Rodolphe Sepho is lining up for his fourth Route du Rhum, this time aboard his own Class40, Canbt-Oti/Rêve de large 5. At 40, the Guadeloupean skipper says he saw boats before he ever saw a football pitch, and that early pull towards the sea has never let go.
He grew up 100 metres from a sailing club. His mates would cross the beach to reach the football ground, but Rodolphe never made it that far, always pulled back by the boats.
Three previous campaigns, three finishes in Guadeloupe. Each arrival, he says, brings a wave of emotion intense enough to wash away the hardship, the doubts and the grim patches at sea.
"I think you can never really be a veteran of this race," he says, when asked if four campaigns make him a Route du Rhum regular. "You can't call yourself used to it when you're up against nature and its whims. But the pleasure of taking part is just as intense every time, the desire to go is just as strong, and the finish is all the sweeter for it."
For Sepho, the race carries weight beyond sport. "We set off with a small piece of our island aboard the boat," he says. "We know we'll be welcomed on the other side like winners."
He's one of several Guadeloupean skippers on this year's start line, a fact he's proud of. Guadeloupe has produced strong sailors before, among them Thibault Vauchel-Camus, runner-up in Class40 in 2014 and third in Multi50 in 2018, and Keni Piperol. But sailing isn't the most backed sport on the island, Sepho says, and budgets haven't kept pace with boats that have become increasingly sophisticated and expensive.
"Apart from a few friends who help me, I'm on my own with this project."
Still, he keeps going.
"If I don't do it, who will? We need Guadeloupeans at the Route du Rhum. We need to see this event as a chance, for the economic opportunities it brings, and for its power to bring people together."
This edition feels different to him. He owns the boat outright this time, and his ambitions are simple. "I'm not aiming for anything except getting home," he laughs.
He still wanders the Route du Rhum village like a fan, making the most of any chance to get close to Gitana 17. He makes a point of visiting the Guadeloupe islands pavilion too, curious to see how his home is presented to the world.
Crossing the finish line as a Guadeloupean skipper, he says, carries a particular kind of pride, not just for himself but for the sponsors and supporters who backed what he calls his "selfish adventures". Success, in his view, isn't really about crossing the ocean. It's about seeing a project through from start to finish, and giving his island, and its young people, something to be proud of.
