Charles Caudrelier has ended his bid to win the Route du Rhum for a second time, retiring from the race on Tuesday, November 3, just two days after the start of its 13th edition. The 52-year-old skipper and his team decided he should return to Lorient, his home port, which he was expected to reach over the weekend.
Caudrelier had begun cautiously and encountered difficulties with manoeuvres, but on Monday he had caught up with the leading pair, Tom Laperche on SVR-Lazartigue and Armel Le Cléac’h on Maxi-Banque-Populaire-XI. Shortly before 5 a.m. on Tuesday, however, he noticed his trimaran was moving slowly and could not take off despite conditions suited to foiling, his team said.
An inspection found serious damage to the port foil, with parts torn away and damage to connected hydraulic equipment. The team said the problem could not be repaired at sea or at a stop along the course. Team director Cyril Dardashti said the damage was not caused by a collision with an external object.
Caudrelier was racing aboard the new Maxi-Edmond-de-Rothschild, also known as Gitana 18. He said the 2026 edition would not bring the hoped-for repeat victory, but that the short time on the Atlantic had helped establish the boat’s future direction. The trimaran had been launched seven months before the race, after several years of development.
Dardashti described the retirement as a major disappointment but said Gitana 18 was at the very beginning of its life at sea. The team had logged fewer than 10,000 miles on the boat, much of that with only one of its two foils fitted, and Caudrelier had had limited solo sailing practice aboard it.
Sources: Le Monde Sport.