The Riotous Route du Rhum Starts Sunday
The French have a way of doing sailing that leaves the rest of the sailing world behind. The most extreme, high-speed, long-distance offshore races in the world remain almost exclusively French. This coming Sunday is the start of the once-every-four-year, singlehanded Route du Rhum — a 3,542-mile race from Saint-Malo, France, to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. Crossing the starting line will be the most advanced offshore boats ever developed (almost exclusively by the French), and helmed by the mostly French superstars of the offshore sailing world.
You’ll have to check into the tracker quickly on this race since it will happen at a blistering pace for the leading boats.
There will be six classes racing, with the most extreme being the ~100-ft Ultime foiling trimarans. There are eight of these monsters, all French. Charles Caudrelier, skippering the recently launched Gitana 18, is a strong favorite. Charles holds the course record, which he set in an earlier Maxi Edmond de Rothschild trimaran, in an astounding six days, 19 hours, 47 minutes and 25 seconds. The new Edmond de Rothschild Gitana 18 is faster and was launched in February 2026.
The relatively new Ocean 50 trimarans will have 10 skippers, again all French, racing across in these very high-tech, fast offshore trimarans. Then there are 28 skippers racing in the Class 40 fleet, with all but five of the skippers being French. The star-studded fleet of 22 IMOCA 60s will blitz across the Atlantic in what is a short race for these boats, primarily built for the solo Vendée Globe race around the world. Then we get to some classics with 13 skippers. All but one are French, sailing in the Vintage Monohull fleet. Finally, there are 13 all-French competitors in the Vintage Multihull class, which includes French superstar Francis Joyon.
We don’t know how the French continue to pull off these events, which capture the attention of almost the entire population of France. The shoreside event village attracts enormous crowds. The 2022 event attracted 1.5 million visitors over 13 days with 141,000 visitors on the busiest day.
The forecast looks quite reasonable for Sunday’s 1:02 p.m. CET start (5:02 a.m. PST — remember we’re changing our clocks on Saturday night!).
Good Jibes #261: Max Ebb, Collapsed Lung, Fleet Family, Slocum (L38 Verbatim), w/ Host Monica Grant
In this week’s episode of Good Jibes, host Monica Grant reads four articles from the October 2026 issue of Latitude 38 sailing magazine.
Hear Max Ebb — Dragging the @$$ by Max Ebb, Rib-Shattering Pac Cup Return by John Temoyan, How a One-Design Fleet Became a Family by Brandon Mercer, and Sailing Into Port Alone from Sailing Alone Around the World by Capt. Joshua Slocum.
Here’s a small sample of what you will hear in this episode:
- Doug and Rose pose as novices for a free university sailing club lesson
- Diagnosed with bruised ribs and a collapsed lung
- The kind of pain that gets worse every hour and won’t let you lie down
- Welcoming is our default setting
- J/24 Fleet 17 crews show up to help each other move
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and your other favorite podcast spots — follow and leave a 5-star review if you’re feeling the Good Jibes!
Follow along and read the articles at Max Ebb–Dragging the @$$; Rib-Shattering Pac Cup Return; How a One-Design Fleet Became a Family; and Sailing Into Port Alone.
Check out the episode and show notes for much more detail.
Your Safe Harbor on Mexico’s Pacific Coast
Puerto de la Navidad is the best kept secret of the Costalegre. It’s beautiful resort type marina and lagoon offers first class cruising grounds with 11 surrounding anchorages that make it a great home base. Lined with paverstone streets and filled with little tiendas, great restaurants and a fantastic choice of music nightly, nearby Barra de Navidad shines at night even brighter than it’s days.
Mercury Fleet Sails 2026 Joe Logan Regatta
The Joe Logan Regatta began under cloudy skies, with winds of 7–10 knots and seas of 1–2 feet. Conditions initially appeared typical for a day on the San Francisco Cityfront.
In the first race, David West and Scott Jenson had a strong start and led at the windward mark. On the downwind leg, Scott Easom and Hayden Stapleton gained the inside position. taking the lead at the leeward mark and maintaining it through the finish.
Easom started well in the second race and remained in front throughout. West again finished second, while Chris and Robert Lanzafame recorded their best result of the regatta with a third-place finish.
By the third race, both the wind and seas had begun to build. The race followed a pattern similar to the first two with Easom leading the fleet around the course and West finishing second. Chris Davis and Volker Frank also found additional speed. The fleet adapted to the currents and was closely grouped. As the wind increased, the race committee shortened the course by moving the windward mark nearer to the start and finish line. All races used a two-lap windward-leeward configuration with leeward finishes.
The fourth race featured an intriguing tactical contest. Upwind, Jim Bradley and Tony Basso sailed to the right into stronger current, while West remained to windward in similar conditions, both on port tack. Both boats significantly overstood the mark and lost several positions. The post-race discussion went something like this: “I was waiting for you to tack….” Oops!
Before the fifth race, the flood current had clearly begun on the Cityfront, and the waves started to subside. The wind continued to build to approximately 14 knots but remained manageable. The finishing order in the final race reflected the overall regatta standings. Easom maintained a loose cover on West, the only competitor still capable of challenging for first place. Easom prevailed, confirming that his 8 Ball was the fastest boat of the regatta.
The St. Francis Yacht Club delivered a well-run regatta, complemented by excellent food and refreshments for competitors after racing. Most races lasted approximately 25 minutes, and the fleet returned to shore shortly before the wind increased beyond 20 knots.
You can find the full results here.
