Despite being the reigning champion, this Route du Rhum transatlantic is a journey of discovery for Charles Caudrelier at the helm of the new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. Launched on 14 February, the latest edition to the Gitana fleet is competing in her first major race. However, the sailor has not really had the opportunity to enjoy a period of observation given that both her rivals and the weather conditions are serving up an energetic and fast-paced start to the race. As a result, the skipper of the five-arrow racing stable is relishing the fast-track learning experience on the Atlantic chessboard.
03.11.2026
Approaching the front.
Having set sail from Saint Malo yesterday at 12:02 GMT, the Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe fleet is now in full flow out on the racecourse. Leading the way, the flying maxi-trimarans are posting dazzling speeds as they make towards the Azores. Indeed, after around thirty or so hours of racing, Charles Caudrelier and his rivals are making the most of the downwind conditions to devour the miles at a lively pace; over 900 sailed since yesterday. Following a particularly cautious start, which saw him round Fréhel in 6th position, the skipper of Gitana Team has since been able to lengthen his stride to really get the best out of the new Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. At the 17:00 GMT position report, he had powered his way up into the top 3, just a short distance ahead of Thomas Coville and around sixty miles or so astern of Tom Laperche, who has had a firm grip on the head of the fleet on this first day of racing.
A bracing first night to acclimatise
Front ahoy
In a few hours’ time, between 22:00 and 23:00 GMT, the leading Ultims will have to negotiate an important transition zone. Erwan Israël, head of Gitana’s performance unit and one of the weather specialists supporting Charles in his routing team, gave us the low-down on the upcoming situation: “We have to negotiate an old front, which is sprawled across our trajectory. Within this system, the SSE’ly wind will move round to the NNW, a shift of nearly 180 degrees. It isn’t set to last very long, but it will require some activity in the cockpits with a fresh sequence of manoeuvres, which are always quite a work-up for solo sailors. Tomorrow, there will be some course choices to make.”
Actual Ultim 4 bound for Ireland
This Monday morning, in the early hours of this lengthy transatlantic passage, Team Actual reported damage to the central rudder of their maxi-trimaran. This major technical incident forced Anthony Marchand to put his race on hold and divert towards Ireland, where he’ll be joined by his shore team and will be able to get his boat to safety. This sad news naturally weighed heavily on the members of Gitana Team. Indeed, in addition to the fact that Actual Ultim 4 is the former Gitana 17, the close bond between the two teams means that they are keen to voice their full support and best wishes to Anthony Marchand and Team Actual.
Rankings at the 7 p.m. check-in
1) SVR-Lazartigue / Tom laperche
2) Maxi Banque Populaire XI / Armel Le Cléac’h
3) Maxi Edmond de Rothschild / Charles Caudrelier
4) SODEBO Ultim 3 / Thomas Coville
5) Ultim Armand Thiery / Louis Burton
6) LIAMM / Guirec Soudée
7) IDEC Sport – CIC / Alexia Barrier
8) ACTUAL Ultim 4 / Anthony Marchand