Fundació Navegació Oceànica Barcelona

All three were aiming for a Route du Rhum – Barcelona World Race double, despite the tight schedule due to the obligatory arrival date at the Spanish port. For Kito de Pavant it was, above all, about increasing his mileage on Groupe Bel and showing that the yacht is at its peak potential. For Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia) as well as for Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac Paprec 3), the Route du Rhum was an excellent level test in order for the skippers to continue polishing out the wrinkles on each of their brand new boats as well as the opportunity to evaluate the abilities of their new machines. The 2010 edition of the Route du Rhum was not the opportunity to reveal the full potential for many reasons, but knowing the ability of these sailing stalwarts to pick themselves up, we know they'll be entries to watch out for on the starting line of the Barcelona World Race.

Kito de Pavant (Groupe Bel) in trouble

The Mediterranean skipper was very happy to be taking part in the 2010 edition of the regatta. His Verdier-VPLP model had been optimised after many navigations and permitted him to have some high hopes in this event, demonstrated by Kito as he set a steady pace early in the regatta. At the top of the rankings as the fleet moved out of the English Channel, it was clear to Kito what final ranking he was capable of aiming for. Unfortunately his hopes were dashed to the west of the Azores, where the hydraulic keel axis broke in a brutal turn of events. This is a large piece of the yacht, which had been tried and tested and was thought reliable, meant that the podium hopes flew out of the window. With his spirits at his feet, Kito was forced to turn back towards Horta, where he was met by Armando Castro, the great port at the Island of Faial and he joined his crew, discussed a provisional solution and sent the yacht convoy to Port Carmargue, where it should arrive at the end of the week.

Jean-Pierre Dick (Virbac-Paprec 3)

For Jean-Pierre Dick, this Route du Rhum should have been the validation of the thousands of miles already sailed on the yacht. True to his habitually comprehensive training methods, Jean-Pierre had sailed back the yacht from New Zealand, meaning a life size training session. His brand new Verdier-VPLP would therefore be able to measure up against the older generation models. This was the opportunity for him to test out some methods to gain even more in competition performance terms. Unfortunately, persistent electrical supply issues and a lost jib hampered the Frenchman's regatta somewhat. However, Jean-Pierre has drawn some positive conclusions from the Route du Rhum 2010: despite some teething issues with the yacht, the boat is well-built, and above all, the skipper said he felt very well-prepared physically, which is an excellent sign ahead of the start of the round the world regatta, which he is very excited about.

A confused Michel Desjoyeaux (Foncia)

Michel Desjoyeaux was the protagonist of a radical southern option which meant that he was unable to measure himself against the other IMOCAs, except perhaps for Arnaud Boissières who made things fairly tricky for him to the south. When he reached Guadalupe Michel commented with his usual frankness on the reasons that lead him to choose this option, not necessarily an obvious choice. Was it subconscious fear of pushing with a boat just out of the shipyard from when he had hand to hand battles with most of the fleet? Was it the choice of a more 'peaceful' course so as not to endanger his chances of reaching the Barcelona World Race start? Perhaps it was his excessively playful temperament?
The twice winner of the Vendée Globe recognised that he had to look at the reasons that had pushed him to chose an option that soon proved to be a losing one. We hope that the Port-la-Forêt skipper won't take long to find solutions which will take him to the start of the Barcelona World Race in a much stronger position.