Sailing: the start of the Route du Rhum delayed due to the weather

Audio 01:14

Postponement announced for the start of the Route du Rhum, in Saint-Malo this Saturday, November 5, 2022. AFP - LOIC VENANCE

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Scheduled for this Sunday, November 6 in Saint-Malo, Brittany, the start of the 12th edition of the Route du Rhum, the famous transatlantic sailing race, is postponed to Tuesday or Wednesday.

The organizers announced it to the 138 sailors this Saturday.

The weather conditions at sea, particularly terrible these days, do not ensure the safety of the participants, who must reach Pointe-à-Pitre, in Guadeloupe.

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With our special correspondent in Saint-Malo,

A weather not to put a sailor out: very strong wind, with gusts of 120 km/h, rough seas, waves that can go up to six or seven meters, the first hours of this Route du Rhum announced dantesque, even dangerous.

So François Gabart, one of the favorites in the race, understands the organizers' decision.

A wise decision, yes, probably, and, I think, a courageous decision too, because it's not easy to postpone a start.

Obviously, there are many stakes, the disappointment probably for the public and the partners;

there could have been a lot of disappointment too, with a given start and, inevitably, the breakage and the problems that would have appeared in the first 24 or 48 hours of the race, so I think that is indeed reasonable.

Reasonable, prudent, wise.

If some thought they could leave, all say they understand and accept this postponement.

We will now have to manage the two or three additional days of waiting.

Yannick Bestaven, last winner of the Vendée Globe:

We are going to adapt, us sailors.

The unexpected, we love it, it's our job.

So that's one of the contingencies.

We will stay in our bubble, continue our preparation, in a classic way, and I think that for many, we have a little less the ball in the stomach, so I think we will benefit from it a little more than we have enjoyed the past two days.

And the public will also be able to enjoy a little more of the view of these magnificent boats lined up in the harbor basins.

►Also listen: Catherine Chabaud's participation in the Route du Rhum: "Such a political challenge"

[(🚨 DECALATED START 🚨)]

💬 Find the full interview with Francis Le Goff, race director.

#RDR2022 pic.twitter.com/3dq36bwyAI

— Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe (@RouteDuRhum) November 5, 2022

Sailing, a privilege and a responsibility

The environmental impact of this 12th edition of the Route du Rhum, a famous sailing race between Saint-Malo, in Brittany, and Pointe-à-Pitre, in Guadeloupe, raises questions.

We are talking about two million spectators in Saint-Malo and the surrounding area (over the two weeks preceding the start), about a hundred motorized support boats.

The skippers, not spared by the critics either, are trying hard to reconcile sporting issues and ecological awareness.

Traveling seas and oceans is a privilege coupled with a responsibility.

Fabrice Amedeo, a citizen sailor, has set up a laboratory area on board his racing boat.

It is a CO2, salinity and temperature sensor.

I work with several scientists, it allows them to better understand the consequences of global warming on the ocean.

Then I have a second sensor, which is a microplastic sensor.

And the great novelty on this Route du Rhum is an environmental DNA sensor, which will make it possible to measure the presence of living organisms, and therefore to measure biodiversity.

Initiatives that do not completely make us forget the ecological cost of offshore racing.

Race for innovation: always faster, boats are built with highly polluting materials.

For the experienced Kito de Pavant, it can't last any longer.

All you have to do is get together and come to an agreement, you are able to change, perhaps to go a little slower, to make boats that are more respectful of the environment.

Replace carbon with flax, as on the new boat of double Route du Rhum winner Roland Jourdain;

the idea is debated and has its opponents.

Like Jérémie Beyou, skipper of Charal, a brand new car.

They are fabulous boats, which make people dream, and I think that from time to time, we also have a little right to dream, we also have a little right to like sport, to like competition, to love mechanics.

You don't have to be ashamed of it all the time either.

There is also the question of the solidity of the different materials, with the ocean as a judge of the peace.

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