Route du Rhum 2026 – Race Blog

Rolling news from the 13th Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe, Saint-Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre. All times UK (GMT).

The fight for second in the IMOCAs is now a two-boat drag race. At the 17:00 UK report, Corentin Horeau (MACSF) had 1,263 miles to go and a lead of 257 miles, but behind him Boris Herrmann (Malizia 4) and Sam Goodchild (Macif Santé Prévoyance) were separated by just five miles, both making around 20 knots. Francesca Clapcich, nursing her broken bowsprit, holds fourth from Élodie Bonafous. In the Ocean Fifties, Basile Bourgnon leads Pierre Quiroga by 107 miles. And in the Vintage Monos, Patrick Isoard has slipped past Tanguy Caradec into third, behind Sidney Gavignet and Kieran Le Borgne.

Tom Laperche is into the final stretch. At the 17:00 UK report, SVR-Lazartigue had 482 miles left to Pointe-à-Pitre and was back up to nearly 28 knots after the tropical depression. The race organisers expect him in on Saturday afternoon local time, which is Saturday evening in the UK, well inside the record. He admits to feeling the fatigue and is taking short naps to stay sharp, with few trade winds near Guadeloupe and plenty of tacking likely. Behind him, Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) has opened a gap of about 100 miles on Louis Burton in the battle for second. In Class40, Achille Nebout (Amarris) has edged ahead of Guillaume Pirouelle by two miles.

Violette Dorange’s fight to rejoin the race is over. After four days of repairs in Lorient to her IMOCA Initiatives-Cœur, damaged in the collision with Romain Pilliard’s trimaran only hours after Sunday’s start, her team has confirmed she cannot set off again. “It is impossible to restart,” she said, after attempting to put the boat back in the water. The state of the boat left no choice, she added, calling it a great disappointment. It is a cruel blow for one of the most popular skippers in the fleet, who had hoped to set off again in mid-November and still reach Guadeloupe before the finish line closes.

Sasha Lanièce had seen it coming. Hours before the Azores depression reached her, the Saint-Malo skipper posted a video admitting she was afraid of losing her mast. On Friday morning it happened: her Class40 Alderan dismasted north of the Azores in 35–40 knots and five-metre seas, with the alert raised at 07:05 UK time. She was lying 15th. Her team says she is well, and she is now making for the Azores under a jury rig. She is now listed among the retirements, the fifth in a Class40 fleet that has been hammered by this storm.

Basile Bourgnon is making the Ocean Fifty lead look almost comfortable. More than 115 miles clear on Edenred, he describes his crossing so far as “relatively civilised”, the only real damage being blisters on his hands from working the sheets, Sail-World reports. Strong winds are forecast for Saturday, though, so the comfort may not last. In the Ultims, the battle for second is as tight as ever. Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) still holds the place, but Louis Burton (Ultim Armand Thiery) was only five miles behind this morning and sailing faster. Both are due in Pointe-à-Pitre on Sunday.

Boris Herrmann is honest about his chances of catching the IMOCA leader. Facing 30-knot north-north-westerlies, the Malizia 4 skipper compared the spray hammering his windows to a car wash, Yacht magazine reports. Herrmann believes Corentin Horeau is quicker and is sailing outside the worst of the swell, and admits he is not sure he can close the gap of more than 260 miles. Racing a boat launched only in July, he says he is still learning how to balance ballast and foils. With some routings showing 50 knots ahead, he calls this tougher than a normal Rhum, but says he has a good feeling about his race.

Francesca Clapcich has had a night to forget. The race organisers report that trouble began on 11th Hour Racing when her J0 fell into the water as she deployed it in the dark and wrapped itself around the J2 forestay. Having recovered it, she was setting her fractional Code Zero when the entire bowsprit sheared off at the stem. “The whole bowsprit structure exploded,” she said. The damage may explain why she was logging under five knots at the early-morning ranking, when she slipped to fourth in the IMOCAs with around 1,810 miles to go. There is no word yet on what it means for her sail plan for the rest of the crossing.

