Three days of flat-out sailing, and the Atlantic has already reshuffled the deck. North of the Azores, shifting weather transitions have upended the leaderboards, while a complex low pressure system prepares to swallow part of the fleet. Between tactical gambles, tight duels and technical dramas, the six categories of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe are now moving at wildly different speeds. Nobody has quite worked out what comes next.
There are trains worth catching, and trains worth missing. Corentin Horeau (MACSF) caught the right one yesterday north of the Azores, leaving his rivals stranded without so much as an apology. Approaching the weather trough from the south, he was the only IMOCA skipper to clear the transition zone before it closed on his rivals. The numbers have been climbing ever since: more than 130 miles clear this Wednesday morning, speeds above 20 knots, and competitors behind still tangled in light winds.
"When I see the rankings, I can't quite believe it! This is what you dream of as a sailor, making gains like that. I really thought I wasn't going to get through, then I found that little pocket of wind that let me get going again. After that, it was full throttle!" There's no room to relax, though. Horeau is threading a narrow wind corridor, gybing repeatedly to avoid dropping back into the calm.
For Élodie Bonafous (Association Petits Princes - Quéguiner), it has left a bitter taste. "I knew we couldn't dawdle crossing the front. But I didn't think we'd struggle this much, or get stuck for so long. Catching Corentin again is going to be tough, even if nothing is lost yet."
The contrast with the Ultims is striking, where the gap has tightened instead. Having led by more than 70 miles on Tuesday, Tom Laperche (SVR-Lazartigue) now holds only around 20 miles over Armel Le Cléac'h (Maxi Banque Populaire XI). The leader navigated a run of weather traps, unexpected calms mixed with violent gusts. "We had zero knots, then 30 knots with everything up! The wind was genuinely unstable and we couldn't hold decent averages. But if we manage to stay ahead, that's good."
Le Cléac'h and his closest challenger have just tacked south in search of full-speed conditions. Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) has already committed to a more southerly track of his own. The weather files have offered their scenarios. The Atlantic, for its part, keeps reserving the right to improvise.
Overnight came news that the battle isn't only fought on routing screens. At 22:05 last night, Matthieu Perraut (Elvest) capsized 400 miles north of the Azores. The Ocean Fifty skipper is safe, remains in contact with race direction and his technical team, and is awaiting rescue.
It has rattled his class rivals. Leading on Edenred, Basile Bourgnon doesn't hide the questions everyone aboard these demanding trimarans is asking. "We're texting each other. Sometimes you wonder if you're pushing right to the limit. You have to attack to build a gap, but as soon as you can, you try to rest and ease off the accelerator."
The young sailor has found steadier downwind conditions and no longer feels like he's crossing a potato field, his words. He's trying to use it to recover without losing sight of those chasing him. Three rivals remain grouped in his wake, while Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires En Peloton by Delanchy) has gambled on a far more northerly track. "If it swings our way, he'll have left too early. And if it closes ahead of us, he'll have made the right call. The dice are rolled!"
Elsewhere, some skippers no longer have the luxury of choosing whether to slow down. Repairs, a stopover, or retirement, those are the only options left. Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild), the defending Ultim champion, has turned back towards Lorient after major damage to his port foil on Tuesday. His team hopes to have him back next weekend.
Anthony Marchand (Actual Ultim 4) reached Galway on Tuesday afternoon. Investigations continue before any decision on the rest of his race. In the IMOCA fleet, Jérémie Beyou (Charal), who held second place, has stopped racing for medical reasons after consulting with the race doctor and race direction. He's heading for the Azores.
Big dramas or small headaches, breakdowns don't hold a monopoly on disrupted plans. For much of the fleet, the next great unknown is that depression everyone keeps talking about. The weather models can't agree on its position or its strength, a bit like assembling flat-pack furniture with three different instruction sheets and no certainty about the result.
In Class40, Robin Follin holds a favourable position this morning thanks to a route closer to the great-circle track, while Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran - Seafrigo) and Pierre Leboucher (Institut Imagine) continue their duel. "Right now it's chaos out here!" says Pirouelle, watching with a mix of curiosity and scepticism as the 40-footers scatter across the Atlantic, each defending their own theory. "Those heading north, I find that bold! On paper, the routing backs them up. But it assumes we're capable of things that aren't necessarily realistic in big conditions. Personally, chasing a downwind angle solo, in huge seas with 40 knots of wind or more, I didn't fancy it."
The Normandy sailor admits he too is venturing into unfamiliar territory, having never faced a system quite like this one. Squalls, sail changes, a heavy sea and a few hard wipeouts have already filled his day nicely.
That same uncertainty is shared by Tanguy Caradec (Eurvad) aboard his Rhum Mono. On his first Atlantic crossing, he's discovering a Route du Rhum that is anything but a gentle cruise. "I'm a bit apprehensive about what's coming. You have to find the right balance between pushing hard, recovering, and looking after the boat. And mentally, try to pick the right spot so you don't get shaken around too much."
West, east or south. Everyone has picked their queue. Like at the supermarket, now it's just a matter of which one moves fastest.
Amid all this complication, there's still what makes racing worthwhile: the pleasure of sailing fast, matching yourself against rivals, and getting the best out of your boat. In Rhum Mono, Kieran Le Borgne (Armor-Lux - Le Finistère Assurance), Sidney Gavignet (Le Cigare Rouge) and Tanguy Caradec are separated by less than 2.5 miles. Three boats, three skippers, a leaderboard that shifts almost with every position report.
"It's brilliant! I'm doing what I can, as best I can. I trust my boat, she's been well prepared. I try not to push too hard because the road is still long, and my goal is to get to the other side." When his Eurvad surfs at 21.5 knots, it's hard not to savour the moment.
In Rhum Multi, Éric Péron (French Touch - Oceania Hôtels) took the lead in the middle of the night, overtaking Damien Seguin (Arkéa - Handicap International), who has been dealing with a broken pole since Monday night. The new leader isn't free of trouble either: his big gennaker is torn.
Tanguy Caradec sums up the strangeness of these opening days rather well: "It's mad, really! Three days now sailing downwind the whole way. I don't know if there's ever been a Route du Rhum start this fast! We'd almost forgotten the hard part was supposed to be part of the deal!" The rest of the crossing still has to be negotiated. And as he points out with a grin, this year the fleet is mostly getting to know the Azores low. Not its famous high.
