Three dismasting, one capsize and material breakage… The passage of a violent front has left its mark on the Route du Rhum.
An Imoca monohull, although accustomed to the seas of the deep south in the Vendée Globe (dismasting of Louis Burton’s Bureau Vallée), an Ocean Fifty trimaran (capsizing of Solidaires en Peloton – ARSEP of Thibaut Vauchel-Camus) and two Class40 monohulls affected (dismasting of the Crosscall by Aurélien Ducroz and La Boulangère Bio by Amélie Grassi, one of the seven women in the race), the toll is heavy on the Route du rhum fleet, and those who escaped, and surely other breakages will be announced during the day, are healing their wounds, after the passage of a terrible depression.
About 350 miles northwest of Cape Finisterre, the passage of this front was violent, as Yoann Richomme (Paprec Arkéa), the double winner of the Solitaire du Figaro, told future skipper of an Imoca monohull and title holder: “It was fast but very very violent after the front. The boat was jumping in the waves. It felt like everything was going to explode any moment. It was creepy as hell. Xavier Macaire is the one who attacked the most and I admit that I didn’t try to keep up with his pace, especially after seeing Aurélien Ducroz and Amélie Grassi dismasting just in line with my transom. I really thought we were all going to go through it. I know what it’s like to lose your mast in these kinds of conditions. It’s incredibly hard to undo all the ropes on rough seas and at night too”added the navigator, author of a magnificent comeback to return to the top three alongside Corentin Douguet (Quéguiner – Innoveo) and Xavier Macaire (Groupe SNEF), the three men being grouped in less than 7 miles, after having to let them slip away to complete his 4-hour penalty following a premature start on the line in Saint-Malo.
Good weather not for now
Even if the conditions improved after the passage of the front, the wind dropping from 40 knots to a more reasonable twenty, the sea remained rough for Yoann Richomme and the survivors of this 12th edition. And you will have to wait between 3 and 4 days for the Class40s and half as long for the fastest Ultim trimarans and Imoca monohulls, to finally escape this zone of high atmospheric pressure and finally be able to take off the oilskins.
On this decidedly badly paved Guadeloupe road (which is not illogical in November), Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) managed to give himself a tiny bit of air ahead of François Gabart (SVR Lazartigue). In the 9 o’clock ranking, the leader is 23 miles ahead of his rival, not even an hour at sea at an average speed of 30 knots, and 94 miles over Thomas Coville (Sodebo), Francis Joyon (Idec), holding him of the title being relegated to 448 miles, far from his dreams of a double for the moment. “François came back to me in the light airs, shortly before the Azores. He was going straight, while I couldn’t! I turned 4-5 times, which required considerable energy. I took a slightly tougher option than his in the archipelago but, in the end, it came back to almost the same thing (…) It’s still a bit of a war in terms of conditions. It is far from the dream. We are impatiently waiting to be able to take off the raincoats and enjoy stable winds. There, it constantly fluctuates between 20 and 30 knots, it’s far from restful »confided Charles Caudrelier, well served for his first Route du rhum, this Sunday morning at the session.
Small gaps in all categories
As for the Imoca monohulls, Charlie Dalin (Apivia) is still leading the dance during a first participation that has been perfectly mastered for the moment, ahead of Jérémie Beyou (Charal) with a comfortable gap of 80 miles, Thomas Ruyant (LinkedOut) following at 84 miles, Paul Meilhat (Biotherm) at 98 miles and Kevin Escoffier (Holcim-PRB) at 103 miles. And on the Ocean Fifty side, after Thibaut Vauchel-Camus left the road, Quentin Vlamynck (Arkema) dominates with a 28-mile lead over Sébastien Rogues (Primonial). A small gap which finally symbolizes well the course of this Route du rhum where no one (except perhaps Charlie Dalin) managed to make the best of it. And so much the better for the suspense…