trimaran actual ultim 3

• AROUND THE SAILING WORLD
• BOAT OF THE YEAR
• Email Newsletters
• Best Marine Electronics & Technology
• America’s Cup
• St. Petersburg
• Caribbean Championship
• Boating Safety

The Supreme Soloists of the Ultimes

• By James Boyd
• January 9, 2024

On January 7, ocean racing will take another evolutionary step with the mind-boggling feat of six brave Frenchmen who will set off from Brest in northwest France on board their giant 105-by-75-foot foiling trimarans—around the world, nonstop. Singlehanded. The new event is the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest, a sprint marathon that is expected to take 45 days or less at an ­average of 20 knots.

The present record for a solo lap of the planet stands at 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes, 35 seconds, but when this was set in 2018, skipper François Gabart had the luxury of departing with an optimal 10-day forecast (covering the first quarter of his voyage all the way down to the Southern Ocean). Competitors in the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest will have to leave on the designated start date and make the best of whatever Mother Nature offers them. However, while Gabart’s MACIF trimaran is going again (in new livery as Anthony Marchand’s Actual Ultim 3 ), it is now one of the older of the six trimarans that will set out. The newest Ultims, which harness the latest offshore foiling technology, are much, much faster.

Two of the biggest names in solo round-the-world ­record-breaking will be missing from the lineup; Gabart has passed over the helm of his Ultim to “the next generation” in Tom Laperche. Francis Joyon, who demolished the record for the solo lap on two occasions, bringing it down from 125 days to 72 days in 2005 and from 71 days to 57 days four years later, is now 67. While all six starting skippers are highly experienced, they range in age from 55-year-old Thomas Coville, skipper of Sodebo Ultim 3 , to 26-year-old Laperche.

Coville is the race titan. When it comes to racing large trimarans around the world singlehanded, his experience is unprecedented. He’s been attempting circumnavigation records on large trimarans since 1997 and as a skipper since 2008. On his fifth attempt in 2016, he finally set a new record only for it to be broken a year later by Gabart. He also has raced in the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race (winning it with Franck Cammas on Groupama in 2011-12) and was twice part of crews claiming the Jules Verne Trophy (fully crewed, nonstop around-the-world record). He has completed circumnavigations eight times—four times solo and six times on trimarans.

The most hotly tipped skippers, however, are Armel le Cléac’h, 46, on Maxi Banque Populaire XI, and Charles Caudrelier, 49, on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild . While Caudrelier is best known for being a two-time Volvo Ocean Race winner (with Groupama , then as skipper of Dongfeng Race Team in 2017-18), both cut their teeth solo racing in the French one-design Figaro circuit. But when it comes to solo offshore credentials, Le Cléac’h knocks it out of the park. He’s won La Solitaire three times, most recently in 2020, and crucially for the upcoming Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest has also raced in three Vendée Globe races, finishing on the podium in all and winning in 2016-17.

Le Cléac’h’s trimaran was launched in 2021 as a replacement for his ­previous Banque Populaire-backed Ultim, which broke up terminally in the 2018 Route du Rhum. Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is unique in the race for being designed by Guillaume Verdier, while the rest are from VPLP (although in every case, the team itself offers substantial input). While Caudrelier has won most Ultim silverware in recent seasons, including the singlehanded Route du Rhum trans-Atlantic race in 2022, Le Cléac’h ended his run by winning this fall’s Transat Jacques Vabre race between Le Havre in northern France and the French Caribbean island of Martinique.

Tom Laperche has taken over as skipper of Francois Gabart’s SVR-Lazartigue for solo races. This is Gabart’s second Ultim trimaran and is considered the most advanced of the six. Laperche won La Solitaire du Figaro in 2022 and has raced with Gabart on the Ultim ever since the boat was launched. He gained his round-the-world experience on the IMOCA Holcim in The Ocean Race.

Also inheriting his Ultim campaign is Anthony Marchand, who took over the helm of Actual Ultim 3 from Yves le Blevec in January. Launched in 2015, Actual Ultim 3 is Gabart’s former MACIF ­trimaran, which is the present holder of the solo round-the-world record. Marchand, 38, sets off with vast experience on ORMA 60 trimarans, in the Figaro class, the Volvo Ocean Race (competing in 2015-16 on MAPFRE ) and in the IMOCA.

Fundamentally, the rule limits length to 32 meters and width to 23 meters, and the complex foil configuration on all six Ultims is fairly similar. 

Éric Péron, 42, is the race’s last-minute entry, and as a newcomer to the Ultim class, he will likely back marker. Péron has a strong background in the Figaro and Ocean 50 trimaran classes, and his trimaran Adagio was previously Sodebo Ultim , on which Coville set both his solo round-the-world and west-to-east trans-Atlantic records.

While there is an Ultim 32/23 rule, the design parameters of these incredible machines is a work in progress. Fundamentally, the rule limits length to 32 meters and width to 23 meters. The complex foil configuration on all six Ultims is fairly similar. Each of the boats has six appendages, including the giant, retracting rake-adjustable J-foils (of varying shapes) in the floats. The latest-generation foils have grown larger, enabling the trimarans to fly both downwind and upwind in less wind. Among the three front-runners, the most recent edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre demonstrated that SVR-Lazartigue has the lowest take-off speed, while Maxi Banque Populaire XI ’s foils work best in waves. Maxi Edmond de Rothschild lies somewhere between these two positions.

Unique to the Ultims is the T-foil pioneered by Caudrelier’s team on their MOD70 (now Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati ). Located in the center hull, this is effectively a daggerboard with a trim tab (to aid pointing ability upwind) and an elevator. This foil is used in a similar fashion to how AC50 catamaran crews negatively raked their windward rudder elevator to produce downforce, sucking the weather hull down. When a gust hits an Ultim, the crew can drop the traveler, but a more energy efficient response is to increase pitch on the T-foil’s elevator to create additional downforce. Then there are three rudders (one on each hull), each with an elevator. The rudders in the floats can be raised (typically the windward one) to reduce drag.

Aside from the significant developments to the foils, especially to reduce cavitation at high speed, teams have been focusing on improving aerodynamic efficiency. The Ultims now have low-drag vinyl fairings for the aft side of their crossbeams, and on some boats, the deck itself forms an endplate for the foot of sails. Living quarters have improved dramatically and, like modern IMOCAs, are becoming increasingly enclosed. The most extreme among them is Sodebo Ultim 3 , where the front of Coville’s “bridge” is forward of the mast step.

