Route du Rhum

28 October 3000 Miles Race Program

The Route du Rhum is probably the most famous event in France/ Europe after the Vendée Globe. It is a premier event with top competition. The Route du Rhum race ranks along side of the Volvo Ocean Race, Vendee Globe and the Americas Cup and is one of France's top 5 sporting events. It is estimated that more than a million people will physically see the fleet of single-handed mulithulls and monohulls. Millions of other viewers around the world will follow the race on the web. Virtually every form of media in France will be writing or talking about the race. The start will be televised nationally on most channels and some will have live coverage. Virtually every sailing magazine in the world will carry stories and pictures of the race.

The event has a long and illustrious history with a reputation for being one of the toughest trans-Atlantic races, The Route du Rhum starts in St. Malo on the 28th October 2006. The boats head into Biscay, which in October and November can present very tough conditions. The boats then turn south into the Atlantic on route to Guadeloupe - a distance of 3400 miles. The fleet will pass the Canaries and Cape Verde islands before tactically deciding whether to sail the shorter distance and try and negotiate the tricky Azores high pressure, or dive deep south and pick up the south-east trades.