New outright record for Tom Laperche on SVR-Lazartigue in the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe

There were jubilant scenes in Goudeloupe as the 105-foot long Ultim trimaran SVR Lazartigue crossed the finish line late on Saturday night to take victory, and with it set a new outright record in the race. Tom Laperche has fulfilled a childhood dream at the first attempt at the age of just 29, adding his name to those of the eleven solo racers who have triumphed since the first edition in 1978 on this classic 3542 nautical mile ocean sprint from Saint Malo to Guadeloupe which runs every four years and which started last Sunday in perfect sunshine in North Brittany. Tom Laperche on SVR-Lazartigue took the lead early on in the race as the fleet sped west on the north easterly wind, heading north of the rhum line to stay in the stronger winds before gybing to the southwest of Ireland. The complete lack of traditional trade winds, influenced by the record El Nino event in the Pacific, meant the course in this addition of the race saw them travel well to the north of the Azores. A key moment in the race was how to cross a strip of light wind to the north of the Azores to hook into the developing weather system between the islands and Newfoundland, and Laperche managed to navigate this hurdle well, then going further north than his competitors to make the most of the breeze. Thomas Coville on Sodebo Ultim 3 took a gamble by staying in the breeze to the south, which was an interesting strategy which ultimately didn’t pay off. With a 400 nautical mile lead Laperche was relatively comfortable approaching Guadeloupe, but he still had to navigate tricky headwinds with a developing low pressure system that had a light wind strip to its eastern side, and he watched his lead diminish as the chasing pack could head further west, but he’d more than done enough to seal victory in an elapsed time of 6 days, 13 hours, 27 minutes and 40 seconds, beating the record set by Charles Caudrelier in 2022 on Gitana 17 by 6 hours and 20 minutes. Thumbnail photo (c) Lou Benoist / AFP #sailing #routedurhum #trimaran