Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe

6 days, 19 hours, and 47 minutes. That's the time Charles Caudrelier etched into the record books in 2022 aboard Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. On November 1, 2026, around a hundred solo sailors will blast off from Saint-Malo attempting to smash it — or simply survive 3,542 miles of Atlantic Ocean. The 13th edition of the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe is shaping up to be one of the most packed ever organized.

Forty-eight years of legend

The finish that invented everything

The Route du Rhum was born in 1978 on the initiative of Michel Etevenon, who dreamed of a race freed from the size restrictions imposed by British events. The gamble paid off from the very first edition. After weeks at sea, the little yellow trimaran Olympus Photo sailed by Mike Birch overtook the big monohull Kriter V of Michel Malinovsky in the final miles. Margin at the finish: 98 seconds. The DNA of the race — suspense, confrontation between boat types, drama to the very end — was sealed forever.

A solid gold roll of honor

The following decades crowned the greatest sailors. Florence Arthaud made history in 1990: the first woman to win the race overall, aboard Pierre 1er. Laurent Bourgnon scored a double in 1994 and 1998. More recently, Francis Joyon triumphed in 2018 after a memorable duel with François Gabart, before Caudrelier set the current record four years later.

The course: simple on the chart, brutal on the water

The theoretical distance — 3,542 nautical miles, roughly 6,560 km — reads as a straight line between Brittany and the Caribbean. Reality is something else entirely.

• Start off the Pointe du Grouin at Cancale, with a compulsory mark at Cap Fréhel. Thousands of spectators packed onto the Breton cliffs.
• Crossing: often muscular Channel exit in November, Bay of Biscay, then the strategic choice — southern route toward the trades or northern option, more direct but riskier.
• Finish: rounding Guadeloupe leaving the island to port. Passage by Tête à l'Anglais, descent down the leeward coast, canal des Saintes, finish line at Pointe-à-Pitre. The wind shadows under La Soufrière can reshuffle the deck just miles from the goal. We obviously think of Birch and Malinovsky.

Six classes, one ocean

The signature of the Route du Rhum is this unique cohabitation between flying prototypes and vintage monohulls on the same starting line. In 2026, six categories will be represented:

• Ultim 32/23 — Giant multihulls over 32 meters. Flying machines capable of exceeding 40 knots. The record hunters.
• Ocean Fifty — 50-foot trimarans, lively and spectacular, in a very homogeneous class.
• IMOCA — 60-foot monohulls, the same as those in the Vendée Globe, often equipped with foils.
• Class40 — The most populated class. 40-foot monohulls governed by strict rules, mixing professionals and accomplished amateurs.
• Rhum Multi — Historic or out-of-category multihulls. The pioneer spirit.
• Rhum Mono — Older monohulls, guardians of the race's original soul.

The race is sailed solo. External routing is authorized for certain classes (Ultimes notably), but prohibited for others like the Class40, where the sailor must manage weather strategy alone. Prior qualifications remain strict — the North Atlantic in autumn shows no mercy.

The faces of 2026

A massive fleet

More than 100 sailors are registered, with a limit set at a minimum of 117 competitors to guarantee safety and port logistics. From maxi-trimaran to vintage monohull, the eclecticism is total.

Among the names already confirmed:

• Damien Seguin, iconic skipper born without a left hand, now competes in multihulls. His journey embodies both pure performance and inclusion.
• In Ocean Fifty (10 entries maximum), Audrey Ogereau on Koesio and Laurent Bourgues on Mon Bonnet Rose promise a tight battle on three hulls.
• In the Vintage category, sister ships of Mike Birch's yellow trimaran will take to sea again. Living history.

Eighteen women on the starting line

That's the figure that marks this edition: 18 female sailors registered, versus 12 in 2022 — a 45% increase. The presence of Audrey Ogereau in Ocean Fifty illustrates this momentum: women are no longer confined to one-design classes, they're investing the fast multihulls. A groundswell movement that goes beyond mere symbolism.

Find the complete calendar and boat specs on spencer.club.

The hunt for the record

6 days, 19 hours, 47 minutes, and 25 seconds. Caudrelier's time is a wall, but not an insurmountable one. The latest-generation Ultimes have progressed in flight stability thanks to foils and the aerodynamics of ever more refined hulls. If November weather conditions offer a well-established trade wind corridor and an exploitable depression at the Channel exit, breaking under 6 days 19 hours is within the realm of possibility.

Everything will depend on the starting window. In the Route du Rhum, race day weather often determines the vintage.

Much more than a race

An extraordinary popular event

The start village in Saint-Malo attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors. Digital tracking is worldwide. For sponsors, it's one of the most powerful showcases in French sport.

An economic engine for Guadeloupe

On the arrival side, the event generates a massive influx of visitors around the Marina du Bas-du-Fort in Pointe-à-Pitre, extending the tourist season well beyond the usual calendar.

The spirit of freedom

By maintaining the Rhum Mono and Rhum Multi categories alongside the Ultimes, the organizer OC Sport Pen Duick preserves the DNA of 1978: a space where the amateur can sail on the same ocean as the professional. That's what makes the Route du Rhum irreplaceable in the world sailing landscape.

Follow the news of this 2026 edition on spencer.club.