The event of this 2002 edition will be the number of entries in the 60’ multihull division. All the skippers of the ORMA (Offshore Racing Multihull Association) will be at the start as the Rum Race will be the most important competition of the season. Between them, Alain Gautier, Franck Cammas or Marc Guillemot will try to take their revanche from the 1998 edition.

A revanche over 1998

Second of the race four years ago, Alain Gautier will sail, this year, a new 60’ trimaran. Foncia 2 has been launched in 2002 and has been designed by the french pair of yacht designers Marc Van Peteghem and Vincent Lauriot Prévost. Will it be an advantage ? This new trimaran is very fast but will miss long offshore sailing experience. The same lake of experience than for the others trimarans of the 2002 generation… Will Alain Gautier be able to compete with Franck Cammas’ Groupama (launched in ’98 and sistership of his previous tri), or with Marc Guillemot’s Biscuits La Trinitaine ? Both sailors (3rd and 4th in ’98) will set sail again to Pointe à Pitre with their faithfull machine which perfectly knows the way across North Atlantic in november…

In front of this trio, there will be a fleet of brand-new trimarans. They are sailed by great sailors. Some of them arrive from the monohull division after the Vendée Globe like Michel Desjoyeaux or Thomas Coville. Other come from the Figaro-Bénéteau (a 9 meters long one-designed offshore racing monohull), like Karine Fauconnier or Lionel Lemonchois. Other again arrive in the multihull scene after a round the world record Record #sailingrecord against the main winds like Philippe Monnet. It will be their first Route du Rhum Route du Rhum #RouteDuRhum at the helm of a class one multihull. To this list, one do not forget Jean Le Cam, Jean Luc Nélias, Lalou Roucayrol or Fred Le Peutrec who are sailing 2001 or 2002 new high powered Fomula One of the seas…

Away from the official circuit

In the port of S^t Malo, there will be few ’out of laws’ competitors. They do not enter in the ORMA circuit but are always dangerous in a single handed transatlantic. First of them is Yvan Bourgnon. Laurent’s young brother will sail the VPLP ’90 trimaran which has won the last two editions ! Other dangerous sailor for the final win (if there is lots of wind on the route to the Azores) will be the unforeseeable Francis Joyon. He will be at the start at the helm of his old tri Eure et Loir. Four years ago, he did open a far southerly route through Capo Verde islands but made a fantastic come back in the trade winds highway to Guadeloupe. And two years ago he did make the show by winning the British Transatlantic…

But the big favorite skipper for the scratch win will be no more than Loïck Peyron. In 1998 he did missed his Rum Race, a transatlantic he never won. But the double winner of the British transat has in the hands a new green weapon with the Irens designed Fujifilm. The brother of the Jules Verne Trophy new title holder will certainly do all his possible to add the Route du Rhum Route du Rhum #RouteDuRhum at his long list of wins. And from the start of the season, he did not let any chance to his main opponents in the ORMA circuit.

They should be more than 18 in the port of Saint Malo in the 60 feet multichull division. May be more if one skipper sail the old Gitana or the old Pierre 1^er, the trimaran Emma Richards was sailing in the Transat Jacques Vabre Transat Jacques Vabre #TJV2015 . With few 50’, the port of the Breton city will then be full of offshore racing yachts as wide as they are long.

Possible entry list of the Route Du Rhum 2002

Multi 60 Multi 60 #ORMA ’
 Bourgnon Yvan FRA Rexona - T VPLP 1990
 Cammas Franck FRA Groupama - T VPLP 1998
 Coville Thomas FRA Sodebo - T VPLP 2002
 De Broc Bertrand FRA Banque Covefi - T Irens 1990
 Desjoyeaux Michel FRA Géant - T VPLP 2002
 Fauconnier Karine FRA Sergio Tacchini - T Irens 2001
 Gautier Alain FRA Foncia - T VPLP 2002
 Guillemot Marc FRA Biscuits La Trinitaine Team Ethypharm - T Irens 1998
 Joyon Francis FRA Eure et Loir - T Irens 1994
 Le Cam Jean FRA Bonduelle - T VPLP 2000
 Le Peutrec Fred FRA Bayer Crop Science - T VPLP 2002
 Lemonchois Lionel FRA Gitana X - T Ollier/Schmidt 2002
 Monnet Philippe FRA Sopra Group - T Lombard 2002
 Nélias Jean-Luc FRA Belgacom - T VPLP 2001
 Peyron Loïck FRA Fujifilm - T Irens 2001
 Ravussin Steve SUI ex-Foncia/Brocéliande - T VPLP 1997
 Roucayrol Lalou FRA Banque Populaire - T Lombard 2001
 Soldini Giovanni ITA Tim - T VPLP 2001

Multi 50’
 Cléris Hervé FRA CLM - T Irens 1990
 Escoffier Franck-Yves FRA Crêpes Whaou ! - T