Record entry list

Aside from massive fleets of 60ft tris and Open 60s, there are four British competitors

On 31 July, the final day for entries into November's singlehanded transatlantic race, the Route du Rhum, the number of entries has proved to be at an all time high.

While the America's Cup will no doubt be grabbing headlines around the world at this time probably the largest and most competitive fleet of ocean race boats will be assembling in St Malo. Among them will be 19 (yes 19!) 60ft trimarans and 17 Open 60s - all of them professional entries and the largest ever assembled fleets in either class. In addition there are a further 20 amateurs filling the three monohull classes and in the 50ft class two multis.

Another trend over previous years is the number of non-French people taking part. This time there are Italians, Belgiums, Swiss, Australians (Nick Moloney) and British competitors taking part. Britons now officially number three - Ellen MacArthur and Mike Golding will be jockeying for line honours while Miranda Merron will be trying to nail some of the newer boats, racing the older UUDS (Alain Gautier's much modified 1992 Vendee winner), using the race as another stepping stone towards her participation in the next Vendee Globe.

A recent entry is BT Global Challenge winner Conrad Humphreys who has recently acquired the Dutch Open 40 Syllogic to campaign in the event. He too is heading towards the 2004 Vendee.

	Skipper	Boat
60ft trimarans
Yvan	Bourgnon	Rexona Men
Lalou	Roucayrol	Banque Populaire
Marc	Guillemot	la Trinitaine-Team Etypharm
Jean	Le Cam	Bonduelle
Karine	Fauconnier	Sergio Tacchini
Franck	Cammas	Groupama
Philippe	Monnet	Sopra Group
Lionel	Lemonchois	Gitana X
Loick	Peyron	Fujifilm
Alain	Gautier	Foncia 2
Michel	Desjoyeaux	Géant
Francis	Joyon	Eure et Loir
Thomas	Coville	Sodebo
Giovanni	Soldini	TIM
Alain	Thébault	Hydroptère
Steve	Ravussin	(ex Foncia)
Jean Luc	Nelias	Belgacom
Frédéric	le Peutrec	Bayer CropSciences
Bertrand	De Broc	Banque Covefi
Open 60s
Dominique	Wavre	Temenos
Ellen	MacArthur	Kingfisher
Joé	Seeten	Arcelor Dunkerque
Georges	Leblanc	Océan
Antoine	Koch	L'Héautontimoroumenos
TBA	TBA	Ex Monocoque P.Monnet
Mike	Golding	Ecover
Jean Pierre	Dick	Virbac
Elie	Cavinec	Furtif
Sébastien	Josse	VMI
Patrick	Favre
Roland	Jourdain	Sill
André	Jantet	Beetle Juice
Didier	Munduteguy
Miranda	Merron	UUDS
Patrick	De Radigues	Garnier Belgium
Loic	Pochet	La Rage de Vivre
Monohull - class 1
Bruno	Reibel	Ville de Dinard
Monohulls - class 2
Bob	Escoffier	Adecco Etoile Horizon
Roger	Langevin	Branec 3
Hervé	Vachee	Mille Visages
Luc	Coquelin	Florys
Jean François	Durand	Defi Vendéen
Nick	Moloney	en cours
Renaud	Le Youdec	Lightning
Christophe	Huchet	TBA
Monohulls - class 3
Jérôme	Thiriez	Passion Entreprendre
Etienne	Svilarich	Grain de Soleil
Alain	Grinda	Fantasy-Forest
Régis	Guillemot	TBA
Conrad	Humphreys	Syllogic
Multihulls - class 2
Frank-Yves	Escoffier	Crêpes Whaou
Vincent	Beauvarlet	Archipel Guadeloupe
Didier	Le Villain	Chaleur Fioul Elan
Pascal	Quintin	E Sat
Anne	Caseneuve	Lui
Hervé	Cleris	CLM