Autopilots have transcended beyond being able to steer to course, apparent wind angle or even true wind angle. Depending on the point of sail, the pilot will now automatically head up or bear away when a gust hits. 

The rigs are the same as those that have been fitted to French multihulls for the past 30 years—a rotating wing mast with each shroud terminating in a giant hydraulic ram, permitting the rig (and its center of effort) to be canted to weather. This reduces the downward force on the leeward bow, which can cause multihulls to pitchpole. Whether this is still required is a moot point because today’s foils effectively keep the leeward bow from immersing.

Due to the sheer physics of an Ultim, aided by the canting rig and the mast being stepped so far aft, the risk of capsize is almost ­nonexistent, Caudrelier says: “The Ultims are the safest multihulls because they fly, because they are big, but also because we have made huge improvements to the pilots with safety functions, and also we have a nice automatic ­system to ease the sails. It is quite safe. I don’t worry too much about capsizing, but I have in the back of my mind that it can happen.”

Thanks to teams working with such companies as B&G and Pixel sur Mer, Ultim autopilots have transcended beyond being able to steer to course, apparent wind angle or even true wind angle. Depending on the point of sail, the pilot (using what’s referred to as its “safety overlay”) will now automatically head up or bear away when a gust hits, which it can detect by the wind instruments or an inclinometer. In extreme circumstances, they have systems to dump the sheets, although these too seem to be near-redundant. 

An interesting point of dispute between the Ultim teams is how much automation should be permitted. Caudrelier’s team is pro automation, while other teams are less so. As a result, the autopilot can perform these functions but cannot, for example, adjust the boat’s flying mechanism, to automatically set ride height, pitch, etc.

If capsize is less of a concern, then the skipper’s biggest worries are technical failures on their giant boats, as well as collisions. They have tried to overcome the former through sheer time at sea, testing and failing to improve reliability. Le Cléac’h, for example, says that in the past year, he has sailed Maxi Banque Populaire XI some 20,000 miles, or half a circumnavigation. This has been solo and crewed, in a mix of races, private sea trials and the Ultim fleet training en masse. To avoid collisions, the Ultims have all available kit from radar to AIS alarms to the latest tech such as SEA.AI, which uses a masthead-mounted camera array to see objects—floating or semisubmerged—in the water ahead of the boat. These are compared in real time with the SEA.AI’s huge and ever-growing database of objects to identify them as threats.

In the recent Transat Jacques Vabre, Maxi Edmond de Rothschild suffered rudder issues soon after the start (later found to be a delaminating starboard rudder) and then damage to its port J-foil, but it still finished the race. It seems, therefore, very likely that this level of attrition can be expected in the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest. Caudrelier says that this proved to be a wake-up call for his team as well as valuable practice for how to deal with midrace technical issues. For example, the J-foil damage occurred after a small impact. “But while we were sailing, the damage increased,” he says. Perhaps it would have been faster in the long term to stop, fix the issue, and then continue, he muses. For bigger issues, race’s sailing instructions permit skippers to pitstop where their teams can join them to effect repairs, but in this case, they are obliged to spend a minimum of 24 hours in port as a penalty.

To help reduce risks, OC Sport Pen Duick, the race’s organizers, are ­imposing a movable virtual ice barrier as we have seen in other round-the-world races. Competitors must stay north of this, regardless of whether it drives them into high pressure or storms. Interestingly, they are also imposing exclusion zones around known breeding grounds for whales (yet to be defined at the time of writing).

The Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest may be a solo race, but each campaign is genuinely a team affair. Ultim teams today are giant, some the scale of America’s Cup teams two or three decades ago, with their own in-house designers, engineers, hydro and aerodynamic specialists, and electronic and hydraulic experts. In the event of a technical issue during the race, skippers can now get immediate support using reliable satellite communications. The most consistent remote support each skipper gets is with their routing. In the Ultim class, shore-based routing is permitted. Le Cleac’h, for example, is using Dutch legend Marcel van Triest and French skipper/navigator Nicolas Lunven to provide round-the-clock routing assistance.

Ultims are fast—50 knots is very possible—but skippers are less interested in top speed and entirely focused on maintaining high averages of 30 to 35 knots. They don’t need much wind to achieve such a pace, however. An Ultim’s optimal conditions are broad-reaching in 20 to 25 knots. Any more wind than that, and the sea state gets too large to foil safely. Even in optimal wind conditions, skippers must back off if sea state and wave direction is not ideal. Understanding this is vital to the routing process.

The Ultims are potentially so fast that their routing team can go a long way in ensuring that they stay in optimal conditions. For example, in the Southern Ocean, if they can get into the optimal reaching conditions in flat water ahead of a front, they can potentially ride this for days. But the biggest limitation is the solo skipper. The Ultims typically carry a mainsail and four headsails, including two gennakers and a permanently hoisted J2, all set on furlers. Tacking and jibing requires the sails to be released and sheeted in, the mast to be canted and tacked, and foils and rudders to be raised and lowered. It’s a process that typically takes 20 to 30 minutes. Le Cleac’h says that the most time-consuming sail change is going from the J0 to the J1 because the sails are heavy (around 120 kg), and this can take up to an hour. Factoring all this into the routing is vital because the skipper on his own can do only so much.

“If reaching 95 percent of the boat’s potential requires making three jibes and four tacks and to change two sails, it will be difficult to do that if you are tired,” Le Cleac’h says. His routers offer him three options—from the one offering optimal performance to the easiest for him to achieve—which can be decided based on his energy level and capabilities.

One positive for the skippers is that the required endurance is comparably short compared with a Vendée Globe effort, but still, so much remains unknown as they embark on this extreme test of man and machine. 

“It is a bit like the first Vendée Globe,” Caudrelier says. “It is not quite the same because we know where we are going, but it is the first one, so it is a bit of an adventure. Usually you push to the maximum constantly, but for me, this is the first time I can’t do that. We will have to find the good balance between good performance and safety of the boat. That is an interesting exercise.”

• More: Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest , Print January 2024 , Racing , Sailboat Racing
• More Racing

Reineke’s Battle For the Berth

One-Design Wingfoil Racing Takes Off

Brauer Sails into Hearts, Minds and History

Anticipation and Temptation

America’s Offshore Couple

Jobson All-Star Juniors 2024: The Fast Generation

• Digital Edition
• Customer Service
• Privacy Policy
• Cruising World
• Sailing World
• Salt Water Sportsman
• Sport Fishing
• Wakeboarding

Map tracker

The ULTIM line-up: three big favourites among the five

The favorite under threat.

