The departure of the Arkéa Ultim Challenge, a unique sailing trip around the world, was given this Sunday noon from Brest! It’s here first solo race organized on board Ultim maxi-trimarans, these giants of the seas longer and wider than a basketball court. Six skippers, among the best navigators in the worldleft Finistère for an adventure from west to eastby the three capes: that of Good Hope in South Africa, Leeuwin in Australia and Cape Horn, in Chile, before going up the Atlantic and returning to Brest, in around fifty days for the fastest.
A few tears and a lot of concentration
The sailors left the harbor of Brest where they had been installed since December 29, Sunday noon, to the loud applause of a large public who came to the city’s port. There were a few tears and a lot of concentration among the six sailors at the start of the race. “Obviously there is emotion, but we will have to quickly switch to racing mode at the start“, declared Anthony Marchand, 38, shedding a tear when he found his team, gathered around the mast of his Ultim to welcome him. “We are going for an extraordinary race, but it will really be extraordinary when we finish it”he added.
THE official start of the race was given at 1:30 p.m. very precisely. When the gun went off, the sailors were able to enjoy beautiful sunshine and mild weather for a January weekend at the Breton sea.
The skippers involved
Aboard the giants of the seas, six experienced sailors set off solo:
- Charles Caudrelier on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild
- Thomas Coville on Sodebo Ultim 3
- Tom Laperche on the SVR-Lazartigue trimaran
- Armel Le Cléach on Maxi Banque Populaire XI
- Anthony Marchand on Actual Ultim 3
- Eric Peron on Trimaran Adagio
A journey of 40,000 km
The six experienced sailors will take the same route as the famous Vendée Globe. From the North Atlantic to the South, from the Indian Ocean to the legendary Cape Horn, the route is a great classic for a world tour. But unlike the “Everest of the seas”, technical stopovers will be authorized, but the organizers imposed a duration of at least 24 hours of stoppage. Because completing a solo round-the-world trip on a trimaran, very fast but also much more fragile and risky than a monohull, is an extremely rare accomplishment in offshore racing. Only seven sailors have so far achieved this feat, including only four who have done it non-stop.
The fastest boats should complete the race in 45 days, according to the record established by François Gabart in 2017. The finish line will be closed 100 days after the departure in Brest, i.e. Tuesday April 16.