Ocean Fifty: A battle between the generations?
by La Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe 24 Oct 19:05 BST
1 November 2026
This aerial photograph shows Ocean Fifty multihull arriving in the harbor of Saint-Malo © Lou Benoist / AFP
Next Sunday, November 1st, when the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe solo race between Saint-Malo and Guadeloupe gets under way, 115 skippers will set sail, divided into six boat classes.
The Ocean Fifty fleet features fast, light multihulls designed to a 'box rule', that is to say to a set of measurements which are common to all. Ten skippers are taking on the challenge this year aboard these 15-meter (50-foot) multihulls. Many of them are genuine contenders for the podium or a top-tier finish. The suspense is heightened by a clash between the most experienced sailors—such as Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires en Peloton by Delanchy)—and the younger generation, led by Basile Bourgnon (Edenred).
Despite the range of different designs and the age of the different boats it seems like at the end of each Ocean 50 transatlantic race, after some ten days at sea, the gaps between the boats are often razor-thin.
In the last edition of the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe in 2022, only 18 minutes separated the winner, Erwan Le Roux, from the runner-up, Quentin Vlamynck. And a year ago, in the Transat Café L'Or, less than thirty minutes separated the top three duos (Baptiste Hulin & Thomas Rouxel, Pierre Quiroga & Gaston Morvan, and Luke Berry & Antoine Joubert)! And so suspense from start to finish is the norm and for sure this race won't be decided until the finish line is crossed.
"A diversity of profiles and a great deal of talent," says Thibaut Vauchel-Camus.
"The class has never been this competitive, with such a high level of skill," confirms Edenred Basile Bourgnon the youngest skipper in the Ocean Fifty fleet at 24. Thibaut Vauchel-Camus (Solidaires en Peloton by Delanchy) says the "lineup is truly fantastic." He adds: "There's a diverse range of profiles and a great deal of talent. Thanks to our head-to-head battles in the Grands Prix, everyone knows their boat better, which helps raise the overall standard."
"There are so many variables to master that making a prediction in this class is nearly impossible," says Anne-Claire Le Berre (Upwind by Merconcept), the first woman to compete in the Ocean Fifty category. Erwan Le Draoulec (Lazare X Hellio) highlights "the importance of the class rules, which ensure such a really well-matched fleet." He notes, "We might be the only class where any of the ten entrants could potentially be on the podium or secure a top-tier finish."
Young skippers with a "huge appetite"
But the one name which keeps coming up as a favourite is Basile Bourgnon. "If there were a favorite, it would be him," suggests Erwan Le Draoulec. "Yes, he's a favorite—he won the Drheam Cup—but the competition will be much more open," asserts Erwan Le Roux. Although Le Roux is not competing due to a lack of budget, he remains a highly astute observer of the class. What does Basile—the man himself—think? "This is certainly no ordinary event for me; it's the race of my dreams—I grew up with it," he confides, referring to the victories of his late father, Laurent who dominated the ORMA class and won this legendary race in 1994 and 1998. "I'm fortunate to have a great team, and we've had a solid preparation, but I know that anything can happen during the race."
Bourgnon notes the "arrival in recent years of young sailors with a great appetite for competition"—names like Pierre Quiroga (32, Wewise, winner of the 2021 Solitaire du Figaro), Baptiste Hulin (29, Viabilis, runner-up in the Route des Terres Neuvas), Erwan Le Draoulec (29, Lazare x Hellio), and Léonard Legrand (32, Sodebo Fifty). "We'll see whether these youngsters turn out to be too impetuous or perhaps even too conservative!" says Thibaut Vauchel-Camus with a smile.
So is this Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe shaping up to be a clash of generations? "I don't think it's a battle between the 'youngsters' and the 'old guard,' though it's true that our sailing styles might differ slightly," observes Erwan Le Draoulec who says he used to dream of competing on this ace which watching Thibaut Vauchel-Camus and Erwan Le Roux sailing multihulls back in the day.
Before having to withdraw from defending his title due to budget constraints, Erwan Le Roux offered some insight: "The other skippers aren't your rivals—they're your friends. In this race, your true rival is yourself. It's up to you to make the right decisions at the right time, to stay clear-headed, to execute your strategy successfully, and to make as few mistakes as possible."
Ultimately, it is this that will determine the podium and the final standings in the Ocean Fifty class over the course of this incredible oceanic sprint.