The Class40s have taken the full force of the Azores depression. Winds of up to around 40 knots swept the fleet overnight, and some boats were working clear by morning. Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran-Seafrigo) still leads from Achille Nebout (Amarris) and Robin Follin (Solano), whose more southerly line, about 30 miles west of Flores, could yet spring a surprise, the organisers suggest. Follin peaked at 32 knots and now has 17, but the confused sea is the real enemy, with at least 36 hours on starboard tack ahead. “The nights are endless,” he said. Far behind, Mathieu Claveau (Inherent – Phare 40) is routing north to dodge 50-knot winds and seven-metre seas.

Friday morning’s routings put Tom Laperche across the line in Pointe-à-Pitre around 19:00 UK time on Saturday, slightly later than earlier estimates but comfortably inside Charles Caudrelier’s 2022 record of 6 days 19 hours 47 minutes, which runs out at about 07:50 UK on Sunday. SVR-Lazartigue was under 630 miles out and more than 540 miles clear. Laperche admits to some tension as he waits for the wind to swing south-west through the tropical depression, and has no wish to lose ground in the transition. Coville, Burton and Soudée are expected on Sunday, Barrier on Monday. Bourgnon should lead the Ocean Fifties home on Monday night, Horeau the IMOCAs on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Corentin Horeau did not mince his words. “Yesterday was carnage! I even got the helmet out,” the MACSF skipper said of Thursday, when a violent broach knocked his IMOCA flat to 90 degrees and sent gear flying around inside. The boat behaved well, but he chose to ease off. His lead survives intact at more than 245 miles over Boris Herrmann (Malizia 4), with Sam Goodchild third and Francesca Clapcich fourth. Horeau now has 16 to 22 knots, with another stormy depression ahead. In the Ocean Fifties, Basile Bourgnon is over 115 miles clear of Pierre Quiroga and Thibaut Vauchel-Camus, and strong winds are forecast for Saturday. Further back, a new low near the Azores will bring 40–45-knot gusts.

Ambrogio Beccaria’s race is over. At 22:07 UK time on Thursday, sailing in heavy seas and lying fifth in the IMOCA fleet, the Allagrande Mapei skipper fell heavily in his cockpit. In severe back pain, he spoke to the race’s medical team and decided to stop. He is now heading for the Azores, just over 550 miles away, where medical care will be waiting for him. His shore team is preparing to meet him there and bring the boat home. His race had already come apart at the first ridge, when he held out to the west while Corentin Horeau escaped. That option paid least of all, and he had spent the last 24 hours driving the boat hard to claw back miles.

At the 07:00 UK position report, Tom Laperche had 621 miles left to Pointe-à-Pitre. He is in the middle of the tropical depression, with heavy cloud, calm patches and unpredictable gusts. Speaking to the race organisers this morning, he said he was waiting for the wind to swing south-west for the run to the Antilles. He admitted to some nerves about losing ground in the transition. With no trade winds, the finish will be a beat with plenty of tacking, and he compared it to Franck Cammas zigzagging to victory on Groupama 3 in 2010. His lead is big enough that he could sail at half his rivals’ pace and still arrive with them, but he says he will take no unnecessary risks. He hopes to finish on Saturday evening, which would comfortably beat the 07:49 UK Sunday record deadline. Behind him, Louis Burton has moved back into second, seven miles ahead of Thomas Coville.

Corentin Horeau has been reminded how quickly an IMOCA can bite. MACSF broached in Thursday’s heavy weather and was laid over at 90 degrees. “Yesterday was absolute carnage! I even put on my helmet,” he told the race organisers. He has since won back the 100 or so miles he lost to Boris Herrmann and now leads by more than 245, with the wind down to a more manageable 16–22 knots. He is taking nothing for granted, though, with another thundery depression still ahead. Further back, Francesca Clapcich has been fighting a J0 that wrapped itself partly around her forestay, and she said overnight that she wasn’t sure she could use it again. Sam Goodchild is third, around 30 miles behind Herrmann.