“ The Maxi, Edmond de Rothschild was slightly ahead of the others back in 2017 thanks to the genius of Guillaume Verdier, but the rivals have since made up a lot of ground. We are lucky to have an owner who encourages us to keep pushing and make bold choices, so we have some new weapons, which remain secret… The 2023 version is better than the 2022 boat, but all of the boats have been fine-tuned and adjusted and it is going to be a close contest .” While they are keeping quiet about what changes have been made to the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild , Charles Caudrelier knows that it is not going to be as simple as in 2021, when the skipper won his third title in the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre by setting the pace. This year, he is taking Erwan Israël aboard with him. Not very well known by the general public, but highly respected in this little world, he knows the boat like the back of his hand and worked on the routing for Charles in the last Route du Rhum, adding another achievement to the domination of the Verdier designed boat, which has been unrivalled in the class since 2019.

Two very advanced challengers

In the recent edition of the 24 hr Ultim race in Lorient in late September, we saw that the Maxi, Edmond de Rothschild was capable of losing. Even if it was by just 3 minutes and in conditions that had little to do with what we find in a transatlantic race. This was the end of a long series of wins, and was rather symbolic. After failing in the last Route du Rhum after suffering damage to his daggerboard, Armel Le Cléac’h is back with the same ambition and determination to win that we always associate with the Jackal. At the start of a race which he has not won, he is counting on the expertise of Sébastien Josse, winner in 2013, and one of the leading experts in these boats. He was the first to experience flying an ULTIM back when he skippered Gitana 17. It is a similar story with for SVR Lazartigue which won the Rolex Fastnet Race this year ahead of the Maxi Banque Populaire XI. “ It was a huge technical challenge to have a reliable trimaran capable of crossing the Atlantic back in 2021. The notion of performance has continued to develop ever since. We are feeling much more confident,”  declared Tom Laperche, who on 7 th January will take the reins of SVR Lazartigue to sail solo in the Arkea Ultim Challenge.

Will the fact that this race follows so shortly after the Transat Jacques Vabre change their way of sailing? According to the skippers that is not going to be the case and the weather expected in the first 48 hours of the transatlantic race will encourage them to keep the pace up to get away from the worst of the bad weather. “ We’re not going to do anything too clever, but a bit like in the Route du Rhum, we can see that the speed of these boats is an advantage allowing us to escape a nasty weather system,”  explained   François Gabart, who is going aboard with his replacement, Tom Laperche.

Once they are out of the reaches of the horrors of the North Atlantic, it will still not be over for the ULTIMs. Their 7500-mile long course is the longest in this Coffee Race and represents the equivalent of two transatlantic crossings. In particular, there is a long tack upwind in the SE’ly trade winds after they have gone through the Doldrums, as they pass between Sao Paolo & Sao Pedro and have to round Ascension Island.  

Sodebo Ultim 3 has ambitions, while Actual Ultim 3 is ready to pounce

This element is something that the crews on the other two trimarans will keep in mind in this Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre. This will be the first time as skipper for Anthony Marchand. “ This adds some extra pressure. A pressure I didn’t feel before ,” said the skipper who previously took part as co-skipper for Yves Le Blévec in 2021. Anthony is this year relying on Thierry Chabagny’s expert knowledge of big trimarans (Spindrift as well as the Maxi Banque Populaire XI) as they make their way to Fort-de-France. Their Actual Ultim 3  is the oldest of the five ULTIM  boats (François Gabart’s former MACIF launched in 2015), but she has made regular progress to make up for her lack of ability upwind and when taking off. She has been fitted with a new pair of foils that the crew says they “ will continue to get to grips with. ” She is however a tried and tested boat and has never had any major technical worries. That is a clear advantage in the nasty weather, when the performance capability of the various generations of ULTIM is much closer. 

“ In winds of above 25 knots and in 3m high waves, flying is not as advantageous,”  confirmed   Thomas Coville, twice winner of the race, who will be lining up with Thomas Rouxel for the second time on Sodebo Ultim 3 , which was forced to retire in 2021. The round the world skipper with ten roundings of Cape Horn under his belt, has always been at ease in heavy weather in this trimaran, the design of which owes a lot to him. His team worked hard in the spring to make up for her deficit in light to moderate conditions, when she was not as fast as the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and SVR Lazartigue in the last Route du Rhum. Adjusting the foils has been simplified, and this has made the boat lighter , while the mast has been extended by two metres to the maximum allowed under class rules and she has been given a new set of sails. Sodebo Ultim 3 has never been such a good performer as this and Thomas is relying on his co-skipper to push hard to win: " We haven’t had our last word in the Jacques Vabre or with the pairing with Thomas. Over the past few years as we have sailed together, we have grown close and complement each other well. At the start, we have the most experience of sailing together as a crew in this class. "

In addition to the boats and the skippers, it is important to add a word about the battle between the routers. As with the Ocean Fifty boats where routing is permitted, the choice of trajectory and the quality of communications with the shore team are an integral part of the quest for performance, but also key to their safety.

• +33 (0)2 98 51 41 00
• cdk@cdk-technologies.com

ACTUAL ULTIM3

Eighteen months after the start of its construction, the Macif trimaran left Keroman CDK Technologies shipyard, Tuesday, August 18, 2015, to be launched.

10 December 2020: The Trimaran Macif officially becomes Actual Ultim 3

Launching under her new colours on 13 April 2021, skippered by Yves le Blevec

Photo © Thierry Martinez - Team Actual

Yves Le Blevec /ACTUAL ULTIM3 2022 - Route du Rhum 5th 2022 - FACAE2022 4th 2022 - Winner Armen RACE 2021 - Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre 4th 2020 - Actual Leader buys TRIMARAN MACIF (Yves Le Blevec)

François Gabart / TRIMARN MACIF 2019 - 2nd Rolex Fasnet Race 2018 - 2nd Route du Rhum 2018 - July 30 and 31, launch, after 7 months of work. 2018 - January 12th at Keroman Technologies in the process of optimization 2017 - November 4 record attempt around the world alone 2017 - Winner The Bridge2017 - 2017 - Winner Armen RACE 2016 - Winner the Transat Bakerly 2015 - WInner Transat Jacques Vabre Winner

Other yachts

• Nautic Shows
• America’s Cup
• Classic Yachts
• Motor Yachts
• Sailing Yachts
• Superyachts
• Yachts News
• Destinations
• Yacht Clubs
• Boat Racing
• Meta Yachts

When the giant Ultims arrived on cue today, taking centre stage in the port of Brest at the heart of the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE – Brest race village, the French public turned out in their thousands to welcome the giant multihulls and their intrepid skippers.

