (…) The start of the race will therefore be much less delicate than if the start had been given this Sunday».
Passage of the locks from Tuesday afternoon
The 38 Imoca monohulls and the 8 Ocean Fifty trimarans will leave the basins of Saint-Malo on Tuesday afternoon (times to be defined). The Class40s and the Rhum Mono and Rhum Multi categories will use the lock on Wednesday morning to join the 8 Ultims already out and sheltered near Dinard.
The event village in Saint-Malo, which has welcomed hundreds of thousands of people since its opening on October 25, will close at 5 p.m. this Sunday, said Joseph Bizard, general manager of OC Sport, in charge of the ‘organization.