Many to cross the line too early
The start of this 12th edition of the Route du Rhum was given upwind, with 15-20 knots of westerly wind and a swell of about 1 m. The 138 skippers crossed the starting line in Saint-Malo on Wednesday, November 9, 2022 at 2:15 pm, some more impatiently than others, as several skippers, especially in Class40, were unable to hold their boats before the start. Due to the large number of participants, the race direction did not foresee any "re-passing" of the line, but a penalty of 4 hours.
- Donald Alexander - Conscious Planet
- Axel Tréhin - Project Rescue Ocean
- Franz Bouvet - Yoda
- Jean-Pierre Balmès - FullSave
- Florian Gueguen - Dopamine Sailing Team
- Yoann Richomme - Paprec Arkéa
- Alberto Bona - Ibsa
- Antoien Magre - E Leclerc Ville La Grande
- François Guiffant - Kattan
- Nicolas Rouger - Tomorrow is far
Multi Rum
- Philippe Poupon - Flo
- Roland Jourdain - We explore
- Halvard Mabire - GDD
- Brieux Maisonneuve - CMA ile de France
- Christophe Bogrand - Château du Launay
Mono Rum
- Arnaud Pennarun - Pen Duick 3
The latter contests the penalty
The Ultim show
In the Ultimates, Charles Caudrelier on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild pressed hard on the throttle and took the lead on this first leg to Cap Fréhel. He passed the mark in first place, with an express tack, after 1h06 of racing, followed by Armel le Cléac'h on Banque Populaire. The biggest trimarans in ocean racing have demonstrated their full potential with speeds of 20 knots and peaks of 30 knots.
Ocean Fifty ready to compete
The Ocean Fifty have also established good averages, since at the mark, Arkema and Quentin Vlamynck and Thibaut Vauchel-Camus on Solidaires en Peloton - ARSEP have caught up with Actual and Yves le Blévec. It was Thibaut Vauchel Camus who turned the mark first after 1h32 of racing. Sam Goodchild, favorite of the event, who was doing his last race on Leyton was injured at the start. A technical problem caused a crank reversal and Sam was hit hard by the winch column handles. This accident forced him to be disembarked on a SNSM boat to return to Saint-Malo and to abandon. Gilles Lamiré (Groupe GCA-1001 SOURIRES), crossed the starting line 15 miles behind his competitors, following a problem with the mainsail hook.
Newborns at the forefront of the IMOCA class
On the IMOCA side, we could see the latest Ultims in the foreground, like Paul Meilhat on Biotherm or Sam Davies on Initiatives-Coeur. Charlie Dalin on Apivia has trusted the frontrunners, alongside Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut or Louis Burton on Bureau Vallée 3, always fast. Two IMOCA boats had to turn back even before passing the Cape Fréhel buoy, DMG Mori âeuros Global One (Kojiro Shiraishi) and Oliver Heer Ocean Racing collided. Material damages are recorded. Charlie Dalin on Apivia won the passage of the Cape Fréhel buoy, after 1h52 of racing.
A lively start in Class40
In Class40, the start was lively and before passing the buoy, Ian Lipinski on Crédit Mutuel, the first of the scows, Xavier Macaire on Groupe Snef, Corentin Douguet on Quiguiner-Innoveo, Yoann Richomme on Paprec-Arkea, Amélie Grassi on La Boulangère Bio or Antoine Carpentier on Redman are at the front. We will note the passage of the favorites at the buoy, Corentin Douguet (Queguiner - Innoveo), Amélie Grassi (La Boulangère Bio), Xavier Macaire (Groupe SNEF), Ian Lipinski (Crédit Mutuel), Simon Koster (Banque du Leman). Note the return to the port of Saint-Malo of the Class40 Cit'HÃ'tel âeuros Région Guadeloupe of Sacha Daunar for medical reasons.
Favourites in the lead in the Rhum class
Finally, in the Rhum Multi and Rhum Mono classes, Philippe Poupon on Flo and Loïc Escoffier on Lodigroup are to be counted on in the first category and Catherine Chabaud on Formatives Esri Business School for Ocean As Common and Jean-Pierre Dick on Notre Mediterranée - Ville de Nice. Even before passing Cape Frehel, Oren Nataf's trimaran Rayon Vert had to turn back.
In any case, there are still 3,500 miles ahead of the 138 skippers and it is not the passing of a buoy that determines the winner of a transatlantic race. Still, this can only be good for the morale of the troops!
