Route du Rhum 2022

The Route du Rhum is also an incredible spectacle on land, a unique atmosphere. The magic of Saint-Malo operates. The village, which was open for 7 days in 2014, lasted 12 days in 2018 and won another day this year for the 12th edition of the event. 1.3 million visitors were counted on the quays 4 years ago – when will the two million be reached?

The Route du Rhum is a solo race of around 3,500 nautical miles which connects Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe – the port of arrival is Pointe-à-Pitre. The first edition took place in 1978; it was won by Mike Birch – the Canadian sailor has just pass away. This 1978 edition recorded the superiority of multihulls over monohulls; since then, every four years, we have to deal with separate classes. There are two for monohulls: IMOCA and Classe40. There are two for multihulls: Ultim and Ocean Fifty. A fifth category brings together legendary sailboats and/or skippers... This is the Rhum Class.

The record for the event is held by Francis Joyon during the 2018 edition in 7 d 14 h 21 min 47 s.

Francis Le Goff is Race Director. He is responsible for the 138 participants in this 2022 edition – a record! We were able to meet him.

Multihulls World has of course visited its two favorites, Thomas Lurton and Brieuc Maisonneuve.

Good luck to all ! 

Read our full article "Route du Rhum - A multihull race open to everyone (or almost) and to sailing legends?"