Saint-Malo's famous race village has reopened its gates after a four-year wait, and the corsair city has turned out in force to welcome back its green and yellow colours for the Route du Rhum.
Thirteen days of festivities are now under way ahead of the Route du Rhum, Destination Guadeloupe. The village sprawls across 71,000 square metres, hosting 115 competing boats and 150 exhibitors. Entry is free, and organisers are promising visitors a breathtaking experience.
The official opening took place at midday on Tuesday. Crowds gathered early, keen to get a first look at the stands and installations before this 13th edition truly got under way: a fresh and emotional voyage from the corsair city to the islands of Guadeloupe.
Plenty of boats had already made their way through the locks by then.
Spectators spent the afternoon watching a steady procession of yachts clear the locks, a parade that began in late morning and ran well into the afternoon. The Ocean Fiftys came first, led through at 12.45pm by Anne-Claire Le Berre aboard Up Wind by Merconcept, followed by the Vintage Multis and then the IMOCAs, each class berthing in turn at Quai Duguay-Trouin and Quai Saint-Louis. Big crowds turned out to watch, and organisers laid on a dedicated show for the occasion, with music and an introduction for every skipper as they arrived. The Ultims had already passed through the locks the day before, in a delicate manoeuvre that drew its own crowd of a hundred or so spectators craning for a glimpse of the giant trimarans creeping through one by one, so the bulk of the fleet is now tied up in Saint-Malo's basins.
At midday, the ribbon-cutting ceremony was held outside one of the village's main entrances. Joseph Bizard, managing director of OC Sport Group, Julie Coutts, managing director of OC Sport Pen Duick, Gilles Lurton, mayor of Saint-Malo, and Camille Pélage, vice-president of Guadeloupe's regional council, walked the grounds together before Lurton cut the ribbon in front of assembled media. "The village is now open," he said. Within minutes, dozens of spectators were wandering through the stalls.
What follows is thirteen days of meeting, discovering, celebrating and sharing. Concerts, entertainment, skipper meet-and-greets and activities for all ages will run daily. Among the names drawing attention locally are the ten skippers who grew up in or around Saint-Malo and will start the solo transatlantic classic from their own front doorstep, a contingent spanning five of the seven classes, with Louis Burton carrying the local flag in Ultim.
Every boat is now moored in Saint-Malo's basins, and the public turned out in strong numbers on day one. Windier conditions are forecast from Wednesday through to the end of the week. Wednesday's opening, set for 10am, is still confirmed, though organisers, working with local authorities, may close the village if conditions worsen, putting visitor safety first.
Celebrations will spill into the evening too, both within the village and through the walled old town and surrounding communities. For the first time, all of these events, concerts, exhibitions, wanders and quirky encounters, have been gathered under one banner: "Le Off du Rhum", giving visitors a single programme to follow. The village runs daily from 10am to 8pm, with food and drink areas open until 1am.
Spectators are gearing up for an intense fortnight of community spirit before the fleet departs for Guadeloupe on Sunday 1 November.
