Alex Thomson may have left Pointe à Pitre disappointed that his first Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe ended with such a high profile accident, but during 3460 or so miles of the 3542 miles course the English skipper had already established himself and his current Hugo Boss as the fastest combination on the planet.

 

Twenty solo IMOCA skippers, all with their own personal Vendée Globe aspirations, took on the 40^th anniversary Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, the 3542 nautical mile classic Transatlantic race from Saint-Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe.

First and foremost the Vendée Globe is a race. All competitors start the solo, non stop around the world contest with the objective of finishing as fast as is safely possible. For some that may mean sailing at a prudent pace, within their comfort zone, others push the risk reward ratio much further and press hard, close to the red line as much as possible. But often races are compromised by misfortune. Competition, that is the pursuit of a finishing position or elapsed time, has to be put aside in favour of the human endeavour of simply finishing the race. The Vendée Globe becomes an adventure more than a sailing race.
On March 16, 2001 the quaysides and coasts of Les Sables d'Olonne are swarming with thousands of people out to welcome a hero home. But Michel Desjoyeaux, the winner, arrived more than one month ago. The solo racer that the crowds have come out to see come home is Yves Parlier whose story remains one of the most remarkable in the Vendée Globe's long history.

At exactly two years before the ninth edition of the Vendée Globe, November’s Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe solo transatlantic race represents a perfect time to measure the strength and depth of activity within the IMOCA class of 60 foot monohulls.