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Launch of the new Maxi Trimaran Banque Populaire XI: the Ultim class epitome of audacity!

16 metric tons, 32 meters in length, and 23 meters wide: the Banque Populaire XI is the fruit of 24 months of construction work performed by 150 mostly French and locally based companies.

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The construction of this new 16 metric ton, 32m long, 23m wide, and 37m high ‘Ultim’ class racing trimaran to be skippered by Armel Le Cléac'h required the expertise of 150 companies to ensure its completion in 24 months despite the health crisis!

 A synthesis of high technology and fine craftsmanship, this giant of the seas was recently launched on April 27 in Lorient (Brittany). An epitome of audacity, with its S-shaped foils about twice the size of those fitted to previous generations (an application of advanced research in aerodynamics as used in Formula 1 racing cars), Banque Populaire XI is the result of a technological, technical, human and logistical feat that makes it the latest jewel in the crown of the nautical industry and of competitive sailing in general.  

Team Banque Populaire drew on the expertise of no fewer than 150 mostly French and locally based companies for the vessel’s design and construction . As a major player in ocean racing both as sponsor and ship-owner, Banque Populaire used this opportunity to support craftsmen, engineers and architects, true to its DNA as a bank working closely with all types of entrepreneur. This initiative also enables the bank to demonstrate its active involvement in promoting the status of all those contributing to the ‘blue economy,’ a sector embracing all economic activities related to the marine environment.

Another challenge now awaits the team with the first trial runs for Armel Le Cléac'h and his co-skipper Kevin Escoffier in preparation for the start of the Transat Jacques Vabre Normandy Le Havre race in November later this year.   THE BANQUE POPULAIRE XI MAXI TRIMARAN IN FIGURES

• 32 meters in length, 23 meters wide, weighing 16 metric tons
• 24 months in the making4,500 hours of preparatory work (design, architecture, plan, simulation carried out by the VPLP firm of naval architects) 
• 300 production blueprints
• 150 companies involved
• 150,000 hours of work (including more than 100,000 hours for the CDK Technologies shipbuilding facility alone) 

@PHOTO / Vincent Curutchet

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Arkéa Ultim Challenge - Actual Ultim 3 leads - Positions, Images and Video from Day 1

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Caudrelier Wins Round-the-World Solo Sprint

• By Dave Reed
• February 26, 2024

UPDATE: French solo racer Charles Caudrelier, skipper of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild crossed the finish line off the coast of Brest, this Tuesday morning at 8h 37mn 42s local time (UTC+1hrs) to win the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE-Brest , the first ever solo multihull race around the world, sailed in giant 32m long ULTIM class trimarans.

The race leader who has been unchallenged at the front of the race since the night of January 17, Caudrelier– triumphs on the first edition of this unprecedented race. Before he had to slow to avoid a huge storm at Cape Horn, at one point in the Pacific Ocean Caudrelier was ahead of the time needed to set a new all-time record for sailing solo around the world.

His elapsed time is 50 days 19 hours 07 minutes 47 seconds since leaving Brest in the six-boat fleet on Sunday 7th January.

After a thrilling head to head duel with 26-year-old Tom Laperche down the South Atlantic, Caudrelier, who turned 50 years old on Monday, widened the gap to over 2500 miles ahead of his nearest rival after Laperche had to retire into Cape Town with damage caused by a collision.

Along his route, Caudrelier set a new record for the Indian Ocean and then proved he knew how to moderate his pace to look after his high tech flying ULTIM and give himself and the emblematic Gitana team the best chance of completing the 24,260 nautical miles course.

With a substantial lead Caudrelier put his race on hold – sailing at very slow speeds for more than 36 hours in the eastern Pacific – to avoid a storm at Cape Horn and latterly sat out storm Louis, stopped in the safety of the Azores last week to avoid any additional risk which might have jeopardized his win.

