POINTE-À-PITRE, France — Charles Caudrelier won the Route du Rhum on
Wednesday, smashing the record in the transatlantic race when he sailed his
maxi trimaran Edmond de Rothschild across the line in
Guadeloupe.
اضافة اعلان
The finish was marred by tragedy. Two people died as
a boat chartered by race organizers, which was following Caudrelier, capsized
off the coast of Guadeloupe, the public prosecutor of Pointe-a-Pitre told AFP.
The prosecutor, Patrick Desjardins, said a judicial
investigation has been opened for manslaughter.
According to local media, a dozen people were aboard
the boat which was part of the flotilla accompanying Caudrelier to the finish
line.
The local fire department said the French National
Sea Rescue Society rescued the survivors.
Caudrelier, a 48-year-old French sailor became the
first competitor to finish in less than seven days when he completed the 12th
edition in six days and 19 hours at 05:02 local time.
He was almost a day faster than the time set by
compatriot Francis Joyon who won in 7 days 14 hours and 21 minutes in 2018.
“I’m not even tired surprisingly,” said Caudrelier
after docking. “The race was exhausting, but I did well to find my rhythm. I
wanted to win this race so badly.”
“I had never been able to do it. It was a huge
frustration.”
He was chased for much of the race by Francois
Gabart in SVR Lazartigue.
“There was a real fight with Francois,” Caudrelier
said.
“We talked a lot about the record, but that’s normal
because my boat is newer than Francois’s.”
Gabart, overtaken by Joyon in the final stages in
2018, was still a few hours from the finish as Caudrelier crossed the line.
Thomas Coville in Sodebo was lying comfortably third.
Edmond de Rothschild, launched in 2017, is the first
trimaran designed to rise entirely out of the water on foils. Caudrelier was
part of the crew that broke the Fastnet race record in it in 2019.
“I found this boat crazy. It’s a complicated boat,
which has always had to evolve against new boats,” he said. “Our team is like a
Formula 1 team and I’m the driver, all year long.”
One of the pre-race favorites, Armel Le Cleac’h, had
seen his chances of success dashed a day after setting out when he returned to
Lorient in Brittany last Thursday to repair the damage to his boat.
Le Cleac’h — who capsized after just two days in the
previous edition four years ago — set out again after two days of repairing his
dagger board, the retractable fin attached to the keel.
However, despite seeing his hopes of victory shattered, the
2016/17 winner of the Vendee Globe said he was determined to finish the race.
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