French sailor Francis Joyon has capsized in the Celtic Sea during the Route du Rhum, prompting an emergency rescue operation on Monday.
Race organisers announced the accident, cited by news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), confirming that an operation to assist the veteran skipper was underway. No immediate information was available concerning the 70-year-old sailor's condition or the circumstances of the capsize.
Joyon was competing in his ninth Route du Rhum and was sailing in the Vintage Multi class, a division dedicated to older racing multihulls. He was skippering Pour les Oceans, a 60-foot (18-metre) trimaran aboard which he had previously capsized during the 2002 edition of the transatlantic race.
Previous Route du Rhum victory
The Frenchman famously won the Route du Rhum in 2018 at the helm of the giant trimaran IDEC Sport. In that crossing, Joyon secured one of the closest finishes in the event's history, reaching the finish line in Guadeloupe just seven minutes ahead of compatriot Francois Gabart.
Joyon is widely regarded as one of the most accomplished endurance sailors in offshore racing. Over a distinguished career spanning four decades, he earned global renown for breaking solo round-the-world speed records and capturing the Jules Verne Trophy for the fastest circumnavigation of the globe.
Transatlantic route to Guadeloupe
More than 110 skippers set sail from Saint-Malo in Brittany on Sunday for the 13th edition of the race. The solo transatlantic classic takes competitors across the North Atlantic from north-western France to Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe, testing sailors across thousands of miles of open water without outside help.
The opening stretch sends the fleet into the Celtic Sea, off south-western Great Britain and southern Ireland, where autumn weather frequently brings severe conditions and heavy Atlantic swells. Trimarans use outer floats for stability and cannot right themselves once flipped upside down. Race officials indicated that further information regarding the rescue operation would follow.