This success rewards more than ten years of endeavour by the Edmond de Rothschild Gitana team. They worked initially from 2011 with a MOD70 on which they developed the multihull foiling program before they launched the innovative Verdier designed Ultim in 2017.

Arriving two years later along with co-skipper Franck Cammas,  Caudrlier, double winner of The Ocean Race -once as skipper, contributed to the boat’s continued evolution and optimisation and the boat built up the most extensive track record of the class with some great victories with Caudrelier  including the Brest Atlantique (2019), Fastnet (2019 and 2021), Transat Jacques Vabre (2021), Finistère Atlantique (2022) and blue riband solo Route du Rhum (2022).

After a frustrating Transat Jacques Vabre last autumn which was marked by numerous damages including problems with the steering system and a foil, finishing in third place, the Gitana team worked hard to repair to be ready for this race and to move forward.

“I’ve had my struggles but I know that things are turning round,” said Caudrelier before the start of the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE-Brest.

From the early days on this race he had to deal with small problems too including a break in his forward fairing. Although he succeeded in capturing a dream ride on a low pressure from the South Atlantic until the south of Australia, the second half of his race was much more problematic, including his pause before Cape Horn and his strategic halt into the Azores last week.

A popular, highly respected racer and leader among his peers, this is Caudrelier’s biggest solo success and finally fulfils his youthful dreams of winning a singlehanded race around the world. Added to his Ocean Race wins he further establishes himself as one of the best skippers among the French greats.

Charles Caudrelier’s victory in figures

• Finish time : 8 h 37 min 42 sec
• Race time : 50 days 19 hours 7 min 42 sec
• Miles traveled : 28 938,03 miles
• Actual average speed : 23,74 knots
• Average speed on the great circle: 19,93 knots
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L'équipe de Jason Carroll sera engagée en juillet sur l'AEGEAN 600 Photo : Vogelis Fragoulis

Le trimaran de François Gabart et Tom Laperche a été déchargé ce matin à Brest Photo : Olivier François

Le Gitana Team confirme la construction d'un Ultim' 32X23, le Gitana 18

Ultim Evènements à venir

3-5 mai 2024 Tour de Belle île

9-12 mai 2024 Armen Race Uship 2024 

5-13 juillet 2024 Aegean 600

5 septembre 2024 24 H Ultim'

25/09 au 06/10/24 Finistère Atlantique Concarneau/Antibes

19 octobre 2024 Rolex Middle Sea Race

Tentatives sur le Trophée Jules Verne

Mai 2025 Med Ultim

Juillet 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race

Septembre 2025 24 h Ultim

Octobre 2025 Tour du Monde à l'envers

Octobre 2025 Trophée Jules Verne

Novembre 2025 Transat Jacques Vabre

Juillet 2026 Finistère Atlantique

Septembre 2026 24h Ultim

Novembre 2026 Route du Rhum

Juin 2027 Lorient / Les Bermudes / Lorient

Juillet 2027 Rolex Fastnet Race

Septembre 2027 24 h Ultim  

Novembre 2027 Transat Jacques Vabr e

Ultim Championnat 2024

1 Maxi Edmond de Rothschild   20   

2 Sodebo Ultim' 3                      19

3 Banque Populaire XI              18

4 Actual Ultim' 3                         17

5 ADAGIO                                  16

6 Argo                                         9

7 Zoulou                                     7 

8 Limosa                                     5

Classement 2019

Classement 2018

Classement 2017

Classement 2016

Classement 2015

Franck Cammas

Tom Laperche 

François Gabart

Francis Joyon

Yves Le Blévec

Anthony Marchand

Sam Goodchild

Eric Péron

Thomas Coville

Gwénolé Gahinet

Jean Luc Nélias

Armel Le Cléac'h

Sébastien Josse

Charles Caudrelier

Romain Pilliard

Archives Ultimes News années 2020 à 2022

Archives Ultimes News années 2016 à 2019

Archives Ultimes News années 2014 à 2015

Ultimes évènements passés

Route du Rhum 2014

Jacques Vabre 2015

The Transat 2016

The Bridge 2017

Jacques Vabre 2017

Nice UltiMed 2018

Route du Rhum 2018

Brest Atlantiques 2019

Jacques Vabre 2021

Finistère Atlantique 2022

Route du Rhum 2022

Jacques Vabre 2023

ARKEA Ultim' Challenge Brest :

