Pointe-à-Pitre (AFP) - As race leader Tom Laperche cruised toward the Route du Rhum finish line in Guadeloupe there was drama behind him on Saturday as several of his pursuers diverted to help Benoit Sineau who had activated a distress beacon.

The 55-year-old Sineau, who is competing in the race for the first time, is skippering Ekinox-Rhetores in the fourth-tier Class 40 monohull category, most of which were just passing the Azores.

Sineau was later picked up by French competitor Jules Bonnier, organisers said.

“Race management immediately initiated rescue procedures… Among the competitors in the vicinity, the skipper of Plastic Odyssey was diverted to the area… and succeeded in bringing his fellow competitor aboard, safe and sound,” the organisers said.

The statement did not explain why Sineau activated his beacon. His boat was not showing up on the race’s live tracking, but at 1800 GMT, Bonnier’s Plastic Odyssey was 430 nautical miles (800 km) west of the Azores, heading southeast.

Meanwhile, at his last reported location at 1900 GMT, Laperche in his Ultim multihull was 70 nautical miles away from the line off Pointe-a-Pitre and on course for a record-breaking time.

After racing more than 3,470 nautical miles, the 29-year-old was more than 356 nautical miles ahead of his closest pursuer Frenchman Thomas Coville.

A total of 115 boats set off from Saint-Malo last Sunday for the high-speed crossing of the Atlantic.

According to the latest estimates from race control, Laperche should reach Pointe-a-Pitre around 10:00pm local time on Saturday (0200 GMT Sunday).

He must arrive before 07:49 GMT on Sunday to beat the record set in 2022 by Charles Caudrelier of 6 days and 19 hours – and he is on track to do so.