Basile Bourgnon has found some respite at the front of the Ocean Fifties. Edenred now leads by more than 115 miles after he pushed hard at the point where he knew conditions would favour the front-runners. He says this is about the first time in the crossing he has slept properly, although the endless manoeuvring has left his hands blistered from the sheets. He expects Saturday’s heavy weather to make the race more about managing the boat than racing it. In the Vintage Multis, Thursday’s gale tore Eric Péron’s mainsail lazy-bag away, complicating life aboard his ORMA trimaran, and Damien Seguin leads by 70 miles. Tanguy Caradec, now third in the Vintage Monos, plans to go down to three reefs, or the J3 alone, when the wind returns.

Ireland’s Pam Lee is heading for the Azores. Empowher lost the padeye for her J2 from the deck, and Lee has been fighting constant charging problems. She was 140 miles north of the islands this morning and intends to rejoin the race after repairs. Up front, Robin Follin, third and less than 20 miles behind leader Guillaume Pirouelle, saw up to 32 knots west of Flores overnight. The wind has since eased, but he reports a chaotic cross-sea coming from every direction. There is more to come for the Class40s and the back of the IMOCA fleet. On Saturday, the Azores low is forecast to bring strong north-westerlies with 40–45-knot gusts in squalls and waves of around five metres.

Sidney Gavignet has taken charge of the Vintage Monos. At the 05:00 UK position report, the 2018 Rhum Mono winner had Le Cigare Rouge just five miles ahead of Kieran Le Borgne (Armor-Lux – Le Finistère Assurance), with long-time leader Tanguy Caradec (Eurvad) only seven miles back and Patrick Isoard fourth. In Class40, the leaders are due to meet the worst of the Azores depression today: Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran-Seafrigo) leads Achille Nebout (Amarris) by nine miles, with Robin Follin, Axel Tréhin and Pierre Leboucher all within 25 miles. Damien Seguin still heads the Vintage Multis, around 70 miles clear of Eric Péron, with Gilles Lamiré third.

Corentin Horeau has rebuilt his cushion. At the 05:00 UK report, MACSF had 1,485 miles to go and was about 260 miles clear of Boris Herrmann (Malizia 4), after averaging 22.6 knots over the previous four hours. On Thursday morning the gap had shrunk to around 145. Sam Goodchild (Macif Santé Prévoyance) has climbed to third after his difficult first night, while Francesca Clapcich (11th Hour Racing) has slipped to fourth, logging under five knots and losing 62 miles in four hours. In the Ocean Fifties, Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) leads Pierre Quiroga by about 100 miles, with Thibaut Vauchel-Camus up to third ahead of Léonard Legrand.

Tom Laperche is into the final 650 miles. At the 05:00 UK position report, SVR-Lazartigue had 637 miles left to Pointe-à-Pitre, but her speed had dropped to around 11 knots as the leader worked through the tropical depression he expected to cross close to its centre overnight. The upwind leg to the Antilles comes next, and to beat the record he must finish before 07:49 UK time on Sunday. His lead now exceeds 500 miles. The duel for second rumbles on: Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) is just two miles ahead of Louis Burton (Ultim Armand Thiery), with Guirec Soudée fourth and Alexia Barrier, at nearly 25 knots, fifth.

The first images of Armel Le Cléac’h’s rescue have surfaced. Course au Large has published video filmed by Táo HP, a crew member aboard the cargo ship Palexpo, which picked the skipper up from the upturned Maxi Banque Populaire XI on Wednesday afternoon, some 550 miles north-west of the Azores. The giant trimaran appears to be in relatively good condition, the outlet notes, raising hopes that she can be recovered quickly and repaired. Le Cléac’h, who capsized while lying second in the Ultim class, was reported by the organisers to be in good health after the rescue. For his team, the salvage now becomes the priority.

