Young boats that are on the right track in the IMOCA class
These first four days of racing have been trying for the 138 sailors in the Route du Rhum 2022. As soon as they left the English Channel, they had to choose between two routes, the whole fleet to the South, and Louis Duc on the IMOCA Fives-Lantana Environnement to the North, in heavy weather. If this choice could appear judicious, today the skipper is in 28th position. In the IMOCA class, the leaders have now passed the Azores. The fleet is led by the eternal Charlie Dalin on Apivia, the great favorite of the event. Next to him are Jéremie Beyou on Charal and Thomas Ruyant on LinkedOut. If this trio is no stranger to the podium, Paul Meilhat on Biotherm and Kevin Escoffier on Holcim-PRB, or Maxime Sorel on V and B - Monbana - Mayenne prove that their recent foilers are up to the task.
Several skippers have suffered damage and have been diverted to repair while others have had to abandon. Damien Seguin on Apicil collided with a cargo ship, Louis Burton on Bureau Vallée 3 dismasted for the second time in the race... Skipper Kojiro Shiraishi was the first to retire after his collision with Oliver Heer at the start.
Caudrelier unchallenged! Armel back in the game!
In Ultim, the fleet is still led by Charles Caudrelier on Maxi Edmond de Rotschild. He leads by a small margin, only 40 miles ahead of François Gabart on SVR Lazartigue. Thomas Coville on Sodebo Ultim closes the podium 100 miles behind, since Armel le Cléac'h damaged his daggerboard. The latter informed the race management of a crack in his daggerboard under the bottom of the boat on November 10. Forced to return to Lorient to repair, he resumed sailing on November 12 and is now in 7th place ahead of Romain Pilliard on Use It Again! by Extia.
Capsize in Ocean Fifty and a young leader
In the Ocean Fifty, while in first place, Thibaut Vauchel-Camus on Solidaires en Peloton - ARSEP capsized on November 12 while 240 miles from the Azores. He was rescued and the boat secured for a tow to the Azores. After Sam Goodchild was evacuated due to injuries at the start, there are now only six skippers left in Ocean Fifty. For the moment it is the young Quentin Vlamynck on Arkema, who has taken the lead of the fleet, followed by Erwan Le Roux on Koesio at 60 miles and Sébastien Rogues on Primonial at 65 miles.
A hell of a comeback in Class40 and some dismastings
In Class40, we can only salute the incredible performance of Yoann Richomme on Paprec-Arkea. Penalized by 4 hours for crossing the start line early, he had to pay his penalty before the first 48 hours of racing. Thus dropped to the last place in the ranking, he managed an incredible comeback and is now exchanging the 1st place with Corentin Douguet on Queguiner-Innoveo according to the rankings. Xavier Macaire on Groupe SNEF completes the podium of the moment.
Several skippers have suffered damage and have been forced to divert to repair. Others were even less lucky, like Aurélien Ducroz on Crosscall and Amélie Grassi on La Boulangère Bio, who dismasted and were forced to abandon.
In total, six people have retired from Class 40.
Capsize and rescue in the Rhum Multi, a favorite missing
In the Rhum Multi class, Brieuc Maisonneuve capsized on his catamaran CMA Ile de France - 60 000 Rebonds on November 13, after a violent start. He was rescued by Jean-Pierre Dick in Rhum Mono, diverted to the area by the race direction. The two men are heading for the Azores. Gilles Buekenhout is leading the fleet on his trimaran Jess, followed 83 miles behind by Roland Jourdain on We Explore. Philippe Poupon on the trimaran Flo was announced as the favorite, but had to make several technical stops which put him in 13th position out of 15.
Two great names in ocean racing at the head of the Mono Rum fleet
Finally, in Rhum Mono, the fleet is complete and led by the favorite, Jean-Pierre Dick, on Notre Méditerranée - Ville de Nice. We salute the performance of Catherine Chabaud on the former Cigare Rouge, the boat on which she became the first woman to finish a Vendée Globe in 1990. Although she has not sailed solo for 20 years, she is still at the helm and is close to the leader.
