Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe Day 6: Black Friday for some, golden Saturday awaits Laperche
by La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe 7 Nov 05:03 AEDT
6 November 2026
Tom Laperche (ULTIM SVR Lazartigue) - Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe: Day 6 © Gauthier Lebec
With a little over 500 nautical miles to run to the finish line off Pointe-à-Pitre and a lead of nearly 400 miles over second placed Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3), victory in the 13 edition of the 35420 nautical miles solo ocean sprint, the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, seems all but assured for Tom Laperche, (SVR Lazartigue).
The 29 year old has led the race since overtaking Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire XI) at the Cape Frehel buoy just sixteen miles after the start last Sunday off Saint Malo and has shown a comprehensive mastery of his giant Ultim trimaran as well as excellent routing - conservative when he needed to be and attacking when the weather and sea state allowed. He is expected tomorrow, Saturday but faces an uncertain final stretch with changeable upwind conditions. And, with a good lead, he has the option to optimise his approach.
"I reckon I will be in Saturday in the evening, UTC." Reported Laperche this morning, "We'll likely finish with a south-westerly wind—meaning we'll be sailing upwind—in unstable conditions, which will probably require mean tacking. I believe Franck Cammas had similar conditions in 2010 when he won with on Groupama 3. It's not common, but it happens! There's also a risk that our progress toward Guadeloupe will be quite slow. For now, I'm a bit on edge because I don't want to lose too much ground during this transition."
He continued, "Obviously, the numbers look good. I would have jumped at the chance to have a lead like this at this stage! It means we could go half as fast as the others and still arrive at the same time—but that's not the goal! The idea is to do the best we can with what we have, without taking unnecessary risks. Besides, I'd rather arrive with a good, emphatic lead—it's always nicer that way! There are still plenty of maneuvers and things to manage before reaching Pointe-à-Pitre. I'm not sure how much time we'll lose in this depression, but it's definitely something I'm keeping in mind. You have to remain constantly vigilant, so you can't afford to sleep too much—but you still need to get some rest to keep a clear head. I try to take naps whenever I can. It's toughest in the middle of the night, when you start to nod off. During the day, things are generally better."
Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) is asserting his right to second place, fighting off a spirited charge by the debuting Louis Burton (Ultim Armand Thiery) who is now just on 100 miles behind. Alexia Barrier, looking to be the first woman to finish the course on a giant Ultim, was on great form today, over half way down the route on the boat which one might imagine knows the course itself, having won in 2010 with Franck Cammas, 2014 with Loick Peyron and 2018 with Frances Joyon. Having just sailed round the world last winter to set an all women record with her The Famous Project, Barrier puts great faith in her boat.
"It's been tough." Confirmed Barrier, "There's been a lot of transitions with the weather. This is not like you can imagine a transatlantic being, seven days and boom! you're arriving in Guadeloupe. It's changing all the time but it's really interesting. I think there is no better way to learn, I would say, than on your own on this kind of transatlantic."
Asked if it is worse or better than she excpected, she responded, "I didn't expect anything, to tell you the truth, because I didn't want to be disappointed and I knew that it would be tough but this was a bit crazy. It is a really new challenge for me after going around the world with a team of amazing women now going alone, it's very different. And you know what, the first day I was hearing the voices of the a;; girls on board, it was crazy. I was so tired, I didn't sleep and I started to have hallucinations and I was listening to Dee and Molly's voices and that was a bit strange, but also funny. I think the hardest thing is just stressing myself. I decided not to look at the others, just to make sure that I'm not making any mistakes but sometimes it's scary because we're both fast. But I know also that it's a super nice boat. Yes it's a big boat, really heavy and a physical boat but it's a nice boat. So the test is trusting myself and trusting the boat is my challenge but the boat looks after me."
Eat, sleep, repeat.....and press 'play'
She continues, " But when I'm not doing my job, I just eat and sleep and repeat, eat and sleep. I'm trying not to lose my time doing anything else because I really need my sleep and I really need to take some rest. I spoke to Pierre (Quiroga, Ocean Fifty skipper) this morning, that was so cool. You know, we are from the south of France, we were originally training together in La Grande Motte, in Figaro. It is cool to talk to other competitors, it was nice I always have music on. I put music on as much because it gives me a timing of how long it takes to hoist a sail or to unfurl a sail. And I have a special playlist called Route du Rhum with Spotify and Beyoncé and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Music me to keep it relaxed in a way because I love what I'm doing and I shouldn't forget that even if sometimes it's difficult and it's painful and sometimes you cry, but at the end it's really, really, really cool and we are so lucky to do this."
IMOCA
It's been a black Friday for the Italian skippers in the IMOCA fleet. Ambrogio Beccaria (Allagrande Mapei) suffered a bad fall and sustained an injury which has required him to abandon the race and head to the Azores for medical treatment whilst Francesca Clapcich (11th Hour Racing) has lost the bowsprit off her boat after a hellish spell in the night. She has dropped to fourth but was still making more than 20kts at 70 miles behind Franco-Brit Sam Goodchild (MACIF Santé Prévoyance) who has been fast today in the slightly smoother sea conditions. He is still over 250 miles behind Corentin Horeau (MACSF).
"I'm happy with how the second part of my race has gone so far. We're moving very fast toward Guadeloupe—the miles are really racking up! Yesterday was intense, with seas over 4 meters; now, it's more like 2.5 to 3 meters. You have to strike the right balance, especially since this gybe lasts two and a half days. You also have to remember to rest and prepare for the next maneuver," the 36-year-old skipper points out. "I want to keep pace with the others while ensuring MACIF Santé Prévoyance stays in good shape."
But a new low-pressure system has formed north of Guadeloupe, sitting almost directly on the route. The coming hours will be crucial for refining strategy:
"I'm heading into another full-on day, with a gybe planned for tonight. We're aiming south, but there's one final low-pressure system to deal with. We don't yet know whether we'll go around it or sail through it. It's not moving much and is positioned right in the middle of the path. I saw that Tom (Laperche) decided to sail through it. I'll keep an eye on the others and see how that plays out."
Goodchild knows that nothing is decided: "I have no idea who I'll be arriving in Guadeloupe alongside. A lot is happening, and there's great intensity while sailing downwind. There could also be calm patches near the finish. Anything is still possible. I'm focused on my own race and my goal of reaching Guadeloupe."
And all the while he is making notes on what practical additions can still be made to the new IMOCA which is in build, "My thoughts tend to focus on practical, day-to-day aspects of life on board—things like a grab rail or a way to secure the sails. These are the kinds of details I'm considering for my next boat,"
New leader
In Class40 it is Achille Nebout (Amaryllis) which has emerged best from the mean Azores low pressure system to take a slender lead of just over a mile ahead of Guillaume Pirouelle (Sogestran Seafrigo).
Best of the internationals is still Spain's Pep Costa (VSF) in tenth, Czech Republic's Milan Kolacek on Inland Roots Ocean Soul in 17th and Luca Rosetti (Macaferri Futura) in 18th both around 185 miles behind the leader.
Ireland's Pam Lee (Empowher) has less than 100 miles to make to the Azores where she plans to pitstop to make a repair to a lost padeye and sort her electrical charging system.
Track the fleet via www.routedurhum.com