Anthony Marchand has been forced out of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, after damage to his Ultim trimaran Actual Ultim 4 proved too extensive to repair in time.
The decision was made on Wednesday 4 November, in consultation with Samuel Tual, president of Actual group. Hope had held out right to the end.
It had been a strong start. After a first day of racing that showed off both skipper and boat to good effect, Marchand sat third, hitting speeds close to 40 knots.
Then, on Monday morning, roughly 400 miles off the Brittany coast, disaster struck. The central rudder of Actual Ultim 4 hit an unidentified object, jamming the steering solid. The trimaran slowed and spun through a violent 180-degree turn, leaving Marchand at the helm of a machine that had suddenly become uncontrollable, with a real risk of capsize.
He kept his head. In constant contact with the shore-based technical team, he stabilised the boat within the hour and regained control of the Ultim.
The trimaran reached the Irish port of Galway at around 4.30pm on Tuesday, met by part of Actual's technical team. Initial checks began before nightfall, with further investigation continuing to establish the full extent of the damage.
The verdict wasn't good. The repairs needed were too extensive to allow a quick return to racing under satisfactory conditions, and poor weather compounded the problem, ruling out any restart for at least two days.
Options were weighed right up to the last moment, but on 4 November, Tual and Marchand jointly decided to withdraw. At this level of competition, knowing when to stop matters as much as knowing when to push.
Technicians in Galway are now preparing the boat for its return journey home. Two jobs are running in parallel: drawing the lessons from the experience, and looking ahead to what comes next. The 2027-2028 campaign remains firmly on track.
"Obviously, this isn't the ending I imagined for this Route du Rhum," said Marchand. "The decision is difficult, but it's the right one. We also need to look at what we managed to preserve. All the parts are there, nothing is destroyed and everything is repairable, even if it will take time. We saved the boat and the rudder, and that's a real achievement given what happened. Our project doesn't end with one race. We have a great 2027 season ahead of us, and it isn't compromised."
Tual was equally direct. "Our sport is beautiful, but it gives nothing away. On Monday, Anthony faced an extremely dangerous situation. He showed remarkable composure and clarity of thought that command real respect. We tried everything to get him back racing, but there comes a point where safety has to come first, and where you need to look at the bigger picture. That's also part of what top-level sport demands."
He thanked Team Actual for its response, along with the 4,000 staff across the group who back the project. "For 25 years we have supported offshore racing because it embodies values we believe in deeply: commitment, solidarity, and the ability to bounce back. Today we are obviously very disappointed, but also proud of how Anthony and the whole team handled this setback."