Vincent Riou will not reach Guadeloupe. The 2004–05 Vendée Globe winner, racing the Class40 Pierreval – Fondation GoodPlanet, had diverted to La Coruña in Spain after damage aboard, the race organisers report. The repair was completed, but with a major low forecast in the Atlantic over the coming days, Riou chose not to set off again. Finishing four or five days behind the leaders, while taking such risks alone, did not add up for him. “I felt the risk wasn’t worth it,” he said. It is another loss for a Class40 fleet already thinned by injury, a dismasting and rudder damage.

Boris Herrmann has come through a brutal night on Malizia 4. German broadcaster NDR reports the skipper is completely exhausted after hours of heavy weather, yet he is still second in the IMOCAs and picking up speed again. Speaking to the race organisers, he said he was averaging 20–21 knots in big seas, and warned that some routings show up to 50 knots in the large low ahead. Francesca Clapcich has also clawed back nearly 100 miles. Sam Goodchild, fourth, blames a first-night tactical error for being becalmed in a stalled front, and is now pushing hard in 30 knots and four-metre seas.

Tom Laperche is on course to finish on Saturday. At the 16:00 UK position report he was about 370 miles clear of Thomas Coville and Louis Burton, with roughly 2,500 of the 3,542 theoretical miles sailed. To beat Charles Caudrelier’s 2022 record of 6 days 19 hours 47 minutes, he must finish before 07:49 UK time on Sunday. First comes the tropical depression, which he expects to cross close to its centre tonight, then 500–600 miles upwind with no trade wind, and unmarked fishing devices off the Antilles. “The race is very far from over,” warned team manager Antoine Gautier.

The Class40 leaders are bracing for the worst of the Azores depression. Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran-Seafrigo) gybed south about 140 miles north of the Azores and expects to pass close to the centre of the low on Friday morning. He told the race organisers that the harshest conditions could last a day and a half to two days. Only a few miles separate him from Achille Nebout, Pierre Leboucher and Robin Follin. Further back, Pep Costa (VSF Sports), tenth, expects strong north-westerlies, mostly downwind. His priority is simple: look after the boat and get out of the low in one piece.

Erwan Le Draoulec has shown remarkable grit, but his race is over. At 06:39 UK time this morning, during a manoeuvre in 25 knots of north-westerly wind about 100 miles south-west of Flores, the 29-year-old dislocated his shoulder aboard the Ocean Fifty Lazare x Hellio. He alerted his shore team and, a few minutes later, put the joint back in by himself. On medical advice and after talks with his team, he is now heading for Horta in the Azores for treatment, with demanding weather forecast on the road to the Antilles. “Erwan’s health and safety come first,” his team said of a decision Le Figaro Nautisme called inevitably disappointing.

The Class40 fight is getting tighter still. At the 14:00 UK ranking, Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran-Seafrigo) led Achille Nebout (Amarris) by just three miles, with Pierre Leboucher (Institut Imagine) and Robin Follin (Solano) both around seven miles back and Guillaume L’Hostis fifth. Pep Costa was the fastest mover earlier in the day, gaining 19 miles on the leader in four hours. In the Ocean Fifties, Pierre Quiroga (Wewise) has nudged past Léonard Legrand into second, about 123 miles behind Basile Bourgnon. Damien Seguin leads Eric Péron by 29 miles in the Vintage Multis, while Tanguy Caradec is 15 miles clear of Kieran Le Borgne in the Vintage Monos.

The Ultim podium is changing hands by the hour. At the 14:00 UK ranking, Tom Laperche had around 1,030 miles left to Guadeloupe, still averaging close to 34 knots on SVR-Lazartigue and more than 350 miles clear. Behind him, Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) had edged back ahead of Louis Burton (Ultim Armand Thiery) by just two miles, a few hours after losing the place. Guirec Soudée (LIAMM) and Alexia Barrier (IDEC Sport-CIC) complete the top five. In the IMOCAs, the same report put Corentin Horeau around 186 miles ahead of Boris Herrmann, with Francesca Clapcich third, Sam Goodchild fourth and Ambrogio Beccaria fifth.

