• The start of the 12th Route du Rhum was given this Wednesday off the tip of Grouin three days late.

  • The postponement of the start undoubtedly made it possible to prevent a compact crowd from gathering on land and on the water.

  • Associations had denounced the environmental impact of the transatlantic sailing race.

Hovering above dozens of cups and white hair.

The kestrel is at home here.

On this day of the start of the Route du Rhum, the raptor is heckled by the many onlookers massed on the tip of Grouin to admire the 138 boats starting their transatlantic race.

The bird probably doesn't know it, but the weather has spared it from a real human tide.

Scheduled for Sunday in front of tens of thousands of spectators on land, the start of the Route du Rhum had to be postponed to prevent the fleet from being crushed by the waves.

Unprecedented since the creation of the race in 1978, this postponement has undoubtedly frustrated many sailing enthusiasts.

But it has undoubtedly made it possible to preserve nature a little.

Explanations.

This Wednesday, several hundred people gathered on the fragile tip of Grouin to follow the launch of the sailing race.

Much less than what was feared on Sunday.

Since the birth of the event more than forty years ago, every start has taken place here.

“It's still where people come, it's historic.

The site is grandiose but it must be preserved”, assures Jacques, who came from Rennes with his son Renaud.

“Fan zones” had been set up by the county council, owner of the site, to welcome a very respectful public.

“The site was under less pressure due to the delay in the day of departure.

It's not a bad thing, ”assures Jean-François Lebas.


Responsible for the natural spaces and landscapes mission in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, he closely monitored the behavior of spectators so that they did not venture beyond the secure paths.

“We have banned certain areas to preserve biodiversity, but we must remain vigilant.

This site is not normally intended to accommodate so many people in such a short time.


Located between Mont Saint-Michel and the corsair city, the Pointe du Grouin offers a sumptuous panorama of the Breton coast.

Less than an hour by car from Rennes, it attracts around 600,000 visitors each year and competes for the title of the most visited natural site in the region with the Pointe du Raz and Cap Fréhel.

Significant work has been undertaken to better welcome visitors but above all to better protect vegetation and wildlife.

There are several monitored species here, such as the great cormorant, the Belon shelduck or the northern gannet.

In its waters often swim dolphins and porpoises.

Species that escaped the tumult of hundreds of motorboats with the postponement of the start of the race.


Praised for the spirit of freedom it conveys, offshore racing is not exempt from environmental criticism.

In L'Equipe, some have delivered a long forum in this direction by hiring a good number of skippers.

Six Breton environmental associations had also denounced the impact on the environment, accusing the organizer OC Sports of not taking it sufficiently into account.

The weather will have finally played a role of arbiter.

And it is nature that has benefited, for once.

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Boats cross France on the road

There has been much criticism of the PSG bus which travels empty while the players fly.

But what about the two trucks each carrying two powerful motor boats from Nice seen en route to Saint-Malo on Saturday?

To satisfy the partners, the big teams of the Route du rhum had invited a good number of VIPs to follow the start on the water on Sunday.

The postponement emptied the sea of ​​a good part of these boats.

  • reindeer

  • Brittany

  • Rum route

  • Sail

  • Sport

  • Planet

  • Pollution

  • Biodiversity

  • Saint Malo