Route du Rhum….. Volvo Ocean ‘Ice Gate’……29er Europe Cup

by Dan Ibsen, Sail-World UK Editor on 30 Oct 2014 The countdown to the start of the epic single-handed 4,471nm offshore race across the Atlantic Ocean has begun with just a few days to go to the start of France’s La Route du Rhum from St. Malo on Sunday November 2nd with 91 boats on the starting line.

As might be expected for a country for which solo ocean racing is a national passion, the vast majority of the entries for the La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe are from France.

But the record 91 strong field is peppered with solo skippers from eight other nations, nine men and two women hailing from Italy, Great Britain, South Africa, Spain, Portugal, Switzerland, Belgium and Finland. In fact, several of them rank as serious podium contenders in their respective classes.

As happens every year, large crowds will line the docks of the Breton city for the race start on Sunday, November 2nd. Perhaps the record two million visitors in 2010 will also be broken. What we can say for certain is that the 40 metre long Spindrift 2 will be the largest boat ever to compete in the race.

Ultimate is defined as extreme or supreme and in the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe the Ultimate class represents the battle of the giants, the extreme multihulls’ fight for supremacy. The Ultime class was created back in 2010 - the giants return in 2014 for the historic tenth edition of the legendary solo Transatlantic from Saint Malo to Guadeloupe. Racing the Ultimes is one of the most pure human challenges in the race.

This year there are eight trimarans in this Ultime category. All are capable of completing the course to Pointe à Pitre in less than eight days and to maintain speeds of more than 30 knots. But all eight are different in their dimensions and their design philosophy depending on what their original purpose was. But all will require enormous levels of skill and stamina. And for each, just reaching Guadeloupe will be an achievement.

Sir Robin Knox-Johnston is very much ‘The Don’ not just of this edition of La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe but even of solo ocean sailing itself, returning for his second Route du Rhum at the age of 75. The legendary soloist was the first sailor ever to complete a solo non-stop circumnavigation between 1968 and 1969. Three time Yachtsman of the Year, his last major solo ocean race was in 2007 when he completed the Velux 5 Oceans round the world race.

Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 Leg one – The big news in the last days was the introduction of an ice gate by Race Director Jack Lloyd. Designed to take away the temptation for the teams to dive deep south in the search for better pressure and a better angle to Cape Town.

The Ice Gate is placed at 42 deg South between 20W and 10W, seen on the screenshot below.

The addition of the ice gate reduces the options for the teams, which is good news for the front runners and bad news for the teams behind. What we will likely see is the fleet sailing along this ice gate in order to be as far south as possible, in order to make the most of the predicted left shift.

We are now perhaps into the final plays of Leg one and its good news for us fans that we have five boats back in contention. The first five boats are now so close that any of them will have a chance to win the leg. Mapfre is 150 miles and SCA 250 miles behind the leading group of boats.

The smaller boats are also still racing - The 29er Eurocup, organised by Fraglia Vela Riva, has over eighty boats taking part representing twelve different countries and will finish on Sunday after a maximum 14 races, up to four a day.

The 29er Eurocup is the last leg in the lengthy European tour which started in Spain back in February. Eleven legs have since taken place in various parts of Europe. This event has consistently grown in numbers and technique showing how far this skiff has come in terms of development and popularity. It is the introductory of the 49er Olympic class and attracts young crews (15-20 year olds). This event also brings to a close the 2014 regatta season at Fraglia Vela Riva; the thirtieth event in a season of a total of 94 days of regattas. Lake Garda is for sure one of the most active racing areas in Europe.

Stay tuned with the latest sailing news and developments in the sailing world on our UK website and Europe website.

Good Sailing,

Dan Ibsen, Sail-World UK Editor

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