Let’s say it straight away: the following story will seem particularly obscure to the uninitiated. François Gabart cannot currently participate in the Route du Rhum, which will start on November 6 in Saint-Malo, due to non-compliance with the rules of the Ultim class on which his new boat depends, a giant of flying seas.
“I am sad for our sport to arrive at this kind of blockage and discussion, it is a not very sporting imbroglio”, affirmed François Gabart, second in 2018 of the previous edition of this legendary transatlantic solo. “Unfortunately I’m in the middle of it all, you feel like you’ve done everything right, never neglected safety. It’s not very pretty, ”he regretted.
The navigator, holder of the solo round the world record, is “blocked due to a safety rule”, which has caused him to be in dispute with the Ultim class, to which he must be a member to have the right to take part in the Route du Rhum.
It is not the race management that opposes Gabart’s participation, but the Ultim 32/23 class that refuses him membership, arguing that the skipper’s new boat (SVR Lazartigue) does not respect the fixed gauge by the class. This Ultim 32/23 class, created in 2018, is managed by the owners of the boats it includes – currently three – maxi-trimarans that cannot exceed 32 m in length and whose latest models are flying, thanks to their foils.
New boat, new rules
Four years ago, during the previous edition, it was not compulsory to be affiliated to the Ultim class whereas the Route du Rhum offered an Ultime category (all multihulls over 65 feet). Gabart, with his previous boat (Macif), was a member of the Ultim class.
“It was the Route du Rhum that created the Ultimate category. This year, we set a limit, seeing an interest in everyone uniting in the class. It makes sense to strengthen the class for their round the world trip in 2023, we would never have thought that François’ boat would not be in the gauge, ”explains Hervé Favre, project manager for the Route du Rhum.
“Today, the point on which they are fighting is an RSO security rule [Offshore Special Regulations] and the interpretation that is made of it”, continues Favre, believing that all this “is not good for anyone”. Surely that’s not good for race readability, anyway.