New Caledonia Groupama Race 2025 - Update: Rushour crew safely back in Noumea after capsize
by Nic Douglass 17 Jun 22:51 NZST
Rushour FANC Forces Arme´es en Nouvelle-Cale´donie rescue from above - New Caledonia Groupama Race © COSS Nouvelle-Cale´donie
Timeline of events for Rushour capsize
- The New Caledonia Groupama Race organizers were informed last night at 1:20AM of the activation of two distress beacons by Rushour, which was leading the race on line honours at the time.
- Following the alert, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC) took charge of operations, while Cercle Nautique Calédonien's race management team activated an incident management team and worked in close collaboration with the MRCC.
- The catamaran Roamance was rerouted to assist Rushour in the hours that followed, they were 20-25 miles away.
- The MRCC also deployed the aircraft Le Guardian to carry out a visual reconnaissance and adapt response measures accordingly.
- Roamance arrived at a similar time to Le Guardian.
- The boat was located and it was identified as capsized.
- All crew members were accounted for.
- Roamance stood by (for several hours) and passed over a handheld VHF to the crew.
- A helicopter was sent from Noumea, it had to be refueled, so a larger aircraft was sent to Koumac to refuel it, and then it continued on to pick up the crew.
- Rushour crew were airlifted from the overturned hull and returned to Koumac.
- Roamance continued racing.
- Crew were transferred in the larger aircraft at Koumac and arrived back at Noumea at about 4pm local time.
We commend the professionalism of the authorities, the exemplary solidarity of fellow competitors at sea, and the effectiveness of the watch and alert system.
As you will understand, out of respect for the crew and their families, we could not release information that was incorrect, speculative, or approximate. We chose to wait until we had the most verified and accurate details about the crew's safety before communicating publicly.
The emotions felt are matched only by relief. We extend our full support to the crews involved, their families, and their loved ones.
The race so far
The start of the New Caledonia Groupama Race 2025 took place Sunday 15 June in Nouméa, at 10:05 local, under the watchful eye of Denis Thompson in 15-20 knots of southerly breeze. The 23 boats headed downwind to the first mark of the course in a full flight of colour, with a split-pack start at either end, revealing already varied strategies for the 654-nautical-mile loop around Grande Terre.
In the very first minutes of the race, the boat Arearea suffered a breakage; the jib halyard broke. The sailors quickly re-hoisted the sail using a spare halyard, and one of their crew climbed the mast to assist with the quick repair.
BCI Brex Fox and Team Groupama also collided shortly after the start. As a result, BCI Brex Fox lost its Starlink system, a satellite connection tool that provides access to real-time weather data.
After the first mark, Rushour's Australian crew made a course error, admitted by the crew through missing a Sailing Instructions Amendment. The team failed to round the second passage buoy, and set offshore too early. The team was alerted via a protest from V5, and corrected its error by returning to correctly round the buoy, a detour that cost them 45 minutes to an hour.
With Rushour heading back, Brian Petersen's V5 led at the first geographical mark of Amédée Lighthouse, closely followed by Gordon Beath's Roamance. These boats were the first who had to make the choice, whether to head north through Canal Woodin, or around the outside to the south?
Rushour, who quickly caught back up to the fleet after correcting their rounding, was the first to head north, and were followed by Young Guns, BNC, Party Time and Maluco, with the remainder opting to round Ile Ouen to the south.
On the first night, at 6:19 PM, Motorboat II, skippered by Alan Qere, reported a broach that resulted in a broken mainsail batten and the loss of several items on board, including winch handles and headlamps. At 6:50 PM, the crew made the decision to withdraw from the New Caledonia Groupama Race.
Alan Qere, visibly moved: "We're just happy to still be here." The boat is currently anchored in Yaté for the night and will head back to Nouméa tomorrow.
22 boats remained in the New Caledonia Groupama Race.
A few minutes later, at 7:09 PM, Kalolo also retired from the race. Despite managing to repair a major steering issue, the crew chose not to take any further risks: "We don't want to tempt fate," they said.
21 continued towards the North, and most teams opted for a fairly direct route to the Grand Passage, the most northern passage, while a few ventured further offshore. It's a tactical gamble that could reward them with steadier wind, smoother swell and, more importantly, a break from the relentless manoeuvres required when sailing under a spinnaker.
Aboard Young Guns, spirits were high — despite a slightly tricky first night, marked by the tearing of their heavy spinnaker after exiting the Canal Woodin.