As if to order the winds dropped and a watery winter sun appeared. The 11, 000 square metres exhibition village on the Quai Malbert came alive and thereupon started the seasonal festivities which will run for nine days before the start of this first ever solo Ultim race round the world.

As the Ultims docked one-by-one at the pontoon and legions of eager visitors took to the exhibition halls, an important moment arrived, the first stage of a long time shared vision was realised. Brest, for so long the historic start and finish port for dozens of oceanic sailing records, now has its own global sailing race. And the Ultim class has a showcase solo round-the-world event which will be followed by all who appreciate the potential of the world’s fastest ocean going sailing boats and their unique band of pioneering skippers.

The race village was inaugurated late this afternoon by Julien Carmona, President of Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, and François Cuillandre who is the Mayor of Brest and the President of Brest Métropole. At the same time, five Ultims entered the port, locally based Éric Péron (ULTIM ADAGIO) and Armel Le Cléac’h (Maxi Banque Populaire XI) were first to arrive in the afternoon and were warmly greeted with applause and big cheers.

For the hundreds of families who wandered through the village after it opened at 1000hrs this morning, a great day of learning and enthralling adventures began They immersed themselves in the huge interactive exhibition, ‘L’Atelier des Géants’, where they could learn all there is to know about the challenge which faces the skippers, the history of their boats, this epic race around the world in a multihull and also, of course, the impressive trophy which one sailor will lift, which is expected to be in about two months time.

“Here we are, twenty years after having first dreamed of this,” smiled François Cuillandre, Mayor of Brest and President of Brest Métropole.

“The passion of the skippers and the technological innovations we see really resonate with our own values,” underlined Julien Carmona, the President of Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne.

And as the skippers arrived their impending adventure took on the new dimension of reality, not least knowing the next time they untie their respective Ultims on the morning of Sunday 7th January they will be heading very much into the unknown.

Some, like eight times round the world ace Sodebo’s Thomas Coville, know well certain elements all too well, like the loneliness and unending stress of sailing solo at very high speeds in the big south. On the other hand Maxi Edmond de Rothschild’s Charles Caudrélier, now nearly 50, has won two crewed races round the world but has never been solo in the Southern Ocean unlike Banque Populaire XI’s Armel Le Cléac’h who has completed three solo Vendée Globe races.

They docked during the afternoon. Five of the six skippers spoke to the public, thanking them for the welcome (SVR-Lazartigue should arrive within a few days) moored in the afternoon. Before enjoying the Brest atmosphere, everyone took the time to reflect on their current state of mind.

Boat Arrivals

• Adagio: 2:30 p.m. (entrance to the narrows), 3:15 p.m. (entrance to the port)
• Maxi Banque Populaire XI: 3:30 p.m. (entrance to the gully), 4:15 p.m. (entrance to the port)
• Maxi Edmond de Rothschild: 4:15 p.m. (entrance to the narrows), 5 p.m. (entrance to the port)
• Actual Ultim 3: 5 p.m. (entrance to the narrows), 5:45 p.m. (entrance to the port)
• Sodebo Ultim 3: 5:30 p.m. (entrance to the narrows), 6:15 p.m. (entrance to the port)

What the skippers said:

Éric Péron (ULTIM ADAGIO):  “I want to leave with a certain peace of mind “

“I want to try to leave with a certain peace of mind, being sure that all the tools are on board, that I have not forgotten anything, even my chocolate bars! We try to predict and plan everything that can be planned. Psychologically, it’s been more than a month since I have been preparing. This final bit is very much with my businessman, my entrepreneur’s hat on. And so really I can’t wait to be on the water. Maybe I’ll feel a bit of emotion in the last days before the start but it’s okay, I’m so lucky to be here, ready to do this. The boat is ready and it is going to be my home for a good few weeks. The technical part is all done. Now I will focus on honoring our appointments with our partners, the press, the public. Afterwards, there will inevitably be a little anxiety because the business manager is going to sea but we try to organize everything to be in the best possible condition to leave. “

Armel Le Cléac’h (Maxi Banque Populaire XI):  “The boat is ready, me too “

“We are happy to be here. I’m not surprised to see all these people here, I know the fervor of the people of Brest, of Finistère and of all lovers of the ocean. We know that there will be people here until the start. We have worked hard with the whole team in recent weeks. The boat is ready, me too and we are going to enjoy the fervour here, we are going to share a few good times before the big start on Sunday. This will be my fourth round the world race. I know the route of course but not how it will be on board this type of very demanding machine. And I have been thinking about this race for quite long time now. I’m going to go home for a few days to retain the good energy and return into the bubble by next Sunday. Then it will build up and up to a crescendo I am happy to be on board this boat which was designed for this round-the-world passage, to take on this great challenge. And it would be great to arrive during the second half of February.”

Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild):  “I have the impression that we are going to experience something big!”

“I’m happy to be here. It has been quite a big challenge to be here on time because we had a lot of problems during the Transat Jacques Vabre and during the return passage back from Martinique. Everything had to be fixed but the team reacted well, got stuck in and the boat is ready. I can’t wait to go, even if it’s hard to imagine that we’re leaving in less than ten days for a big adventure. It’s really special to be here. And this feels different to other starts, usually I’m stressed, I wonder if the boat is going to go fast. Now this time I’m not worrying how I’m going to perform, I have the impression that we’re all going to do something “big”. I don’t see the others only as competitors but as a group of friends setting off on a big adventure. I have had sone complicated times recently, I asked myself the question if I wanted to go. But as soon as I was querying myself I fully realized that I was attached to this round the world. I’ve always dreamed of this, solo and at 50, I’ve never done it, this is the first time. “

Additional Quotes:

Julien Carmona, President of Crédit Mutuel Arkéa and Crédit Mutuel de Bretagne:

“Although it is a race around the world, it is the Brittany region and its players who will be highlighted during the first edition of the Arkéa Ultim Challenges Brest. It is a real source of pride for our group, a cooperative and regional bank, to be title partner of this race, which is completely unprecedented in sailing. It was also natural to associate ourselves with the Brest Metropolis, the birthplace of our head office. The interest of the general public, the passion of the skippers and the technological innovation of the craft resonate with our own values. And the race is a continuation of our commitment to the maritime sector. “

François Cuillandre, Mayor of Brest and President of Brest Métropole:

“Twenty years after first dreaming of this moment, here we are! I am happy that we are here opening this village today. I invite Brestoises and all sailing enthusiasts to come and discover this village which will showcase Brest, the port of records, the capital of the oceans, and honour these exceptional sailors.”

