Almost a week after the start of the Ultim category, the race organizers announced on Saturday the two departures of a fleet split in two, between Monday and Tuesday.
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The date was more than expected, it is now known. After days of uncertainty due to the succession of storms Ciaran and Domingos moving along the Breton and Normandy coasts, the organizers finally made a decision, Saturday November 4, by announcing a departure Monday November 6 for the Ocean Fifty (at 10:30 a.m. ) and Class40 (at 10:45 a.m.), and the next day, Tuesday November 7, for the Imoca, the Vendée Globe boats (at 9:30 a.m.).
If the Ocean Fifty and Class40 were able to take the start, like the Ultim, on Sunday October 29 as initially planned, they had to stop in Lorient (Morbihan) while waiting for the passage of storm Ciaran. The IMOCAs, too numerous (40 boats), could not be accommodated in any other port, and therefore had to wait in Le Havre. While the Ultims passed Cape Verde on Friday, the fleet will therefore be split into three parts at the start.
A modified route
One of the consequences of this postponement is the modification of the route, both to avoid significant new depressions as well as to shorten the race, the start of which took place more than a week later than planned. The Imocas, as well as the Class40s, will take a route via Santa Mara (Azores) to reach Martinique, and no longer by bypassing Ascension Island. The Ocean Fifty will head towards the Cape Verde Islands before arriving in Fort-de-France.