Corentin Douguet reckons he knows exactly how many sailors can win this year's Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe in Class40. Five, by his count, with another ten capable of mixing it up for the podium.
The Nantes sailor, third in the 2022 edition and runner-up last year in the Transat Café l'Or, races SNSM, Faites un don!, one of three Lift V3 boats built to Lombard designs. His is the only one fitted with watch seats under the coachroof, a detail he seems well settled into with a week to go before the start.
"We have conventional financial partners and also patrons who fund the space they're given on the SNSM livery," Douguet says of his project. The SNSM, France's sea rescue service, relies on donations in a way that contrasts with countries where rescue work sits with private operators. "It's more enjoyable to carry a project that means something than to just be a rolling billboard," he says. "It's a responsibility too. With a boat in those colours, you don't really want to put on a full demonstration of your partner's boat-handling skills during the race!"
Asked how he sees the fortnight ahead, Douguet is matter-of-fact about the toll a Class40 Rhum takes. "It's a long time, two weeks of racing, and you have to manage it as such, especially around sleep and eating so you don't make mistakes," he says. "It's very brutal in Class40 because the boats aren't comfortable and you have to really grind to go fast." The first week is usually the hardest, he reckons, which is what makes the second so much more enjoyable, particularly if he's still in the hunt to win.
As for the fleet, Douguet names his five contenders without hesitation: himself, Guillaume Pirouelle, Alexis Loison, Fabien Delahaye and Axel Tréhin. Loison received his boat, identical to Douguet's, late, but brings talent and offshore experience. Delahaye and Pirouelle are both sailing slightly less quick boats but know them intimately after a long campaign cycle. Tréhin has already completed a Route du Rhum and raced alongside Douguet in the Transat Café l'Or, so Douguet rates him closely.
What would he say to Tréhin on the dock the morning of the start? "I'd tell him that at his age, finishing second is already pretty good!"
This Rhum arrives near the end of Douguet's career, by his own reckoning. "It's the moment to win it," he says.
"My feeling is there's a time for everything," he says. "The boats keep getting more demanding, you keep getting older, and at some point the curves cross. I'm not interested in doing a Route du Rhum if I'm not in a position to win it."
Winning wouldn't change much materially, he admits. "It's the whole paradox, probably nothing, it's an empty cup! But it would have meaning, a certain shape to it." Four years ago technical problems cost him a fair fight to the finish against Yoann Richomme. This time, he just wants the feeling of having given everything.
