The Route du Rhum is a

transatlantic Transatlantic, Trans-Atlantic or TransAtlantic may refer to: Film * Transatlantic Pictures, a film production company from 1948 to 1950 * Transatlantic Enterprises, an American production company in the late 1970s * ''Transatlantic'' (1931 film) ...

yacht race Yacht racing is a sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marked by buoys or o ...

, which takes place every four years in November. The course is between

Saint Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

and Pointe-à-Pitre,

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands—Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

overseas France Overseas France (french: France d'outre-mer) consists of 13 France, French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after ...

. The first competition, won by Canadian Michael Birch in his boat ''Olympus Photo'' by a margin of 98 seconds over second-placed Michel Malinovsky in ''Kriter V'', was held in 1978, and was marked in tragedy by the disappearance of

Alain Colas Alain Colas (16 September 1943 – 16 November 1978) was a French sailor, the first to complete a solitary round-the-world race in a multihull. He met Éric Tabarly in Sydney in 1967, and bought Pen Duick IV from him in 1970, and won the "Trans ...

during the crossing. Current record is 6d 19h 47m 25s, set on November 16, 2022, by

Charles Caudrelier Charles Caudrelier (born 26 February 1974) is a French sailor who has sailed in multiple Volvo Ocean Races. Born in Paris and raised in Brittany, Caudrelier is a merchant navy officer. He won the Solitaire du Figaro, a solo race, in 2004 and als ...

Participation

Classes

Results

Line Honours

IMOCA 60

Multihull Ultime (Maxi)

Multihulls - ORMA 60

Referred to as the ORMA 50, Ocean 50 and Multi 50

Multihulls - Multi 50

Referred to as the ORMA 50, Ocean 50 and Multi 50

Class 40

References

External links

*
Official Homepage of the Route du Rhum
*
Photos of boats
Recurring sporting events established in 1978 Single-handed sailing competitions Sailing competitions in France Sport in Guadeloupe Yachting races 1978 establishments in France Transatlantic sailing competitions {{Guadeloupe-sport-stub