Following the weather briefing of this Saturday, November 5th, 2022 at 10:30 am, the race direction informed the whole fleet of the postponement of the race. This decision follows consultations with the forecasters of Météo Consult. The start will be given on Wednesday, November 9 at 14:15 as Francis Le Goff explains: " In this period, the weather conditions are expected to be very manageable with a W'ly wind of around fifteen knots. The situation will be favorable for the exit from the Channel, with an excellent forecast reliability of more than 90%. The start of the race will therefore be much less tricky than if the start had been given this Sunday.
A final weather briefing will be held the day before the start. The 38 IMOCA boats and the 8 Ocean Fifty boats will leave the docks in Saint-Malo on Tuesday afternoon (times to be defined). The Class40s and the Rhum Mono and Rhum Multi categories will leave the lock on Wednesday morning.
Conditions without loopholes
If the conditions for the start of the Route du Rhum were expected to be tough, but classic as Pierre Le Roy, meteorologist and navigator, told us, it was afterwards that we had to negotiate. Except that the weather situation expected in the Channel during the first 36 hours of the race is more complex than expected. The conditions at the start proved to be tougher, right from the start. The passage of a very active cold front with average winds of around 40 knots gusting to over 50 knots and 7 metre high waves expected in the Channel from Monday will prevent the 128 solo sailors from getting out of the Channel and reaching the South in safety.
Many skippers and their routers were already thinking of calling in at the Channel ports and some were even questioning the relevance of a departure on November 6th in view of the situation.
Avoiding repetition
This situation is certainly the wisest to avoid the breakage of the boats and to preserve the safety of the sailors. In 2018, departure in lesser conditions had already stopped more than 20% of the fleet after less than 24 hours of racing and some had chosen the stopover to protect themselves. We will also remember the 2002 edition, with a first night that had caused a massacre among the ORMAs. Out of 18 starters, only 3 boats had won Guadeloupe.
Reactions have been mixed, even if the majority of sailors think the decision to postpone the start was the right one, like Armel le Cléach', on Banque Populaire XI : "We have been talking to the Race Direction for a few days. The conditions are exceptional. None of the sailors in Ultim 32/23 have ever faced these conditions. With the Breton coast to leeward and the maritime traffic, we were heading for the wall. The sea core formed by this former tropical depression is a very special situation. It will make for some very nice images on Monday at the tip of Brittany, but it's better that we're not in it. A new start on Wednesday promises to bring some challenging conditions. The wind will remain westerly but the swell will gradually calm down."
