Route du Rhum

The Route du Rhum is a transatlantic single-handed yacht race, which takes places every 4 years in November. The course is between Saint Malo, Brittany, France and Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. The first competition, won by Canadian Michael Birch in his boat Olympus Photo by a margin of 98 seconds over second-placed Michel Malinovsky in Kriter V was held in 1978, and was marked in tragedy by the disappearance of Alain Colas during the crossing.

The 2006 race began on 29 October 2006, with a maximum of 60 boats competing in 4 categories:

• ORMA Class: Multihulls measuring from 59’ to 60’ in length
• IMOCA Class: Monohulls measuring from 58’ to 60’ in length
• Class 2 Monohulls and multihulls measuring from 45.1 to 50’
• Class 3 Monohulls and multihulls measuring from 40’ to 45’
• Class 40 Monohulls (40', specific class)

General standings

Year	Position	Yachtsman	Yacht	Time
1978 (38 entries)
	1	Michael Birch	Olympus photo	23d 6h 58'35"
	2	Michel Malinovsky	Kriter V	23d 7h 01'13"
	3	Philip Weld	Rogue Wave	23d 15h 51'32"
1982 (52 entries)
	1	Marc Pajot	Elf Aquitaine	18d 01h 38'
	2	Bruno Peyron	Jaz	18d 11h 46'
	3	Michael Birch	Vital	18d 13h 44'
1986 (33 entries)
	1	Philippe Poupon	Fleury Michon	14d 15h 57'
	2	Bruno Peyron	Ericsson	16d 17h 03'
	3	Lionel Péan	Hitachi	17d 07h 08'
1990 (31 entries)
	1	Florence Arthaud	Pierre 1er	14d 10h 08'
	2	Philippe Poupon	Fleury Michon	14d 18h 39'
	3	Laurent Bourgnon	RMO	14d 18h 46'
1994 (24 entries)
	1	Laurent Bourgnon	Primagaz	14d 06h 28'
	2	Paul Vatine	Région Haute Normandie	14d 09h 38'
	3	Yves Parlier	Cacolac d'Aquitaine	15d 19h 23'
1998 (35 entries)
	1	Laurent Bourgnon	Primagaz	12d 8h 41'
	2	Alain Gautier	Brocéliande	12d 11h 54'
	3	Franck Cammas	Groupama	12d 19h 41'
2002 (58 entries)
	1	Michel Desjoyeaux	Géant	13d 7h 53'
	2	Marc Guillemot	Biscuits La Trinitaine	13d 19h 36'18"
	3	Lalou Roucayrol	Banque Populaire	14d 07h 1'
2006 (74 entries)
	1	Lionel Lemonchois	Gitana 11	7d 17h 19'6"
	2	Pascal Bidégorry	Banque Populaire	8d 4h 25'7"
	3	Thomas Coville	Sodeb'O	8d 13h 39'02"
2010 (87 entries)
	1	Franck Cammas	Groupama 3	9d 3h 14'47"
	2	Francis Joyon	IDEC	9d 13h 50'48"
	3	Thomas Coville	Sodebo	10d 3h 13'11"

IMOCA 60' standings

Year	Pos.	Sailor	Yacht	Time
2002
	1	Ellen MacArthur	Kingfisher	13d 13h 31'47"
	2	Mike Golding	Ecover	13d 22h 49'35"
	3	Joé Seeten	Arcelor-Dunkerque	16d 00h 51'51"
2006
	1	Rolland Jourdain	Sill & Veolia	12d 11h 58'58"
	2	Jean Le Cam	VM Matériaux	12d 12h 26'53"
	3	Jean-Pierre Dick	Virbac-Paprec	12d 20h 27'58"
2010
	1	Rolland Jourdain	Veolia Environnement	13d 17h 10'56"
	2	Armel Le Cléac’h	Brit Air	14d 1h 6'7"
	3	Marc Guillemot	Safran	14d 12h 28'2"

50' Multihull standings

Year	Pos.	Sailor	Yacht	Time
2002
	1	Franck-Yves Escoffier	Crêpes Whaou	16d 23h 9'42"
	2	Anne Caseneuve	YachtingCasino.com	17d 22h 37'7"
	3	Hervé Cleris	Vaincre la mucoviscidose	18d 18h 55'52"
2006
	1	Franck-Yves Escoffier	Crêpes Whaou	11d 17h 28'11"
	2	Éric Bruneel	Trilogic	13d 14h 58'35"
	3	Victorien Erussard	Laiterie de Saint-Malo	16d 18h 29'54"
2010
	1	Lionel Lemonchois	Prince de Bretagne	15d 4h 50'48"
	2	Lalou Roucayrol	Région Aquitaine - Port Médoc	15d 12h 30'14"
	3	Loïc Fequet	Maître Jacques	15d 14h 28'26"

40' Monohull standings

Year	Pos.	Sailor	Yacht	Time
2010
	1	Thomas Ruyant	Destination Dunkerque	17d 23h 10'17"
	2	Nicolas Troussel	Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne	18d 2d 40'15"
	3	Yvan Noblet	Appart City	18d 6h 38'17"

Rhum Category

Year	Pos.	Sailor	Yacht	Time
2010
	1	Andrea Mura	Vento di Sardegna	19d 09h 40'30"
	2	Luc Coquelin	Pour le Rire Médecin	20d 13d 15' 36"
	3	Julien Mabit	monopticien.com	22d 7h 42'56"

External links

• (French), Official Homepage of the Route du Rhum
• (English), Photos of boats