A chaotic start. While the start has already had to be delayed by three days due to weather conditions, the 12th edition of the Route du rhum is sparing no one at the start of the event. Several sailors entered were shaken by various damage on Thursday, November 10, while others turned back in the hope of leaving later.
In the middle of the afternoon, one of the favorites in the Ultim category, Armel Le Cléac’h, announced that he was forced to divert to Lorient. He heard a creak with no apparent impact, but found the boat’s centreboard broken, his team said. “Armel informed us of this breakage which requires him to return to Lorient so that we can analyze the situation. Armel is safe, the road to reach our technical base will be in manageable conditions”said Ronan Lucas, director of Team Banque Populaire.
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The Maxi Banque Populaire XI @VoileBanquePop headed for Lorient following the breakage of its daggerboard #RDR2022 pic.twitter.com/KMLsxYYuvg— Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe (@RouteDuRhum) November 10, 2022
During the night, the skipper of the Class 40 monohull Antoine Magret (E. Leclerc-Villa-La-Grand) ran aground on stones north of the island of Batz. “The sailor was rescued around 4:20 a.m. before being picked up by an SNSM boat at 5 a.m.“, announced the race direction. DMG Mori, the team of Japanese skipper Kojiro Shiraishi, also confirmed his retirement in the morning after the collision of his Imoca with another skipper shortly after the start on Wednesday. Sailor Oren Nataf ( Rayon Vert) tore the mainsail of his Rhum Multi before giving up.”We could have had the mainsail repaired, but I am not an experienced sailor and it would not have been reasonable to go back to sea with a sail that is not 100% safe and which could break“, he explained.
Sam Goodchild, first to drop out
These abandonments are in addition to that, on Wednesday, of Sam Goodchild (Leyton), injured in the arms and face during a maneuver in the first hours of the race. Other skippers diverted to the port of Roscoff (Finistère) in the hope of repairing damage. Romain Pilliard, skipper of the Ultim Use It Again! by Extia is hard at work after a collision last night with a metal buoy off Bréhat (Côtes-d’Armor). “It was full moon but a cloud passed and I confused this buoy with another which was not lit, right in the axis and I hit it“, did he declare.
The youngest of the race, twenty-year-old Martin Louchart, also hit some rocks in the night with Randstad-Ausy before heading to Roscoff “where technicians are waiting for him to make a diagnosis of the boat“, can we read in another official press release.