Non stop records

• 2017  – 42d 16h 40m 35 François Gabart (FRA) Macif Trimaran 100 ft, Finished 17/12 Still the second fastest outright circumnavigation time.
• 2016  – 49d 3h 7m 38s, Thomas Coville (FRA) Sodebo Ultim (previously Geronimo) Trimaran 102 ft. Finished on 25/12/2016.
• 2008  – 57d 13h 34m 06s Francis Joyon (FRA) IDEC 2 Trimaran 97 ft, Finished on 19/12/2008
• 2005  – 71d 14h 18m 33s Ellen MacArthur (UK), B&Q/Castorama Trimaran 75 ft. Finished 08/02
• 2004  – 72d 22h 54m 22s Francis Joyon (FRA) IDEC (formerly Poulain) Trimaran
• Arkea Ultim Challenge

RELATED ARTICLES

The united nations recognises the trofeo princesa sofía mallorca as a carbon neutral event, hetairos wins the round antigua race, éric péron finishes fifth and completes the circle in the arkéa ultim challenge – brest, antigua classic yacht regatta – preparing to set sail with many new and notable entries, anthony marchand on actual ultim 3 finishes fourth in the arkéa ultim challenge – brest.

Subscribe to our newsletter

To be updated with all the latest news, offers and special announcements.

LATEST ARTICLES

A sweltering sunday: light winds and looming storms on the red sea, sailgp’s christchurch return: race times and maps revealed as excitement grows, alinghi red bull racing embracing the spirit of dedication, editor picks, canadian beau lake introduces the tahoe ’14 and lugano ’14 electric runabouts, underwater adventure and exploration with deepflight’s super falcon 3s, driving performance on land and on water: 41′ amg carbon edition, popular posts, young designer of the year 2022: ioana valentina corcodel reveals 65m ophelia concept, mirabaud sailing video of the century: celebrating 2 decades of passion, superyacht the flying fox seized in the dominican republic, popular category.

• Regatta 805
• America's Cup 380
• Motor Yachts 260
• Boating 215
• Superyachts 181
• Sailing 176
• Yachts News 173
• Sailing Yachts 162

Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Six solo skippers ready to race 100ft foiling multihulls around the world

• January 4, 2024

Is this the most audacious race ever? Six skippers are getting ready to race 100ft foiling maxi trimarans solo around the world – James Boyd looks forward to the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest

There are very few ‘firsts’ left in the world of sailing, but one such remaining barrier could be smashed when the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest sets off from north-west France on 7 January 2024.

Since the Sunday Times Golden Globe in 1968/69 – the ‘impossible feat’ – there have been all manner of non-stop laps of the planet, from fully crewed Jules Verne Trophy and solo records, to races such as the single-handed Vendée Globe , and The Race in 2000 for fully crewed maxi-multihulls. This January sees a new pinnacle-of-pinnacles event: the first solo, non-stop, round the world race in Ultim trimarans. Six brave French skippers on their 100ft multihulls are entered.

The advancement in human endeavour and technology in this cutting edge area of sailing has been extraordinary. Thirty years ago we were in Brest for the first tentative Jules Verne Trophy attempts. Back then no one knew if sailing around the world in under 80 days was even possible: three boats set off and only one made it – Bruno Peyron’s maxi-catamaran Commodore Explorer in 79 days 6 hours.

Since then the record has been reduced by titans such as Peter Blake/Robin Knox-Johnston, Olivier de Kersauson, Loïck Peyron, Franck Cammas and, ultimately, Francis Joyon . In a quarter of a century, the record has halved with Joyon’s 105ft IDEC Sport setting the present benchmark of 40d 23h 30m 30s (at 26.85 knots average) five years ago.

You might assume that a solo around the world would be much slower, but Joyon destroyed this notion. In 2004, when the Jules Verne Trophy record was 63 days, he completed a lap in just under 73 days alone on his 90ft trimaran IDEC (also the first successful solo non-stop circumnavigation by a trimaran). The following year the UK ground to a halt for an afternoon, television dominated by live coverage of Ellen MacArthur’s arrival into Falmouth after she’d taken more than a day off Joyon’s time.

Gabart on his previous Macif Ultime. Photo: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi

Thomas Coville took the time below 50 days in 2016 with 49d 3h, broken the following year by François Gabart ’s 100ft Macif , establishing the present solo non-stop record: 42d 16h 40m 3s (just 4% slower than Joyon’s fully crewed).

While these times are impressive, they are records set in optimum, carefully selected conditions (for the first two weeks at least), whereas the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest is a race. The solo sailors will have onshore routers, but their departure day is set, and pace likely dictated by their opponents. It’s a very different test of man and machine.

“It is something new,” says Gitana’s Charles Caudrelier . “The first time racing around the world with these big flying boats. It is a bit like the first Vendée Globe – not quite the same because we know where we are going! But it is a bit of an adventure, and I’m happy about that.”

Armel le Cléac’h in solo mode on Maxi Banque Populaire XI. Photo: Benoît Stichelbaut

The contenders

Surprisingly, skippers at all stages of their careers are competing. Amiable sea-dog Thomas Coville will be 55 when the race sets off. There is almost no major event Coville hasn’t done, from the America’s Cup to winning the Volvo Ocean Race.

Having sailed ORMA 60s, Coville moved into the record breaking business on maxi trimarans and is now on his third, Sodebo having backed him continuously. Of the six skippers Coville is the most experienced racing Ultims single-handed and is laudable for his sheer tenacity – he finally set a solo round the world record on his fifth attempt, after 11 years of trying.

At the other end of the scale, it was a surprise to learn that SVR-Lazartigue will not be raced by François Gabart, the single-handed round the world record holder and the blue trimaran’s initial skipper. Instead, taking over for solo races will be 26-year-old Tom Laperche. An engineer and highly talented sailor, Laperche is a graduate of the classic French offshore racing pathway; and has been involved with SVR-Lazartigue since its launch, racing as Gabart’s co-skipper in the last two Transat Jacques Vabre .

