Martinique la 1ère announced that the sailors of the 12th edition of the Route du Rhum already spent their first night at sea. The skippers who left Saint-Malo (Ille-et-Vilaine) on Wednesday November 9, are on their way to Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe). Charles Caudrelier (Ultim 32/23) is leading the way on the Atlantic and Guadeloupean sailor Kéni Piperol is leading the Class40s. [Also see previous post on Piperol at Kéni Piperol, Guadeloupean Skipper.]

With a lead of around thirty miles, and given the performance of the Ultim 32/23s, which sail between 22 and 25 knots, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is about an hour and a half ahead of her closest competitors.

Having begun on Wednesday November 9, 2022, at 2:15pm, the start of the competition is above all marked by the strategic decision taken on how best to approach the Bay of Biscay. Most of the solo sailors seem to be opting for western routes, with more or less southern directions for their trajectories.

After this first day, damage has been reported among the Class40s. Several boats hit rocks or boulders. Twelve competitors have gone ashore [for repairs].

Kéni Piperol, good start to the race

[. . .] Kéni Piperol is leading the Class40! By midday on Thursday, the Guadeloupean was west of the island of Ouessant, heading for a “big piece:” the Bay of Biscay.

Thibaut Vauchel-Camus is sixth in the Ocean Fifty.

Willy Bissainte (Tradisyon Gwadloup) Rum Mono is 4th in his category. Daniel Ecalard (SOS Pare-Brise) flying the colors of Martinique, is currently 4th and heading for Ouessant.

Damien Seguin has passed the Raz de Sein and is heading along the coast of Finistère. “Everything is fine aboard, no worries, and on we go.”

Martinican Sacha Daunar, sailing under the colors of Guadeloupe, had to turn around towards Saint-Malo and was tended to by the doctors who indicated “that he must be treated on land urgently with an intense treatment over two or three days,” his association explained on Facebook.

Rodolphe Sepho, whose boat was damaged, stopped at the port of Roscoff to repair his starboard foil and a float after a collision with an unidentified floating object.

Etienne Hochédé also stopped in the port of Roscoff after a power failure on his boat.

Excerpts translated by Ivette Romero. For full article in French, see https://la1ere.francetvinfo.fr/martinique/route-du-rhum-le-guadeloupeen-keni-piperol-leader-de-la-class40-apres-24-heures-de-course