The Spanish sailor Alex Pella who won the 2014 Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe, the French solo transatlantic race from Brittany to Pointe-a-Pitre in Guadeloupe, returned this week to Saint Malo, as the sailors prepared their boats for Sunday’s start.

The 40th anniversary edition of the race has attracted a record entry of 123 boats in six classes, topped off by the 32m Ultime multihulls which, with foils for the first time, are likely to devour the 3,542-nautical mile course across the Atlantic to Guadeloupe in less than seven days and set a new record time. 

The multi-talented Pella’s Route du Rhum convincing win four years ago on board Tales II in the Class40 division made the sailing world sit up and take notice of the Catalan’s skills. After that victory Pella was selected as a member of Francis Joyon’s successful six-man crew which broke the crewed record for sailing around the world for the Trophée Jules Verne, finishing in January 2017 after 40 days and 23 hours.

Pella then added a victory in France’s other main transatlantic race, winning two-handed in the 2017 Transat Jacques Vabre with French co-skipper Lalou Roucayrol in the Multi50 class. 

“It is not bad for a little Spanish guy like me - the Route du Rhum, the Jules Verne Trophy and the Transat Jacques Vabre (TJV). I don’t think anyone has done that before,” said Pella in Saint Malo. “I don’t like trophies and things, but my wife got the three champagne bottles from each event and she stuck them on top of our fridge. So every time I go to the fridge I smile and remember.” 

Pella is currently in between projects and his winning Class40 boat has been sold and is set to race in the record-sized 53-boat Class40 fleet which has mustered in Saint Malo. Pella and his wife had their first baby in June. He may not be racing in this edition of the Route du Rhum-Destination Guadeloupe but, he says, he has offers in the IMOCA, maxi multihull, Class40 and Multi50 classes for next season. 

Surveying the Class40 division in the Route du Rhum Pella says: “The Class40s are the biggest fleet and the most competitive ever assembled. But this is the hardest race to win. Every edition the fleet gets bigger and the level is higher, like the Vendée Globe for the IMOCAs. There are 10 or 12 guys with good boats and good teams. You have to have a good boat, have good sails and have the experience offshore and most of all you have to be very strong in the head.” 

He says he has learned what it takes to win this solo race: “Preparation is 80% of the result. Preparation over two years gives you the reliability. During our last year before the start we made so many changes to improve reliability. There is so much pressure before the start, a lot of emotion with the crowds and friends and families. It is such a big fleet, there is traffic in the channel and other boats in the race and there is a lot of current. I was lucky to have Pablo Santurde who did all the preparation with me right through to winning the Route du Rhum. It was fantastic. We had a small but very tight-knit Spanish team, all of us friends.” 

And who do you think is going to be doing well in Class40s this time round? “Well, Ameryic Chapellier (Aina Enfance et Avenir) who finished second in the TJV last year and Maxime Sorel (V & B) have proven boats. Luis Duc (Carac) did super-well in the TJV and built his boat two years ago and has new sails. Loic Fequet has my old boat Tales II, now Tibcoand is a great sailor who is strong. 

“British sailor Sam Goodchild (Narcos-Mexico) is a great natural sailor,” continued Pella, “who has done a lot of different types of sailing like me and has a good chance. And Phil Sharp (Imerys Clean Energy) has an older generation boat and is super-strong, but I think he is always pushing too hard and has broken everything. Nico Troussel (Corum) has a good boat and Yann Richomme (Veedol-AIC) have great new boats, but I think the boats are too new.”

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