Anthony Marchand, 38, has also newly taken on a campaign, replacing Yves le Blevec on Actual Ultim 3 (ex-Macif) in early 2023. Meanwhile an 11th hour entry is Eric Péron on Adagio , the previous Sodebo Ultim. The boat is something of a ‘Frankenstein’ creation – recycling the 2001 maxi-tri Geronimo with appendages from 2010 America’s Cup winner USA17 – but a fast one.

Thomas Coville, on Sodebo Ultime 3. Photo: Vincent Curutchet/Team Sodebo

“I’ve been preparing for this kind of thing for years now,” said Péron. I haven’t done much preparation on the boat, but for everything else, the boxes are ticked. So, in the short time I’ve got left before the start, I hope to become at one with the machine. What motivates me most of all is the fact that it’s an extreme race, and that’s why I want to take up the challenge. Obviously, I’m not leaving totally confident. But I’m not going to give up.”

In the absence of Gabart, the two favourites are likely to be Armel le Cléac’h on Maxi Banque Populaire XI and Charles Caudrelier on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Gitana 17) . Theirs are two of the best funded and oldest teams.

Banque Populaire first sponsored Joyon’s ORMA 60 in 1989 and has campaigned seven trimarans since, including building two Ultims. The team’s first Ultim had a disastrous 2018, before a final crash left it utterly destroyed during the Route du Rhum . Undeterred, the French bank set about building a replacement. Now, alongside SVR-Lazartigue, their two-year-old Maxi Banque Populaire XI is one of the newest Ultims.

SVR-Lazartigue and Banque Populaire XI are essentially VPLP designs (Ultim teams have their own in-house designers, engineers, aero- and hydrodynamists, foil and hydraulics experts), while Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is from Guillaume Verdier – Emirates Team New Zealand’s long term naval architect who has applied much of his Cup experience to the offshore trimaran .

Adagio, the previous Sodebo Ultim. Photo: Yvan Zedda

Impressive statistics

An Ultim’s length can be anything from 24-32m (78ft 8in-105ft) with a maximum beam of 23m (75ft), though in practice all six are trimarans built to, or near to the rule’s maximum. Overall mast height is less than 120% of length of the longest hull, so 38.4m (126ft). Additional rules cover minimum air draught below the beams and float volume. Water ballast, autopilots and automatic anti-capsize systems are permitted, but stored energy (produced by the crew) or the creation of inertial energy and computer or electromechanical assistance for adjusting any of the appendages is forbidden.

As with all things yachting, their quantum performance leap has come since going airborne. Today all six use a similar, complex foil configuration: on each hull is a rudder with an elevator where lift can be adjusted via a flap on its trailing edge. Midships in each float is a giant J-foil, which can be raised, lowered and its rake adjusted. Unique to the Ultims (apart from Adagio) is the daggerboard, which is fitted not only with a trim tab on its trailing edge to prevent leeway, but an elevator.

Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Gitana 17). Photo: Yann Riou/Gitana

The foils and elevators are adjusted hydraulically in combination to alter, for example, fore and aft trim and ride height, depending upon the point of sail and sea state. Generally the aim is for the platform to have zero heel/pitch. Thanks to the rudder elevators the ride is very stable in pitch (unlike IMOCA 60s ), the foils effectively ‘locking’ the boat to the water.

Just as America’s Cup catamarans that raked their windward rudder elevator to produce downforce (like crew on the rail), so Ultims can produce downforce with their daggerboard elevator. According to Gabart this is vital: racing an Ultim solo is about maximising efficiency so, when a gust hits, the rake on the daggerboard elevator is increased, sucking the trimaran’s main hull down. “If you release the hydraulic main sheet, it takes five minutes to pump it in again,” explains Gabart. “With this, when you are sailing at 40 knots you can add two tonnes [of down force] in one second using minimal energy.”

With their latest substantially larger foils, Ultims can fly in less wind. Originally it required 15-20 knots of wind or 26-27 knots boat speed for Macif to fly, this is now down to 12-14 knots of wind and 21-23 boat speed for SVR-Lazartigue – remarkable considering an Ultim’s 15-17 tonne displacement.

It’s similar on Banque Populaire XI, says Armel le Cléac’h. “We fly in 12-13 knots of wind or 22-23 knots of boat speed. In 15-17 knots of wind we fly upwind at 27-30 knots – that is the big step. Compared to older Ultims like IDEC in the last Route du Rhum, it’s an 8-9 knot improvement.”

Actual Ultim 3, formerly Gabart’s Macif. Photo: Thierry Martinez

Such speeds permit Ultims to become ‘masters of the weather’ – to some extent at least – often travelling so fast that their skippers can choose the weather system they can sail in. Optimum conditions for an Ultim are 15-25 knots (more than this and the sea state becomes too choppy for foiling), so they aim at the sweet spot of weather systems (flat water ahead of a warm front), which they then ride, like a surfer on a wave.

Le Cléac’h says their top speed has been 47 knots, “But that is not an objective. We want to have a good average speed: 40-42 knots for one or two hours is very good. 35-37 knots for 24 hours is very good too.”

Riding a rocketship

So how can skippers handle such a monster-sized boat that is foiling single-handed? Autopilot technology has improved to extraordinary levels of accuracy. According to Gabart, once set up, speed sailing in a straight line is not much different between solo and crewed. “Upwind or downwind VMG you are a little bit better if you are steering and others are trimming. At 65-70° TWA it is no different.”

Naturally manoeuvres are slower alone. Gabart says that going from reefed to full main might take two minutes fully crewed, but at least 10 solo. Some technology helps, like Harken’s latest generation Air 900 winches and pedestal grinders with bespoke gearing for single-person operation.

The newest of the Ultims, SVR-Lazartigue is perhaps the most advanced design. Photo: Guillaume Gatefait

While foils and many sail controls are hydraulic (SVR-Lazartigue has 23 rams), the pedestals are able to drive twin hydraulic pumps – though it requires serious manpower: “80% of the grinding is for the hydraulics,” says Gabart. SVR-Lazartigue will race with just five sails, including main and J0-J3, two permanently rigged on furlers.

Sailing at such high speeds has several effects. With apparent wind factored in, on deck there is constantly storm force, or at best gale force, winds. Human beings cannot operate for long in this and so cockpit protection has drastically increased with some Ultims now fully enclosed.

