Route du Rhum - Another podium for Marc Guillemot

by Safran Sailing Team on 16 Nov 2014 At 15:59:20hrs (French time) on Saturday, November 15, Safran crossed the finish line of the 10th edition of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe. That gave Marc Guillemot a fine third place behind François Gabart (Macif) and Jérémie Beyou (Maître CoQ). Guillemot, the sailor from La Trinité-sur-Mer, completed his fifth Route du Rhum in 13 days one hour 59 minutes and 20 seconds at an average speed of 12.92 knots over his 4056-mile track between Saint-Malo and Pointe à-Pitre.

In trade winds that were finally a more stable 15 knots, the monohull, Safran, crossed the finish line to thunderous applause just before 1600hrs, 21 hours 20 minutes and 25 seconds after François Gabart, the winner in the IMOCA class. Happy and relieved to finish, Marc Guillemot had a huge smile on his face at the bow of his boat that he was skippering in a race for the last time. After the traditional 'rain' of champagne that Guillemot dedicated to his boat, the skipper confided his thoughts with some emotion. 'Five Route du Rhums, five finishes,' said the sailor they call Marco. 'I feel like I’ve had a good race, although François Gabart was the best. Now, it’s obviously emotional because this boat is bit like my child. There’s a lot of me in this wonderful monohull, which was well thought out and well designed by the team at Safran and the architects, VPLP-Verdier. When I was closing in on the line, I was happy that it was over, but at the same time, I knew it was the end of the story.'

A well-prepared Guillemot was in the top three since the exit from the Channel, but the complicated weather conditions in the first few days caused a series of problems on Safran. Guillemot’s determination was greater than his technical troubles and although he could not find his way back into the Macif-Maître CoQ duel, the skipper kept his place on the podium.

Guillemot reviewed a race that over its course became a real tour de force, 'this transat turned into a real fight,' he said, 'we had to sail in the toughest conditions right until the end. I've never had so many problems that have led to more problems. And when, 950 miles from the finish, I had no more engine, it turned into a fight again - and I turned into a mechanic. Four times a day, I would recover the leaking oil with a fizzy drink can and put it back in the engine,' added Mark, who did lots of helming over the last few days because the autopilot consumes lots of power. 'It was exhausting,' he said. 'Driving these boats downwind is challenging and my spinnaker was hoisted on the Solent halyard, which made Safran even more unstable.' Yet, by completing his race in just over 13 days, Guillemot improved his best time in the IMOCA rankings (14d 12h 28m 2s), set in 2010 at the helm of the same boat, by almost 36 hours.

This third place in the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe marks a turning point for Guillemot since it is his last race on Safran. After a nine-year partnership, he is handing over the helm to the young Morgan Lagravière, who will defend the colours of the Safran Group on a new IMOCA, which is planned for launch in early 2015. 'Safran and its 68,000 employees are very proud of the performance of Marc Guillemot in this last race,' Jean-Paul Herteman, CEO of Safran, said. 'Our skipper, with whom we have been with for nine years has once again defended the colours of our Group fantastically by getting on to the podium and improving on his performance in 2010 by more than a day.'

On the pontoon in La Darse in Pointe-à-Pitre, the emotion was palpable. Guillemot once again praised his team and this amazing human and technical adventure that he has shared with Safran over all these years. But at age 55, the skipper has no intention of hanging up his oilskins, he will work with Lagravière, as the young sailor prepares for the 2016 Vendée Globe.