Basile Bourgnon is in preservation mode. Leading the Ocean Fifties on Edenred, he has around 30 knots of mean wind behind the front and a leftover sea slamming into the beam, and has cut his sail plan almost to the minimum. The aim, he says, is not speed but getting out of this without breaking anything. Léonard Legrand and Pierre Quiroga follow. In the Vintage Multi class there is a new leader: Guadeloupe’s own Damien Seguin (Arkéa – Handicap International) has taken over from Eric Péron, with Gilles Lamiré third. Tanguy Caradec still heads the Vintage Monos, while Mathieu Claveau and Stéphane Bodin, four days in, are still level with Saint-Malo.

Corentin Horeau had a rude awakening at around 03:30 UK time. “I went from 8 to 40 knots in fifteen seconds,” the MACSF skipper reported after a violent thunderstorm, forcing him to bear away to furl his headsail. Nothing broke. But the IMOCA leader can feel the pressure building behind him: Boris Herrmann has been chipping away on Malizia 4, cutting a deficit of up to 230 miles on Wednesday to around 145, according to Course au Large. Francesca Clapcich holds third. Friday may bring a brief lull between the two weather systems, before conditions could deteriorate again near the Antilles at the weekend.

Météo Consult’s Cyrille Duchesne has painted a sobering picture of the depression lying in wait for the chasing fleet. Wedged between high pressure over Europe and another high off the US east coast, it will stall and spin on itself, “a bit like a washing machine”, he told Le Figaro Nautisme, keeping boats in its grip for two to three days. Expect north winds of 35–38 knots on its western side, gusts of 50–55 knots in squalls and waves above five metres. The Class40s meet the first front today and the worst on Friday. The options: a stormy north, an exposed middle line, or a longer, safer southern route.

Violette Dorange is not giving up. Her IMOCA Initiatives-Cœur, hit by Romain Pilliard’s Vintage trimaran Use It Again shortly after Sunday’s start, reached Lorient on Wednesday with a damaged starboard foil, structural damage and a leak. Le Figaro Nautisme reports that the boat must be lifted out, unstepped and stripped of her foils, with a first estimate of around nine days’ work. That would send her back into the Atlantic in mid-November, with under three weeks to sail roughly 3,500 miles before the finish line closes on 3 December. “My goal is still to reach Guadeloupe,” she has said. Pilliard is in Roscoff, unsure whether he can continue.

Tom Laperche sounded calm on this morning’s radio session with the race organisers. Leading since Cap Fréhel on day one, the SVR-Lazartigue skipper admitted fatigue is starting to tell, but says morale is good. His focus now is a tropical depression between him and Guadeloupe, a set-up he has never met before, bringing strong winds, thunderstorms and squalls. “You always have to find the right compromise,” he said: fast, but not too fast, aiming to cross close to the centre of the system before beating into the Antilles. Two days from the finish, he is still in a down jacket and sea boots.

The Atlantic is serving up two distinct problems this morning. A depression north-west of the Azores is giving the chasing fleet a punishing time, with the IMOCAs, Ocean Fifties and Class40s all feeling its weight. Far ahead, the leading Ultims are closing on an unusual tropical depression short of the Caribbean, where thunderstorms and squalls are forecast. For Tom Laperche, the job is to keep SVR-Lazartigue at full pace without breaking anything after four days of hard sailing. Louis Burton and Thomas Coville will meet the same system later, and it may look very different by the time they get there.

Matthieu Perraut is off his upturned trimaran. The Ocean Fifty skipper, whose Elvest capsized north of the Azores on Tuesday evening, was picked up at 06:15 this morning by the Merida, Oceanic Assistance’s rescue vessel, and his team reports he is well and safe on board. The Merida’s crew, led by Adrien Hardy, is now trying to right Elvest so she can be towed. Once that operation is done, the ship will head for the Azores, where skipper and boat will be landed and his shore team will be waiting. The Elvest team has thanked everyone involved in the rescue.

