The departure of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe 2026 on Sunday 1 November will be shaped by a powerful anticyclone centred to the north-west of Ireland, which dominates the weather picture across the near Atlantic as the fleet gets away.
That high-pressure system will govern the wind conditions skippers face from the start line and through the opening hours in the English Channel.
Cyrille Duchesne, meteorologist at METEO CONSULT, the official weather partner of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe 2026, has been assessing how the pattern will affect conditions near the Pointe du Grouin ahead of the 1.02pm start.
Its position well to the north matters for how the fleet gets away. The pressure gradient over the Channel will determine whether skippers enjoy a clean, breezy send-off or face a more muted start before conditions build further offshore.
The Pointe du Grouin, the traditional vantage point for the Saint-Malo start, sits exposed to whatever the Channel delivers. Leaving the line at 1.02pm, sailors will be reading every shift in the breeze as they pick their way past the rocks and islands marking the opening miles of the course.
The broader Atlantic picture will decide how the fleet settles into the long run south. An anticyclone of this strength, parked to the north-west of Ireland, tends to funnel air across the top of the race track, and how it evolves over the following days will shape routing decisions for the IMOCAs, Ultims and the rest of the fleet as they look to break clear of the Channel and find their rhythm in open water.
