Five days into the Route du Rhum, a fresh batch of onboard images is giving followers a rare look at life aboard for the solo skippers now deep into their transatlantic crossing from Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe.
Among those featured are Francesca Clapcich, Tom Laperche and Corentin Horeau, three names drawing attention across the IMOCA and Ultim fleets for their pace through the opening days of racing. Horeau has held the IMOCA lead for much of the race, though Boris Herrmann has been clawing back ground aboard Malizia 4, setting up a three-way scrap with Clapcich and Sam Goodchild.
Ambrogio Beccaria Balduzzi and Mathieu Claveau also appear in the latest round of photos, each pressing on with their own race plan as conditions aboard continue to test boat and sailor alike.
Spanish duo Aina Bauza Roig and Pep Costa feature too, among the many nationalities represented in this fleet.
Maxime Sorel remains among the competitors generating strong interest, alongside Ulysse Pozzoli and Christophe Bachmann, all three now well into the rhythm of solo ocean racing.
Pierre Leboucher, Lomano Takasi and Andrea Fornaro round out the latest selection of sailors pictured aboard, their images capturing the isolation and intensity of the race. Leboucher's Institut Imagine has been embroiled in one of the tightest battles of the race so far, sitting within fifteen miles of Class40 leader Guillaume Pirouelle as a heavier weather front bears down on the fleet.
Thierry Roger and William Mathelin Moreaux complete the list of skippers featured in this latest instalment of onboard photography.
Five days in, the fleet is spread across the Atlantic, a pattern shaped as much by the weather as by raw boat speed. With the trade winds largely absent and the fleet strung between two depressions, skippers are rewriting routes on the fly rather than sailing the race they had planned.
For New Zealand followers of offshore racing, the Route du Rhum remains essential viewing. The IMOCA and Ultim classes have long drawn on Kiwi design and engineering expertise, and New Zealand's own strong tradition in solo and short-handed ocean racing means local sailors and boatbuilders watch this event closely every four years.
The onboard photos offer something race trackers and position reports cannot: a sense of the physical toll and solitude each skipper is managing, thousands of kilometres from Saint-Malo and still a long way from Guadeloupe.
More images are expected as the fleet pushes further into the crossing, with conditions likely to shape the next chapter of the race.
