Giant foiling multihulls challenge for a record Route du Rhum
BIGGEST EVER FLEET OF FOILING MULTIHULLS TO BATTLE IT OUT
A record-breaking fleet of 123 entries are ready to start this year’s Route du Rhum, the 3,542-mile transatlantic from St Malo to Guadeloupe, including the largest ever fleet of giant foiling multihulls.
It is the first time the latest generation ‘Ultimes’ have lined up against one another. There are six big Ultime multihulls entered, and all eyes will be on François Gabart’s Macif, Armel Le Cléac’h’s Banque Populaire IX and Sébastien Josse’s Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, which have all been either newly launched or turbo-charged.
The Ultimes are capable of covering over 800 miles in 24 hours, and will be squarely gunning for the current 7d 15h course record set four years ago by Loïck Peyron on Banque Populaire.
With the race result likely to be decided in a handful of days, this year’s Route du Rhum presents a real psychological challenge for these skippers. To race the maxi trimarans, Gabart said you need “the soul of a daredevil”.
“[You have to] go for it 100%, without restraint. You have to be aware of the risks but not be hesitant,” he comments.
Séb Josse, whose Edmond de Rothschild was launched just over a year ago, also commented on the mental challenge. “You have to feel comfortable on the boat. Know not to stress when flying along at 40 knots. Psychology is very important in multihulls. Because it’s still a dangerous thing.”
The highly experienced Francis Joyon, whose IDEC is unlikely to be among the frontrunners, had a word of caution.
“You have to work with the rhythm of the boat. It will tell you when you can sleep and in general the boat will also tell you when you cannot,” he explained. “On my last Route du
Rhum race, I only got to sleep two hours a day and that is the great difficulty of being alone on these boats as you need to be able to attack despite the fatigue.”
Confident competitor
Although not racing a latest generation boat, Thomas Coville could also put in a good result on his four-year-old Sodebo Ultim – he knows exactly how to get the best out of this yacht. “I’m in the ideal position in that I have nothing to lose and everything to gain,” he commented before the race.
“I have a very reliable boat, which I love and understand completely,” he says.
At the other end of the scale, the Class 40 fleet presents another huge challenge. With 53 boats in their start, skippers have to prepare for big fleet tactics while contending with a demanding transatlantic course.
“I think it will be like an ocean Figaro leg,” described Britain’s Phil Sharp. “It will be pretty wide open for the first half of the race, with a close pack at the front. It’s going to be seriously intense. I think we’ll be the most interesting class to watch.
“There is a really strong level at the front of this class, with 10 boats that could definitely be battling for the lead. It should be really exciting.”
Design evolution
Sharp won the division in the 2006 Route du Rhum, but says the class is very different these days with a lot of design evolution. “They are proper, relentless, hardcore ocean racing machines now.”
The newest Lombard-designed Class 40s are particularly quick in some conditions but Sharp says the Route du Rhum course won’t make it a pure arms race for the Class 40. “It’s a really tactical race, with a real mix of bashing upwind against cold fronts to gybing downwind in tropical conditions.”
For Alex Thomson, who has a new IMOCA 60 currently in build, this year’s Route du Rhum will be an opportunity to watch the current newest boat in the fleet.
“I’ll be keeping an eye on Jérémie Beyou and Charal. It will be interesting to see how the boat performs, as the first next generation boat to be launched. I also have great respect for Vincent Riou [on PRB], who I think brings a lot of technical expertise to the race.”
We’ll have a feature on this incredible race in the January 2019 issue.