#RDR2014 / Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, on Grey Power, finished third : "I am absolutley over the moon !"

Hours from the finish line, when he was locked in a tense final battle with Italian course record holder for his class Andrea Mura, doing all he could to steal second, Britain's Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, 75, pronounced that he would be simply 'ecstatic' if he were to finish third in the Rhum Class of La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, the 3,542 miles solo race from Saint-Malo, France to Guadeloupe in the French West Indies.

Credit : Route du Rhum 

#RDR2014 / Victory ! Alex Pella : " I am so happy, for a Spaniard it is fantastic."

Spanish solo skipper Alex Pella wrote himself into the history books of the Route du Rhum solo Transatlantic race and Spanish ocean racing when he crossed the finish line of the 3,542 miles La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe race first in Classe40 at 06:47:08 hrs TU/07:47:08hrs CET/02:47:08 Local Guadeloupe.

Credit : A Courcoux

#RDR2014 / Peyron Wins in Record Time : "a very nice victory but a team victory"

Thirty two years after the first of his seven attempts, French ocean racing star Loick Peyron won the mythical Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe this Monday morning (TU) when he crossed the finish line of the solo race from Saint-Malo France to Pointe-a-Pitre at 04:08:32 TU/05:08:32 CET/00:08:32 local.

Crédit : A Courcoux

Route du Rhum / Peyron's Party Awaits #RDR2014

After nine editions over 32 years, Pointe-a-Pitre - the finish city for La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe - has shown it knows how to throw a welcome party to the heroic finishers of the classic, four yearly 3542 miles solo race from Saint Malo.

Credit : BPCE

Breaking News / Cat Phones Dismasted during the Route du Rhum. Conrad is safe #RDR21014

At 17:30 UTC, British competitor, Conrad Humphreys, Racing on the Class 40 Cat Phones, contacted the race office of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe to report that his boat had dismasted when he was 380nm east of the Azores. 

Credit : AFP

#RDR2014 / Very Good Work Peyron, Bob Escoffier was airlifted to safety

Early this afternoon (Thursday) about thirty miles off La Coruña, Bob Escoffier, the 65 year-old skipper from Saint Malo, was airlifted to safety by the Spanish Navy from his modified Sydney 60ft monohull Guisnel Grouo which was racing in the Rhum class of La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe.

Crédit : DR

#RDR2014 / Loick Peyron Escapes, Thomas Coville Damaged

Damage affected three of the five classes over the first night of La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe after strong winds struck.

Credit : A Courcoux [Pics] 

Thomas Coville (Ultime) was hit by a cargo ship, Loïc Fequet (Multi50) damaged a float and from Class40 François Angoulevant and Marc Lepesqueux both lost their keels. All the skippers are reported to be uninjured. In the strong winds and big seas Loick Peyron made good his escape on the giant Banque Populaire VII, making the break at Ushant.

#RDR2014 / Perfect 10? The Tenth Route du Rhum is Off and Running

As the tenth edition of the legendary Route du Rhum solo Transatlantic race to Guadeloupe started off Saint Malo, France this Sunday afternoon under grey skies and a moderate SSW’ly breeze. The perennial question of just how hard to push through the first 24-36 hours at sea was foremost in the minds of most of the 91 skippers.

Crédit : A Coucoux [Pics]

Route du Rhum / And they're off ! #RDR2014

The weather forecast for the first few days of La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe seems to suggest that the 3,542 miles from Saint-Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre will be quick. But first up there will be an active frontal system to cross before Ushant.

Crédit : E Allaire [More pics, here]

#RouteduRhum / Podiums On Target for International Skippers #RDR2014 (Itw)

As might be expected for a country for which solo ocean racing is national passion – witness the huge crowds on the Saint Malo docksides today enjoying warm Indian summer sunshine – the vast majority of the entries for the La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe are from France. But the record 91 strong entry is still peppered with solo skippers from eight other nations, nine men and two women hailing from Italy, Great Britain, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium and Finland. In fact several of them rank as serious podium contenders in their respective classes.

Crédit : AFP

#RDR2014 / Quality IMOCA fleet for La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe

Current and past champions of the non-stop solo round the world race, the Vendée Globe, will feature highly in the IMOCA Open 60 class in the upcoming Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe which starts from Saint Malo on Sunday 2nd November. 

#RDR2014 / March of the Giants!

In the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe the Ultimate class represents the battle of the giants, the extreme multihulls fight for supremacy. The Ultime class was created back in 2010 the giants return in 2014 for the historic tenth edition of the legendary solo Transatlantic from Saint Malo to Guadeloupe. Racing the Ultimes is one of the most pure human challenges in the race.

