Corentin Horeau Route du Rhum arrival Guadeloupe, Digi Mart USA News: Corentin Horeau, the next competitor expected at the finish line, is due Tuesday evening local time aboard his IMOCA MASCF. Light winds, however, are slowing his progress as he nears the islands and their flavors of Guadeloupe.
Speaking during a morning radio call, Horeau described being stuck in the calms. “The scenery has changed radically!
I managed to move forward with three little puffs, but I am working the boat a lot. It’s quite funny, you’d think you were in a Figaro!
The whole fleet seems a bit becalmed.” He said the wind keeps shifting, forcing constant adjustments, and that weather files suggest the breeze should return first for the southern group.
Horeau said he is growing impatient but is trying to keep perspective. “I passed under the 100-mile mark to the Tête à l’Anglais: it’s magnificent!
I’m fed up, that’s for sure, but I also tell myself I could be 200 miles behind.” He added that he has difficulty sleeping due to excitement and noted that the Ocean Fifty boats are still nearby.
Heat and debris are also complicating the final stretch. Horeau reported sargassum weed, which can foul the rudder blades and disrupt the autopilot if not cleared.
He also said he removed all his fans to save weight, a decision he now regrets because conditions inside the boat have become nearly unbearable.
Horeau said his goal is to reach the Tête à l’Anglais before sunset in Guadeloupe, since he has previously arrived at night and finds it tiring. He noted that the tour of the island can take a long time, and that he has been routing only to the Tête à l’Anglais, though he is often ahead of forecasts and may arrive somewhat earlier than expected.