If you want a match race, look at Class40. At the 06:00 position report, Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran Seafrigo) led Robin Follin (Solano) by just 1.9 miles, effectively boat-for-boat after four days at sea. The class has paid heavily for the early heavy weather, though. Quentin Le Nabour is out after dismasting and Fabien Delahaye has retired with an ankle injury. Alexis Loison is heading for Port-la-Forêt after losing his starboard rudder, while Marco Guerra (Imagin’Act-Socomec) made a technical stop there with keel, water ingress and electronics problems. Attrition, not just speed, may decide this one.

Tom Laperche has broken away. At the 06:00 position report, SVR-Lazartigue had around 1,223 miles to go to Guadeloupe and more than 300 miles in hand. Only yesterday morning Thomas Coville briefly nosed ahead on the southernmost route; since then Laperche has been untouchable, also claiming the Ultim 24-hour distance trophy with 711.1 miles. Behind him, Louis Burton (Ultim Armand Thiery) has taken second place back from Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3), with only a handful of miles between them. Coville has reported a failed headsail, which may explain his slide down the order.

Corentin Horeau (MACSF) holds a commanding lead in the IMOCA class. At Wednesday evening’s report, Boris Herrmann was second, around 234 miles back, on his first solo race with the new Malizia 4, with Francesca Clapcich third. Ambrogio Beccaria (Allagrande) holds the class 24-hour benchmark for now, at 489.8 miles. Two big names are already gone. Pre-race favourite Jérémie Beyou (Charal) retired for medical reasons, and Armel Tripon (Les P’tits Doudous) is out after rudder damage on the second night, heading for La Trinité-sur-Mer. For Horeau, the task now is simply to keep the boat in one piece.

Armel Le Cléac’h is safe. The Maxi Banque Populaire XI skipper capsized at around 04:30 UK time on Wednesday, some 550 miles north-west of the Azores, while lying second. Race director Francis Le Goff said he was sheltering inside the boat, well equipped and in good shape, while two vessels diverted to help. A Panamanian cargo ship reached him first in mid-afternoon and carried out the rescue; the organisers report he is in good health. It is a cruel echo of 2018, when his previous Ultim, Banque Populaire IX, capsized in this same race and was lost.

The holder will not defend his title. Charles Caudrelier discovered before dawn on Tuesday that the new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild was refusing to fly. Gitana’s team says the trailing-edge skins at the top of the port foil shaft had torn away, taking hydraulic hoses with them – not caused by an impact, and not repairable at sea or in a quick stopover. He is sailing about 1,500 miles back to Lorient and is due in at the weekend. Anthony Marchand, racing Caudrelier’s 2022 record-setting trimaran as Actual Ultim 4, has also retired with rudder damage and is in Galway.

In the Ocean Fifty class, Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) leads and holds the class 24-hour benchmark so far at 480.9 miles. Matthieu Perraut’s Elvest has capsized and Perraut is being rescued – a harsh blow for a skipper who rebuilt his campaign after Inter Invest went over in last year’s Transat Café L’Or. In the Vintage classes, Eric Péron (French Touch – Oceania Hotels) leads the multihulls and Tanguy Caradec (Eurvad) the monohulls. Francis Joyon’s race ended inside the first 24 hours when he capsized; he too was picked up by a cargo ship and is safe.

Violette Dorange’s race has been on hold almost since the gun. Only hours after Sunday’s start in Saint-Malo, she was involved in a collision with a trimaran, and has described being thrown across the inside of her boat by the impact. She stopped in Roscoff to make the boat safe, then set off again on Tuesday for Lorient, where her team is assessing and repairing the damage. Whether she can rejoin the race depends on how quickly that work can be done. Even if she does, she will restart several days behind a fleet that is already deep into the Atlantic.