Record broken for Route du Rhum Virtual Regatta

by Agence Windward on 6 Nov 2010 Four days after the start of the Route du Rhum - La Banque Postale, there are already more then 214,000 skippers sailing in the virtualregatta.com On multihulls and monohulls, some players are getting ready to take on the Azores anticyclone by the south and others by the north, just like the real skippers.

And, since it is never too late to start playing Virtual Regatta, anyone who missed the start on Sunday at 13:02, can still join the fleet! They will be dropped in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

What the surfing sailors have to say:

Jean Dubreuil, player in the monohull and multihull classes:

'I am playing both categories. Yesterday, at 4pm I was the leader of the monohulls. I chose the North route and it seems to be working rather well. Every evening I set my yacht’s course using the options. I also compare my course with those of my friends. We exchange tips and we jostle for first place! »

Paula Ferron, in the top 100 of the monohull ranking:

'I have taken part in all the crew-manned races since 2008. With my group, we take it in turns to make progress with our yacht, and it works pretty well in this Route du Rhum. Today, we are in the upper section of the ranking. It's the first time we’ve ever achieved that!

'I knew nothing about sailing before playing this game. Since then, I’ve started to take an interest in it and I'd like to go sailing. I go to race starts such as the Solitaire du Figaro in Saint Gilles Croix de Vie this summer. However, I do not have a favourite skipper and I do not always support the one that wins. I just take pleasure in following races, as in Virtual Regatta in which my only aim is to have some fun.'

Philippe Guigné, managing director of Many Players:

'Already more than 214,000 people have registered to play the virtual Route du Rhum La Banque Postale. This shows that the Virtual Regatta community is as active, large and enthusiastic as ever.'

'For this new race, we have worked hard on the games features, on social networking with a Facebook application, and on mobility with an i-Phone application which is used by a lot of players, even if there are still some improvements to be made. We endlessly try to improve Virtual Regatta, and to correct the game round the clock, to provide the virtual skippers with the best experience of the game possible.'

'Our aim is really to do everything possible to make sure the virtual skippers enjoy themselves and to make the Virtual Regatta a pleasant environment in which to play. Currently, there are thousands of discussions going on, thanks to the game’s internal messaging system. It’s a social network in its own right. The Internet is fantastic! »

'And then there's the huge pride we have in helping people discover sailing, who were not interested in this sport before playing. We have succeeded in encouraging a whole new population to take an interest in sailing and this is hugely important for this sport, which needs this, not to mention for the sponsors and for the large races that are always looking for a larger audience.'

Virtual Regatta, in figures:
24 virtual regattas organized by Many Players since 2006
50,000 players registered for the Route du Rhum La Banque Postale 2006
More than 214,000 players, after 4 days of racing, for the Route du Rhum La Banque Postale 2010
On average, 1,020,000 visits per day on www.virtualregatta.com, since the start of the Route du Rhum La Banque Postale.
A sailing community throughout the world (more than 900,000 players)

Many Players, is a French company and world leader in virtual sports competitions.

Become a member and play on www.virtualregatta.com

Many Players is a pioneer and leader in the organisation of virtual sports competitions. Accessible and powerful, the games are a tremendous success with their rights holders as well as broadcasters such as Yahoo, France Télévisions Interactive, Eurosport, etc. www.manyplayers.com<./i>

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