In the 2018 Route du Rhum, the Rhum classes bring together amateurs who can enter their own boat. Whether multihull or monohull, these classes allow amateurs to line up on the same starting line as the more prestigious competitors who can field prototypes.
Among the 18 multihulls and 17 monohulls registered in these categories, we are interested in the production boats that will be starting. Indeed, some sailors will start with the boat of "Mr. Everyman", the one you can order at your dealer.
3 monohull production boats out of 17 registered
While the RhumMono class includes some of the great names in ocean racing, such as the Kriter V and the Kriter VIII, prototypes that are still very well honed, there are three "ordinary" boats among the competitors.
Jean-Luc Bizien-Jaglin (59 years old) will start with his Opium 39. This Lombard design made a name for itself when it came out by taking on the lines of a 60-foot boat (very flat, very wide stern with 2 rudders). If the boat has the ability to glide downwind, it will be penalized by its waterline length of just 11 m (the smallest boat in the fleet).
In the list of registrants, we also find a Pogo 12.50 in the hands of Olivier Leroux (59 years old). While he thought he would participate in the race on his RM, it lost its keel and the skipper saw the boat sink under his feet. He managed to get back in the saddle by buying this Pogo to be present at the start.
Finally, Christophe Souchaud (53 years old) is back on the start line for the second time on his same boat: a Bénéteau First 40.7 with the objective of beating his own time from the previous edition.
6 production catamarans
In the RhumMulti class (18 competitors), there are many more production boats than in the monohulls. Two shipyards share the cake: Outremer and TS. For these two builders, the notion of performance is not just a selling point. The catamarans produced by them have a real capacity to go fast at sea.
There are 3 Outremer at the start of this Route du Rhum 2018. Eric Gamin (52 years old) launches into the adventure on Liladhoc his Outremer 49 barely prepared for the race. Lover of long-distance cruising, he will cut a starting line for the first time!
Jean-Pierre Balmes (59 years old) will be on an Outremer 4X, bigger and more modern.
Finally, we will also have an Outremer 5X skippered by Yann Marilley (58 years old). This skipper, who has worked extensively in sailing stables, has helped improve his boat to transform it into a Racing version: a version with a lot of carbon to give even more wings to this platform designed by VPLP.
Opposite these three catamarans from the Outremer shipyard, there are three TS from the Marsaudon Composite shipyard.
The TS 42 of Christian Guyader (58 years old) will be the smallest.
Gérald Bibot (58 years old) is on board TS50, which he knows well because he has already crossed the Atlantic on it.
Finally if his boat the TS52 is a serial boat (or almost since he lengthened the mast), the skipper Bertrand de Broc (58 years old) is not at his first try. An ocean racer, he has already participated 3 times in the raceâeuros¦