On the latest Sodebo and SVR-Lazartigue these have moved forward. On the former, the ‘bridge’ is forward of the mast, USS Enterprise-style, while on the latter it is just aft of the mast, with jet fighter-style steering cockpits each side, complete with sliding canopies. The end result is that an Ultim’s crew rarely ventures outside, viewing the world via CCTV.

While foiling reduces hydrodynamic drag, all the teams have been focussed on reducing aero-drag. Crossbeams now have trailing edge fairings made from robust vinyl, while on SVR-Lazartigue, moving their ‘cockpit’ forward has enabled them to have an AC-style ‘deck sweeper’ boom where the deck creates an endplate for the foot of the mainsail (improving efficiency).

Tom Laperche steering, jet fighter-style, on SVR-Lazartigue. Photo: Guillaume Gatefait

To finish first…

For the teams, the principal hurdle of the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest will be finishing. The major worry on such a long race is reliability. To prevent structural failures Ultims have load cells, the output from which is monitored in real time. Otherwise teams have simply been racing and sea trialling as often as possible in all conditions.

This year’s Transat Jacques Vabre’s heavier conditions were ideal, enabling the double-handed teams to really push the boats harder. While all the Ultims finished, some were in better shape than others, Maxi Edmond de Rothschild suffering rudder and foil issues while Sodebo Ultim’s starboard rudder sheared off after a collision with an underwater object.

“The main problem will be to have all of the boats finishing the race in good shape,” says Caudrelier, who says it will take a new approach from his previous crewed around the world races. “Always you push to the maximum, but this time you can’t do that and we will have to find a good balance between performance and safety for the boat. That is quite an interesting exercise and also managing a boat like this alone for 45 days.”

Éric Péron explains: “On these boats, a small incident can immediately put us out of the race, because nothing can be replaced on our own. The boat is so big that there’s not much we can do to fix it with what we’ve got on board.”

Antoine Gautier, head of the design office at Mer Concept (behind SVR-Lazartigue) adds that their enormously complex boat will be simplified: “We are going to have less systems on board to make it simpler and more reliable. There are some things which won’t make much difference on a round the world race.”

Armel le Cléac’h at Banque Populaire’s mission control/protected pod. Photo: Vincent Curutchet/ Hublot Sailing team

Capsize was once a major concern, but for Ultims today is – apparently – almost a non-issue. The multihulls are simply huge, and their rigs are now stepped almost two thirds of the way back from the bow, to prevent pitchpoling. As Gautier explains: “The boats are definitely safer than any multihulls before. There are no more pitchpoling issues and in terms of heel stability, you almost can’t heel because the leeward foil is pushing up so much. That is why they are able to sail so fast, even short-handed – because the boats are very safe and you don’t feel in danger.”

Nonetheless they do still have inclinometers which can automatically dump hydraulics (eg mainsheet) or mechanically release headsail sheets if heel is excessive.

Of greater concern are elements beyond the skipper’s control: collision. AIS and radar target alarms substantially reduce the chance of an Ultim hitting another vessel, but the threat of a ‘UFO’ (unidentified floating object) remains. As Gautier says: “Collision is the biggest fear for all of us. If you hit something at 30-plus knots it is the end of your race. The boat which is going to win will be the one which has all its appendages at the finish. It is Russian roulette and you can’t do anything about it. This is not a fun part of the sport, but it is the same for any race like this.”

To help prevent such collisions Ultims are all fitted with SEA.AI (previously known as OSCAR) a camera mounted at the masthead that can ‘see’ ahead both in daylight and at night, using infra-red. Images are compared in real time with a giant database to establish whether something ahead represents a collision threat.

Ultims raced each other double-handed in the November 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre – won by Armel le Cléac’h/Sébastien Josse in Banque Populaire XI. Photo: Jean-Marie Liot/Alea

There are other factors too that will come into play: a good deal of luck, undoubtedly, but also the skill, experience and motivation of the skippers. Caudrelier has perhaps the most experience in his boat and over the last three years has won most races, but he has never raced solo around the world. “This is my Vendée Globe” he acknowledges.

By contrast Le Cléac’h has completed three Vendées, on the podium every time. However his recent victory in the Transat Jacques Vabre was his first in an Ultim. For Coville, this might be his last lap? While for Laperche this will be his first big Ultim event and proving himself is a key objective.

What is certain is that this will be the ultimate contest between some of the world’s most talented offshore sailors. How many will make it round? And for those that do, it could be the fastest ever round the world race, so all the action will unfold quickly. Follow at arkeaultimchallengebrest.com

If you enjoyed this….

Yachting World is the world’s leading magazine for bluewater cruisers and offshore sailors. Every month we have inspirational adventures and practical features to help you realise your sailing dreams. Build your knowledge with a subscription delivered to your door. See our latest offers and save at least 30% off the cover price.

Actual Ultim 3

MACIF 100 then Actual Ultim 3

Macif was designed in close collaboration with François Gabart and his technical team, fresh from their wins in the Vendée Globe and the Route du Rhum. The remit was to produce a boat for solo and short-handed racing and record-breaking . Launched in 2015, she is almost as beamy as her rivals and carries the same amount of sail, but weighs in two tonnes lighter .

Her most obvious innovation is the compact cockpit – “the shed” – which contains the working ends of the lines, the accommodation and the nav station in the same sheltered and enclosed space . Accessed via a hatch in the cockpit, the centre hull houses the engines, batteries, ballast tanks, food store and the equipment locker.

The rudders feature adjustable-pitch elevators to trim the boat, while the foils provide maximum stability when in foiling mode. She was fitted with new appendages during a major refit in 2018 to improve her foiling capabilities.

With François Gabart at the controls, Macif won every race she entered (Transat Jacques Vabre, The Transat, The Bridge), except the 2018 Route du Rhum when, hampered by the loss of a foil and a rudder, Francis Joyon beat her by a canvas. Unsurprisingly she currently holds the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Trophy , the solo round the world record under sail of 42 days, 16 hours and 40 minutes.

In 2021 she was sold to Actual, giving skipper Yves Le Blevec ’s ambitions on the Ultim circuit a serious boost.