Credit : Th Martinez

IMOCA / Jourdain wins second consecutive Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale and makes race history

The familiar megawatt smile lit up the darkness on a still Caribbean night as Roland Jourdain and his Veolia Environnement finally ghosted to a halt in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe as the charismatic skipper wrote himself further into the history of the Route du Rhum as the first sailor to win the monoholl division twice in consecutive editions

Crédit : AFP

Franck Cammas wins 9th Route du Rhum La Banque Postale on Groupama 3 (ITW)

The Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale winner Franck Cammas and his weather team had his strategy marked out early.

Credit : AFP

With the Azores high pressure systems blocking the route there were two options: going east and south early to try and get under the high before it elongated moving east.
Groupama was the most southerly of the Ultime class giants as they exited the English Channel on a port gybe, and paid some early miles for their position as Sodebo and Air Oman Majan stayed further north to take the wind shift to the NW as it came.

La Route du Rhum / First of the Ultime giant multi's due in Point-à-Pitre tomorrow (ITW)

The ultimate honours in the historic clash of the monster multis, the no-holds-barred Ultime class which has set an electric pace for this historic 2010 Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale, will go down to the final 400 miles with a subtle, tactical showdown in light breezes.

The first of the giants is expected to finish this ninth edition off Point-à-Pitre, in Guadeloupe Monday evening (French time, early afternoon local), but even with a lead of 193 miles and 475 miles to go (16hCET Sunday), Franck Cammas on Groupama 3, was seeking to bolster his defences as much as possible in the light conditions which had already seen the leader slow to 10 knots Sunday afternoon.

La Route du Rhum / Coville's on the comeback !

A long, industrious, testing 24 hours for both of the leading Ultime skippers in the 2010 Route du Rhum-La Banque Postale sees Thomas Coville start to come back at the so far completely dominant Groupama 3 of Franck Cammas. Coville has pushing as hard as he dares on the giant red tri Sodebo, reporting to today’s lunchtime radio vacation that he had been regularly making 33-34 knots, and has posted the highest 24 hours run yet of this edition of the race, making 519 miles as his northerly routing now sees him in stronger and more consistent wind than Cammas.

Credit : Ch Launay / Sodebo

La Route du Rhum /Oman Air Majan skipper Sidney Gavignet talks about his incident

After a long night for the Oman Air Majan team, they are pleased to report that skipper Sidney Gavignet is now safely onboard the bulk carrier Kavo Alexander. The incident which occurred at 1635 CET yesterday (03.11.10) was dealt with swiftly by the shore team, race management, rescue teams and crew of the Kavo Alexander who ensured Sidney’s rescue within four hours or his first call.

Credit : Mark Lloyd / Oman Sail

Kavo Alexander is en route to Turkey, and it is not confirmed if Sidney will be dropped off in Gibraltar or Malta with an approximate ETA between the 06.11.10 and 09.11.10 respectively. The Oman Air Majan technical team drove through the night from the base in Lorient to Paris and boarded a flight to the Azores early this morning (04.11.10), and are due to arrive in Horta early in the afternoon around 1400 CET. A boat is on standby and ready to leave with the team to take them to Oman Air Majan, which is still being tracked by the team and is approximately 250 miles north east of the Azores.

News / Oman Air Majan Skipper Sidney Gavignet rescued North East of the Azores

As outlined in the last statement at 18: 30 CET (GMT+1), OMAN AIR MAJAN received substantial damage to the leeward front beam, and it is confirmed that OMAN AIR MAJAN has lost her mast. The port float is under the main beam; due to the serious nature of damage, and the uncertainty, the skipper Sidney Gavignet has made the difficult decision to abandon the boat.

 

Credit : Mark Lloyd / Oman Sail

La Route du Rhum / Sidney Gavignet activates distress beacon

At 1648hrs (GMT+1) the skipper of Oman Air Majan, Sidney Gavignet called to say that his boat has suffered a major damage to the leeward front beam. Oman Air Majan was sailing in headwinds of 20 knots, but the conditions were not extreme. Sidney Gavignet has activated his distress beacon. He has put on his survival suit and is uninjured. He is in the central pod and is clear of the water. Course Director Jean Maurel is in contact with the Portuguese MRCC to coordinate the rescue and is in permanent contact with Sidney and his shore team.

Video / Morning update - Sidney Gavignet is heading to the azores

The Ultimate Class are sailing at speed and the front runners should arrive at the Azores on Thursday. Oman Air Majan remains the most northerly boat within the fleet, but Sidney is sailing at full power and maintained an average speed of just over 16 knots last night.

Credit : Oman Sail