From Tuesday, the historic start town of Saint Malo, in the heart of the Brittany region, will welcome more than 138 boats that are set to compete on the 12th edition of La Route du Rhum – Destination Guadeloupe.
This globally renowned solo transatlantic race is a sporting event which would be nothing without the popular shoreside festival that the city of Saint-Malo and the race organisers OC Sport Pen Duick set up for each edition.
There is a huge, free village, open to all, designed to welcome the fleet and their skippers to the city and offer visitors a huge range of educational, entertaining and inspiring activities in a program that will delight young and old. The ‘Corsair City’ is preparing to keep up the party atmosphere for a full 13 days before the race start.
Here is the key practical information for visitors, and prospective visitors to Saint-Malo.
A free village open to all which is tailored more to improving the comfort and ergonomics for visitors
In fact, the site has been busy since the first contractors arrived at the end of September, setting up the village for this edition, under the ramparts of the City of Saint-Malo. It is all free and open to all, it will open its doors on Tuesday at 1400hrs local time. This year, above all the huge space has been designed around the comfort, enjoyment and wellbeing of visitors, built across in a larger space.
Among these new points are:
An increase in the number of entry and exit points (7 compared to 4 in 2018) to facilitate access and comfort for visitors of all ages.
A village area without music from 11:00 to 12:00 each day
Accessible to people with reduced mobility: shuttles and reduced mobility car parks will be available as well as clear passages at the entrances and exits of the village allowing more fluid circulation.
It will also be possible to scan around thirty different QR codes spread over the village to listen to descriptive audio content about the race.
A rest area for less able people has also been marked out in the courtyard of the Château (Saint-Malo Town Hall – Place Chateaubriand).
This new system benefits from enhanced security and signage for better circulation within it.
There are more than 200 exhibitors spread over around 30 halls ensuring the choice for the public promises to comprehensive. Between the 1,000m2 pavilion of the islands of Guadeloupe, that of La Région Bretagne and the City of Saint-Malo, in partnership with Saint-Malo Agglomeration, there will be no shortage of entertainment.
Main partner of the race the banking group CIC along with all the major partners, suppliers and licensees of the race as well as the companies involved alongside the skippers, have prepared great stands and exhibitions throughout halls at the Saint-Vincent, Saint-Louis and Bourse quays.
The official inauguration, in the presence of all the partners of the race, is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:00 p.m.
Thirteen days of entertainment: Summary of the highlights that promise a great party
From October 25 at 4:35 p.m., the arrivals parade of boats will begin in front of the port of Saint-Malo, before entering the locks of the port to be visible to all within the Vauban and Duguay Trouin basins. And the dock ins should be a spectacle, weather permitting.
October 25 at 4:35 p.m., 5:35 p.m., 6:35 p.m. and 7:35 p.m.: the Ultim 32/23 and the Ocean Fifty will start their parades and enter the docks
26 October at 5.12 p.m., 6.12 p.m. and 7.12 p.m it is the IMOCAs which will put on their show
October 28 at 8:36 am and 9:36 am: the Class40s will be out for a parade loop.
On October 29 at 9:12 a.m. and 10:12 a.m., it will be the turn of Rhum Mono and Rhum Multi to go out and provide visitors a chance to see the boats in their ‘natural habitat’ on the water.
Free spectator galleries are open to all, set to allow as many people as possible (within the limit of available seats) to come and watch the show. This new initiative has been established along with Brittany Region and the City of Saint-Malo have along with the expertise of sports and event management by OC Sport Pen Duick. It has been a long time project to deliver this unique experience.
On Friday, October 28, a conference day on the theme “Engaged Ocean” is to be organized at the Auditorium of the Palais du Grand Large with the Surfrider foundation from 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Several skippers will participate as will many other speakers.
These conferences are totally free, however, registration is mandatory: https://my.weezevent.com/rdr-conferences-ocean-engage