Achievements

Our latest racing projects

Sun Fast 30 One Design

Paris +33 1 42 77 24 00 Vannes +33 2 97 44 74 19 Nantes +33 9 85 11 79 77

[email protected]

Privacy Policy

Subscribe to our newsletter

• CLASSIFIEDS
• NEWSLETTERS
• SUBMIT NEWS

Sunday is D-Day for six solo ocean racers as Arkea Ultim Challenge - Brest starts

Related Articles

Published on January 18th, 2024 | by Editor

Collision in ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE

Published on January 18th, 2024 by Editor -->

(January 18, 2024; Day 12) – The question at the start of the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE-Brest was whether all six maxi trimarans would complete their solo non-stop race round the world. After Armel Le Cléac’h (Maxi Banque Populaire XI) rallied from a 27-hour pitstop in Brazil for repairs , Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue) has issues that may not be so recoverable.

Laperche’s daggerboard in the main hull collided with an UFO (unidentified floating object) at around 0430hrs UTC today while in second place some 1300 nm west of Cape Town, with the damage sufficient to cause a significant leak. The solo skipper Laperche is now heading towards Cape Town with the water ingress under control.

“I had been working pretty well all night,” reported the 26 year old skipper this afternoon, “I had found good sail configurations and settings, and we were moving neither too fast nor too slow with a good average and speeds of around 35 knots.

“Towards the end of the night I felt a huge shock in a big crash. Hitting the daggerboard damaged the bottom of the hull and in a fraction of a second, water was coming into the central section. I walked around the boat quickly and realized that the boat was remaining controllable. We had to slow down as much as possible and furl up the sails. We must now bring the boat in as undamaged as possible.”

The damage has been stabilized, Laperche is safe and being assisted by his technical team to try to bring the Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue to Cape Town. He was around 80 miles behind race leader Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) when the collision occurred.

“We now have to manage the next four days at sea without it getting any worse,” reports Laperche. “I managed to set the boat up in the right direction and am not to go too fast. I will monitor water levels and the daggerboard movements. We still have 35 knots of wind but it should ease in a little over a day with calmer seas. I remain in contact with the whole team and we will try to find the best solutions to reach Cape Town.”

“The impact was quite violent because the boat was moving at 35 knots at the time of the collision,” said Team Manager Cécile Andrieu. “We are in permanent contact with him to analyze as best as possible the damage to the boat, contain it and find the best route to reach Cape Town where his arrival is estimated on Monday morning (Jan. 22). The entire technical team is gathered in Concarneau and will leave for Cape Town to be with Tom. We will study the options for the future.”

Meantime race leader Caudrelier expressed his dismay and solidarity with the young rival with whom he had been dueling since the start. Caudrelier on the powerful Verdier designed ULTIM had seemed to be threatening the 24 hour solo sailing record last night with a run to 841 miles, some ten miles short of the record set in November 2017 by François Gabart en route to the current solo round the world record of 42 days.

“As there is less pressure on me, I don’t need to watch the speed as much as when Tom was there,” admitted Caudrelier. “I took advantage to tidy things up and give the boat a big check. We had been racing at a crazy pace. The atmosphere has changed now. And the way we sail.”

Caudrelier has now more than 700 miles in hand over third placed Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3). The leader is at the front of a low pressure front which should push him at least as far as the Kerguelen Islands at the same kind of speeds in good sea conditions. This evening, the Maxi Sodebo 3 gybed to stay in the depression which he hopes to ride over the coming days to stay in contact. Fourth and fifth, Actual Ultim 3 and Banque Populaire XI, will have to negotiate lighter winds.

“I am offshore of Rio de Janeiro and the passage down the Brasilian coast has been long, we are downwind now and starting to get some breeze, I have 20 knots now, it is still warm and I am in light clothing which helps when I have maneuvers to do,” shared Le Cléac’h .

“But it will cool down quickly. We are having to go in a quite southerly direction and that is the program for the future, it is a bit of a long route but by the weekend the temperature will be down and we will get to the south. I am catching a few miles on Antho’ who is a bit to my east. It is bad news about Tom I hope he can get back in the race soon.”

Details: https://arkeaultimchallengebrest.com/en

The Ultim Class trimarans have a maximum length of 32 meters and a maximum width of 23 meters.

The solo speed record around the world was set in 2017 by François Gabart (FRA) on the 30m Macif trimaran in a time of 42d 14h 40m 15s for an average speed of 21.08 knots. This yacht has been rebranded and will be raced by Marchand.

Entrants: • Charles Caudrelier (FRA), Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (2017 Verdier 32/23) • Thomas Coville (FRA), Sodebo Ultim 3 (2019 VPLP/others 32/23) • Tom Laperche (FRA), Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue (2021 VPLP 32/23) • Armel Le Cléac’h (FRA), Maxi Banque Populaire XI (2021 VPLP 32/23) • Anthony Marchand (FRA), Actual Ultim 3 (2015 VPLP 30/22) • Éric Péron (FRA), Trimaran Adagio (2014 VPLP 31/21)* * Only entrant without foiling appendages

Five rules from the Sailing Instructions: • The start line is kept open for 168 hours and the finish line is closed after an elapsed time of 100 days after the start time, that is to say 16th April 2024.

• The skippers can communicate and exchange with their teams on shore, so they have the freedom to get weather information and be routed by their team on shore and get technical help and advice to help with technical problems.

• The solo skippers can stop but there are two distinct operations. A technical stop is unassisted and requires the sailor to drop anchor, take a mooring, or tie up alongside an anchored or moored boat with no external help. There is no time penalty for a technical stop. But for a technical stopover (escale technique) where one or more crew or technical team come on board to help, there is a mandatory 24 hours minimum. This does not apply to the start port of Brest where all means are authorized to reach or leave the port within a radius of 50 miles.

• For the first time in ocean racing, zones where there are known to be a high concentration of whales and sea mammals are determined. Establishing these zones should both protect the marine wildlife and reduce the chance of a collision. These zones are around the Azores, the Canaries, south of South Africa, the Kerguelens, and parts of the Antarctic.

• There are ice exclusion zones to protect the skippers and their boats.

Tags: ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE – Brest , Tom Laperche , Ultim Class

Related Posts

Ultim Challenge done with final finish →

Coville finishes second in Arkea Ultim Challenge →

Caudrelier wins Arkea Ultim Challenge →

Evil welcome for Arkea Ultim Challenge →

© 2024 Scuttlebutt Sailing News. Inbox Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. made by VSSL Agency .

• Privacy Statement
• Advertise With Us

Get Your Sailing News Fix!

Your download by email.

• Your Name...
• Your Email... *
• Phone This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.