"We switched to a lighter one — a bit slower, but it's holding up!" said Timéo.
On Guilty Pleasures, the mood was equally upbeat: "We're exactly where we wanted to be — not far from Poulpito and BNC. Everyone's feeling good, no one's sick, we're eating well, staying hydrated... all's smooth sailing!"
"It's true that on paper Guilty and Poulpito are the same boat, but we've got different sails," explained Aurélien. "Going through Woodin wouldn't have worked well for us — we opted to go offshore in search of more wind and more favorable angles."
A winning move: "We made a few technical mistakes, but all things considered, we're in a good place!" During the night, they found themselves sailing solo — "just when we needed to," says Aurélien. "Poulpito stayed closer to shore, BNC - My::Net went further out, and we split the difference," he adds. "We didn't see much of them, which helped us focus on ourselves — our course and our trimming. By morning, we were back in the game".
On Dove - Syrius Solar - Défi des filles, the first night was eventful.
"We had between 17 and 20 knots of wind with some swell, so we chose to fly the smaller spinnaker overnight to avoid getting knocked around too much," explained Céline. "We're trying to bear away as much as possible, but it's not easy with the waves."
"We're being super careful with the gear. Yesterday we broached, gave ourselves a bit of a scare, but everything's fine now. The weather's beautiful, the stars are out — it's lovely."
Rushour was the first to cross the Grand Passage: "It was pretty rough, lots of movement," said Becky.
Nevertheless, they encountered no major issues. The passage itself went "pretty smoothly," according to the crew.
It was far rougher for the smallest boat in the fleet, Neocean, who retired from the race, following a rudder issue. The decision was made at 6:45 AM this morning.
For the next stage, the Rushour team, at the front of the fleet, planned to maintain a steady pace of 8 to 10 knots upwind and were considering entering the lagoon early (even if it meant exiting again later) to find the most favorable conditions for their multihull.
It wasn't to be when the above incident occurred. We will continue to keep you updated, however, all are thankful to be back with their sailing community in Noumea.
With 19 still racing, the crew of the Caledonian monohull Too Farr Out were the next boat forced to retire from the New Caledonia Groupama Race on the afternoon of Tuesday, 17 May.
Contrary to initial reports suggesting a rudder issue, it was actually an incident during a downwind manoeuvre that led to the decision to withdraw. The spinnaker became tangled and unusable, requiring a technical intervention at the top of the mast. To carry out the repair safely, the crew chose to seek shelter in order to avoid any risk of injury. As a precaution—and to protect both the equipment and the crew—the skipper made the decision to withdraw from the race. All crew members are safe and sound.
"More fear than harm—we're safe and sound, moored next to Balade," said Guillaume. "Everyone's fine, including the boat. We should be able to set off again tomorrow and sail back to Nouméa at a relaxed pace."
Arearea is one of the 18 still racing and in good spirits. "Great vibes on board—we've made up a lot of ground," says Sophie. A torn sail in the Grand Passage required some good old-fashioned stitching, but all systems are good. The boat is even performing better than expected upwind. One drawback: limited access to weather files, only via Iridium.
On Muleque, conditions are stable through the Grand Passage. With just three crew members on board, they're rotating shifts with a single helmsman to conserve energy. Manageable seas and steady 20-knot winds, and all is well.
Not so for Brer Fox, though: "Things aren't great. Our mainsail tore—we've lost two-thirds of it," reports Mathieu. They'll make their way back in "degraded mode" but their race for the podium is over.
BNC reported hitting a low point today.
"We were feeling good yesterday, less so today," admitted Michel. "We made poor decisions—did everything backwards, maybe due to fatigue... And yet, we started this leg strong, overtaking the two Sydney 38s. Then one headed offshore, the other hugged the coast, and we were stuck in the middle... with no wind. At times we were dead still—even going backwards! After a bit of a morale dip this afternoon, we're back in the game for tonight. Hoping to claw our way back in."
They have no technical issues to report, and despite a low point, lead on IRC overall.
Meanwhile, V5, leading the fleet, is expected to arrive back at the Cercle Nautique Calédonien - CNC dock in less than 24 hours. "We're doing well—we're aiming to reach Nouméa tomorrow afternoon," the crew reports.
They've had minor issues with the hydraulic keel since the start—a reported known weakness on this model—but nothing that's shaken their drive to continue.
Roamance has continued racing after standing by Rushour until their rescue, and are in second on line honours.
Race website: groupamarace.nc/en