18 Wild Cards and 138 skippers registered for Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe unveiled
by Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe 28 Apr 2022 18:09 BST
6 November 2022
Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe © Alexis Courcoux
The organisers of La Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe OC Sport Pen Duick published the list of the first 120 sailors selected for the 2022 edition back on April 6th.
The full complement of 138 entries is now completed following the allocation of the 18 "wild cards" which will allow these chosen to now join the ranks of the race which over its 44 years of existence has never been so popular.
On Sunday, November 6, there will be 138 sailors crossing the start line of the most famous single-handed transatlantic race. The 2022 edition of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe is set to break the record for the number of competitors mustered to race a single-handed ocean race.
When the Notice of Race was published by OC Sport Pen Duick in July 2021 it said there would be 120 registered spots available for La Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe. But the organizer of the event received 149 files in particular big numbers from the Imoca Class and the Multi and Mono Rhums. To try to satisfy as many sailors as possible but still guaranteeing compliance with logistical and safety requirements it was agreed to add 18 names as 'wild cards' to the 120 announced two weeks ago.
The Imocas are out in force
The Imocas had the longest waiting list, so she is logically the one who sees the most growth in her ranks. OC Sport Pen Duick awards 10 wild cards to the Imoca Class and thus allows Yannick Bestaven, Damien Seguin, Rodolphe Sepho and Alan Roura to become officially entered for La Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe. So from 27 competitors, the fleet of 60-foot monohulls has grown to 37 and so in terms of size is just behind the 55 Class40s which remains the biggest class in the race.
Poupon, Guillemot, Jourdain take a shot of Rhum
Another division to welcome wild cards is the Rhum Multi which gains four additional entires in the form of some of the most emblematic sailors in the history of the race.
Philippe Poupon will thus make his return to La Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe 36 years after his victory in the second edition of the event. He will line up at the helm of Florence Arthaud's Pierre 1er, a boat which itself marked the history of the from the 1990 edition. It also won the Rhum twice! The double winner from the Imoca class, in 2006 and 2010, Roland Jourdain will return to the Transatlantic aboard a flax fiber catamaran.
Another returnee is Marc Guillemot, second in the 2002 edition (in an Orma trimaran), who will also take a shot of Rhum at the helm of a catamaran he built himself. A Saint-Malo family intimately linked to the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, the Escoffier clan is preparing to write a new page in its history as Loïc Escoffier is given the last wild cards in the Rhum Multi.
As for Rhum Mono, two new competitors - Julien Reemers and Jean-Sébastien Biard - are making their debut, bringing the number of entries in this category to 14.
Eight Ultime trimarans in the basins of Saint-Malo
The trimarans of Classe Ultim 32/23 gain two wild cards entries in Romain Pilliard and Arthur Le Vaillant. So there will be 8 giants in Saint-Malo. They will be moored in the basins of the corsair city up close and personal for the hundreds of thousands of visitors expected.
In the coming weeks, the skippers who will make up the La Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe 2022 fleet will work to complete all the formalities required by the Notice of Race, starting with completing a 1200 mile qualification validated by the Race Direction. Their preparation and their portraits can be found on the brand new website dedicated to the event. It is a real showcase for the event, this platform developed by Niji, the race's Official Digital Supplier, will offer a completely redesigned experience and make the content much more accessible.
Go now to www.routedurhum.com to not miss anything of the event between now and the big start.
Find the complete list of the 138 sailors here