Route du Rhum: no new breakage, gap narrowed in Ultim, Horeau alone in the world... Update this Wednesday morning

After three hectic days/nights on the front of mechanical breakdown and abandonments, more in terms of notoriety than in number given the high total of boats (115 departing Sunday from Saint-Malo), the night from Tuesday to Wednesday seemed calmer on the Route du Rhum than for Donald Trump and the Republicans in the United States. A priori no discomfiture, nor drama in the sea polls. Nothing was reported this Wednesday morning on the alert wire of the journalists following the race since the announcement Wednesday evening of the capsize of Matthieu Perraut (Elvest) in the Ocean Fifty category (small multihulls of 15.24 extremely fickle) still dominated by Basile Bourgnon (Edenred) ahead of Lénoard Legrand (Sodebo) pointed at 36 miles approaching the Azores.

Ultim: tighter spreads and options

In Ultim, the premier category, Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue), the leader since Cap Fréhel, only has a lead of around twenty miles after having amassed more than 70 the day before over Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire XI) at the end of a night far from restful. “We had zero knots, then 30 knots with the whole canvas on it! The wind was really unstable and we weren't able to achieve good averages. But if we manage to stay in front, that’s good,” confided the winner of the last Transat Café L’Or. The gap in the standings has also narrowed with Thomas Coville who is only 18 miles behind in the early morning and has decided to dive straight onto the direct route in an option different from his little comrades. The game, the uncertainty, we are enjoying the Ultim regatta, despite the abandonment on Tuesday at the end of the day of the title holder, Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) on his way home. A point of vigilance however: Armel Le Cléac’h was not located this morning on the map. Does this mean there could be a technical problem?

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Horeau feasts

There is another who is enjoying it, this Tuesday morning, it is Corentin Horeau (MACSF), who took off in an Imoca monohull, north of the Azores, by managing to cross a transition zone before the door closed behind him. As a result, the winner of the Solitaire du Figaro 2023 jumped up the rankings with more than 170 miles ahead of the German Boris Herrmann (Malizia) and the American-Italian Francesca Clapcich (11th Hour Racin).

“When I see the scores, I don’t dare believe it! That’s what we dream of as a sailor: making money like that. I thought I wasn't going to make it through, but then I found a little bit of wind that allowed me to get going again. Afterwards, it was full throttle,” rejoiced the leader, who must not, however, slacken to avoid finding himself at a standstill. Élodie Bonafous (Association Petits Princes – Quéguiner), fifth, doesn’t appreciate the sequence: “I knew we shouldn’t hang around to get past the front. But I didn't think we would struggle so much and stay stuck for so long. It's going to be complicated to see Corentin again, even if nothing is lost. » Indeed, the road to Pointe-à-Pitre is still long.

More information to come