To "piss off" the English
In the 1970s, the race that made the greatest sailors dream was English. The Transat Anglaise (STAR, Single-handed Trans-Atlantic Race) is a solo, non-stop, unassisted sailing race, run from east to west, linking Europe to America, and takes place every 4 years. After the 1976 edition - won by Eric Tabarly on Pen Duick VI - where the gigantic four-masted Club Méditerranée, led by Alain Colas, sailed, the organisation - the Royal Western Yacht Club - decided to limit the size of the boats to 56 feet (17m).
The race, which allowed extreme prototypes to be developed and tested in contact with others, became inaccessible to the great sailors of the time, such as Eric Tabarly, Alain Colas and Yvon Fauconnier.
Dissatisfaction was high and it was then that advertiser and entertainer Michel Etevenon - who was already involved in boat sponsorship - decided to launch a tricolour event with Jacques Goddet, a French sportsman and journalist, and supported by André Viant, president of the UNCL (Union nationale pour la course au large), through the company Promovoile, a company created in 1976. The Route du Rhum was officially presented to the French press on 25 May 1977 and its organiser intends to replace the English Transat.
AFP ©AFP
The principle is simple: A man or a woman, a boat, the ocean. "La Transat de la liberté" does not have any size restrictions, is open to monohulls and multihulls and to amateurs and professionals alike. The milestones have been set, the first edition will take place on November 5, 1978. And all the big names in ocean racing were present: Mike Birch, Alain Colas, Florence Arthaud, Michel Malinovsky, Olivier de Kersauson, Philippe Poupon... Only the great Eric Tabarly, who made the English shudder with envy on the Transat, but who did not find the necessary funds to participate, is missing.
A 3,543 nautical mile course between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre
From 1978, the race was called the Route du Rhum. However, it is necessary to go back three years to understand why. First of all, to restore the image of Guadeloupe after the eruption of the Soufrière in 1976, which had led to the evacuation of the southern part of Basse-Terre. Then also for the union of Caribbean rum sugar producers who will take the opportunity to promote their drink.
For Saint-Malo, the starting city, it was Michel Etevenon, who contacted the corsair city, who agreed to play the games. Deal?? A cold start to reach the sun a few days later.
