Mara Løvenskiold Kveseth retired from the 2026 Golden Globe Race on Showgirl after receiving two disqualification penalties, both suspended, over unauthorised footage and banned Starlink use. Meanwhile injured Andrea Lodolo is sailing BiBi to Cape Town, and Guy deBoer was evacuated from Spirit to the Brazilian corvette Barroso.
Ambrogio Beccaria reached the Azores on 8 November after his fall aboard Allagrande Mapei: no fracture was diagnosed, but he has a severe muscle contusion of the chest. Jérémie Beyou suffers fractures. In the Golden Globe Race, Guy deBoer was airlifted off Spirit by the Brazilian Navy on 8 November.
On the Route du Rhum, a powerful tropical low is slowing the boats and reshuffling the cards. In the Ultim class, Tom Laperche won, Thomas Coville took second and Guirec Soudée finished 4th on Monday. In the IMOCA, Corentin Horeau holds a 320-mile lead and is expected on Tuesday afternoon.
The Golden Globe Race is dominated by the case of Mara Løvenskiold Kveseth (Showgirl). After a sanction issued on 6 November, she tendered her resignation on the 7th. Organisers had imposed a 16-day penalty, removal from Window Live and two suspended disqualifications.
Louis Burton, 41, from Saint-Malo, took third place in the Route du Rhum Ultim class, reaching Pointe-à-Pitre on Sunday 8 November 2026 at 14:30 local time (19:30 in Paris). His time was 7 d 6 h 28 min 42 s, 17 h 1 min after winner Tom Laperche and 1 h 48 min 37 s after Thomas Coville.
Thomas Coville took second place in the Ultim class on 8 November 2026 in Pointe-à-Pitre, 15h12 after winner Tom Laperche (SVR-Lazartigue). His race was marked by damage: a lost big gennaker, then broken foils, forcing him to finish in displacement mode. He kept his position ahead of Louis Burton.
Alexis Thomas will not go back out in The Race, and the Adrien is now due to return to La Rochelle. Three days after the start, a broken rudder and further damage forced a stop in A Coruña. With Michel Desjoyeaux, he judged a restart pointless: weather was unfavourable and no rival remained for a solo resumption.
The 29-year-old crossed the finish line in Pointe-à-Pitre after 6 days, 13 hours and 27 minutes at sea, leading since Cap Fréhel. His time beats Charles Caudrelier's 2022 mark by more than six hours. It is his first start in the race and his biggest offshore win to date.
On the Route du Rhum, the six fleets face very different conditions: storms, heavy seas, strong winds and lulls. In the Ultim class, Tom Laperche (SVR-Lazartigue) wins in 6 d 13 h 27 min 40 s, a new record, ahead of Thomas Coville at 15 h 12 min and Louis Burton at 17 h 1 min. In the IMOCA class, Sébastien Simon sits 8th and is chasing Maxime Sorel's 6th place.
On the Route du Rhum, Achille Nebout is facing extreme conditions, with giant waves and very violent squalls. A breakdown costs him several valuable miles. Exhausted but determined, the skipper keeps his course toward Guadeloupe.
Tom Laperche crossed the line in Pointe-à-Pitre in 6 days, 13 hours, 27 minutes and 40 seconds on SVR-Lazartigue, on Sunday 8 November at 03:31 Paris time. He led from Cap Fréhel onward and never gave up the lead. The time beats Charles Caudrelier's record by more than six hours.
Tom Laperche, 29, won the Ultim class of the 13th Route du Rhum aboard SVR-Lazartigue in Pointe-à-Pitre, in 6d 13h 27m 40s. The time beats Charles Caudrelier's record by more than six hours. He led from Cap Fréhel and never gave up first place in his first race.
Charles Caudrelier has reached Lorient after quitting the Route du Rhum when the port foil of his Maxi Edmond de Rothschild tore away with its hydraulic line, ending his chance of victory. He said he was still weakened by covid. The Gitana team will keep the boat in Lorient for test sails before winter refit work.
Benoît Sineau's Class40 Ekinox-Rhétores sank on Saturday 7 November after its distress beacon went off. Jules Bonnier (Plastic Odyssey), 36 miles away, diverted and picked up the skipper unharmed at 8:45 pm Paris time, in dangerous seas.
The Route du Rhum race direction was told on Saturday at 2:30 pm Paris time by the MRCC that Benoît Sineau's EPIRB beacon had been triggered in the Class40 Ekinox-Rhétores. The report gives no detail yet on the skipper's condition or the reason for the alert. The situation is being followed by rescue services.
Following the collision with Initiatives-Cœur, Romain Pilliard had his USE IT AGAIN trimaran repaired thanks to a crowdfunding campaign and four composite specialists. He was due to leave Roscoff on Sunday at 9:30 to finish his third Route du Rhum to Pointe-à-Pitre. The international jury has yet to rule on his protest against the other boat.
A low near the Azores is wearing down the solo sailors: unstable wind, rough sea, fatigue and damage, with gusts above 50 knots according to race organisers. In Ultim, Tom Laperche is due in Guadeloupe tonight from 9 pm, ahead of Thomas Coville. In Class40, Pirouelle and Nebout fight for the lead; Bourgnon has about a hundred miles in Ocean Fifty; Horeau holds 265 in IMOCA.
On the Route du Rhum, Sasha Lanièce's Class40 Alderan lost its rig north of the Azores on Friday, her team reported. Lanièce, running 15th, was in 35 to 40 knots and five-metre seas from a depression sweeping the Class40 fleet. She is unhurt and heading for the islands.
Francesca Clapcich (11th Hour Racing) lost the bowsprit of her IMOCA overnight on 5-6 November, in her fifth night at sea. Course au Large says she is continuing despite the damage, while the Route du Rhum and Sail-World describe her race as compromised or at risk.
A deep low is hitting the whole Route du Rhum fleet in unusual weather, bringing capsizes and damage. Tom Laperche (SVR-Lazartigue) leads the Ultims, expected to finish overnight Saturday to Sunday. In the IMOCAs, Horeau is over 270 miles ahead of Herrmann.