Ronnie Simpson Moving Closer to Global Solo Challenge Start
We briefly reconnected with Ronnie Simpson at the Annapolis Boat Show, where he was showing off his Class 40, Koloa Maoli, less than a year before the start of the next Global Solo Challenge. The Owen Clarke-designed Koloa Maoli raced the last Global Solo Challenge with Pacific Northwest sailor David Linger at the helm. And although Ronnie is now based in Maine, he’s often back in the Pacific. This summer he raced the Pacific Cup aboard Recidivist.
The 2027–28 Global Solo Challenge starts next August from Vigo, Galicia, Spain, and heads south, around the world in the Southern Ocean, before turning north to the finish line. Ronnie was in Annapolis to showcase the boat and continue supporting his sponsors and US Patriot Sailing and the Downtown Sailing Center. Ronnie has a growing list of sponsors including the construction business Oakley Building Company, which he was welcoming aboard at the boat show.
Following his trip to Annapolis, Ronnie will be sailing Koloa Maoli back to Maine, where he’ll haul out to work on the extensive project list at the Maine Yacht Center in Portland. Major projects for the winter include new rod rigging, new running rigging, a revamped charging system, a new primary autopilot, bottom preparation, a new suit of sails and more. Ronnie and Koloa Maoli are scheduled to start the reverse-handicap Global Solo Challenge on October 13, 2027.
Ronnie competed in the 2023–24 Global Solo Challenge aboard his 50-footer Shipyard Brewing (ex-Sparrow) before dismasting in the South Atlantic after rounding Cape Horn. He had sailed 20,000 miles in that race, running in third place before his race ended. He’s now back with Koloa Maoli for another attempt.
You can stay in touch with Ronnie at www.ronniesimpsonracing.com and follow the current 21 entrants in the next Global Solo Challenge here.
Previewing the November Yacht Racing Transition
News From the Yacht Racing Association
“The first race of our popular Doublehanded Midwinters is coming up on November 15,” writes the YRA. “Enjoy longer courses designed specifically for doublehanded racing with divisions for all types of boats. It’s a great way to spend a Sunday with a crewmate!” The series runs on four Sundays, November-February. Find info and sign up on Jibeset.
The YRA’s annual year-end trophy pick-up party will be on Sunday, November 29, at Richmond Yacht Club. “We’ll celebrate a great year of YRA racing, hand out hard-earned awards, and, your first drink is on us!”
Last call for 2026 PHRF certificates: 2026 PHRF certificates will no longer be available starting November 1. The YRA will begin accepting applications for 2027 PHRF certificates starting on December 1. You can renew your certificate on Jibeset, or fill out an application for a new certificate here.
More Midwinters
The upcoming weekend is split, with the Saturday falling on the last day of October, and the Sunday on November 1. This calls for a little creativity to meet traditional midwinter schedules. Sausalito YC’s Chili Midwinters will kick off on Sunday, November 1. Golden Gate YC’s Manuel Fagundes Seaweed Soup Regatta, Encinal YC’s Jack Frost and Sequoia YC’s Winter Series will all start on Saturday, November 7.
Marie Cunningham, rear commodore of Island YC, writes to advise us that registration for the Island Days Series is open. “Same fees as last year! Cool prizes! Maybe a new course or two! Let’s keep racing!” The series runs one day a month through March, with the first race on Sunday, November 8. See IYC’s Jibeset page for details.
We’ll have a much longer list of midwinter series in the Calendar section of Latitude 38’s November issue, coming out this Friday, October 30.
Turkey Season
Races with a Thanksgiving theme include Inverness YC’s Drumstick Race on Tomales Bay November 14, and Tiburon YC’s Wild Turkey Regatta on November 27, aka Black Friday. Although, yes, wild turkeys abound in Tiburon, note that this is “Wild Turkey” capitalized.
More From Around California
A different holiday connection is Elkhorn YC’s Día de los Dinghies Regatta on November 1 in Moss Landing.
Also coastside, Half Moon Bay YC’s Die Hard Regatta moved from October 31 to November 7. Al Sargent of the ILCA fleet points out that, “The usual awesome Half Moon Bay program applies: $30 if you register the Wednesday prior, $40 if you don’t, and $10 for Youth Sailors. All that includes lunch. Plenty of races; short courses that are five minutes from where you launch. ($10 is insanely cheap…. The only way you’re eating lunch that cheap these days is if you get a Costco hot dog.) If you’re looking for a good way to get into Laser racing, Half Moon Bay is a great place to start.” See www.hmbyc.org/sailing/racing.
The collegiate sailors, alumni, cheerleaders, mascots and marching bands of Cal Berkeley and Stanford University will take over St. Francis YC for the Big Sail on Wednesday, November 18.
San Diego YC will host the San Diego Lipton Cup on October 30-November 1, then they’ll kick off their Hot Rum Regatta with racing on November 7 and 21 and December 5.
Calendar Alert: Growing Racing in 2027
Latitude 38 and the YRA are working to grow participation in the upcoming racing season. Beyond regular coverage of the racing scene, we produce our annual online and printed calendar to help boost racing participation. To support growth for your event, company, club or class, reserve ad space in the calendar by emailing [email protected]. We offer special nonprofit rates for clubs, events, one-design classes and junior programs. Help us help you by placing an ad in the 2027 sailing calendar. Don’t delay, as we need to reserve space ASAP. We’ll distribute the calendar on December 29 with the January issue of Latitude.
For More Great Sailing Stories, Tune In to Good Jibes
