Race management had to crack down on Wednesday against 17 skippers who had stolen the start in Saint-Malo (2:15 p.m.) by inflicting a four-hour penalty on them.
By midday, most of them (eleven) had complied with the penalty of passing the same segment twice with an interval of four hours.
The skipper must notify the Race Direction in advance of the segment and the time at which he will start his penalty.
Six must therefore still comply with this sanction in the coming hours.
Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) is one of those penalized competitors, but the leader of the Ultim category filed a protest with his team, Gitana Team.
An international jury must decide in the hours to come on this appeal.
The sailors who have written the legend of the Route du rhum since 1978
Go to slideshow (11)