Préparation d'avant course

La descente de l'Atlantique Nord

La descente de l'Atlantique Sud

L'océan Indien

Le Pacifique

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La remontée de l'Atlantique Nord

Record de Thomas Coville sur Sodebo Ultim'

Record de François Gabart sur Macif

Trophée Jules Verne 2015-2016

Tentative 2017 Spindrit 2

Tentative  d'IDEC Sport

Tentative Spindift 2 2019 

Tentative Gitana 17 2020

Tentative Sodebo Ultim' 5 2020 

Tentative Sails of Change 2021

Tentative Gitana 17 2023

ITW Sam Goodchild

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The Ultim class is born

Article published on 17/04/2018

published in n°159 may / june

Until now, the Ultim trimarans have been brought together under the aegis of an owner’s collective, which decided unilaterally on a rule and its development.  

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This collective has allowed the creation of some nice projects and even a singlehanded race around the world, whose start is planned from Brest in 2019. After 4 years, the collective has decided to switch to being a class affiliated to the Federation Française de la Voile, so as to make their move official, and above all, to reassure possible foreign owners. The Ultim 32/33 class – its new name – is based on some permanent rules (length, beam, air draft…) and others which can be modified every 4 years (such as for the adjustment of moveable hull appendages)...

We hope this change will bring forward some new owners, to provide us with an even crazier spectacle!

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• Digital Edition

The ultimate foiling machine? Onboard SVR-Lazartigue

• December 15, 2021

SVR-Lazartigue is the newest Ultim trimaran, designed for current solo around the world record holder François Gabart. Gabart gave François Tregouet an exclusive tour of this extraordinary machine.

Launched in July after 150,000 hours of work, SVR-Lazartigue is the latest addition to the burgeoning Ultim 32/23 fleet. In addition to the complexity that’s inherent to these giant foilers , this rocketship design includes many unique innovations which are currently being extensively tested and fine-tuned. We were lucky enough to be able to explore some of them in detail with skipper François Gabart.

Having boarded the team’s support RIB as they headed out from the MerConcept pontoon at around croissant-time, we searched for the blue giant among the squalls. François Gabart and Tom Laperche, who was co-skipper in this autumn’s Transat Jacques Vabre , were returning to their base in Concarneau, Brittany, having just completed a 1,000-mile training loop in the company of three other Ultims: Sodebo , Banque Populaire and Gitana .

SVR-Lazartigue finally appeared as just a dot on the horizon. There was no need to throttle up to reach it though: it was closing in fast. When it drew level, even with one reef in the main and no headsail, our big outboard-powered RIB was struggling to keep up. The crew heading out on deck to lower the sails appear tiny, whereas in reality Tom Laperche must be over 6ft tall.

Twin cockpit bubbles adjacent to the mast

While the overall dimensions of SVR-Lazartigue are as breathtaking as the rest of the Ultim class trimarans , certain proportions of SVR-Lazartigue immediately stand out. First, the floats seem particularly narrow. There are two reasons for this: as the helm stations are no longer ‘on’ the deck but integrated into the central hull, the latter seems proportionally beefed-up, especially between the two connecting beams.

The other factor is that as the latest generation trimarans spend more time in foiling mode, so the volume of the floats is no longer as critical.

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The third dimension that stands out when viewing this monster vessel from the water is the length of the horizontal surface of the foil tip – it’s a full 4m (13ft) stretched under the net towards the central hull.

Onboard SVR-Lazartigue

Gabart is at the helm in the starboard cockpit. This is the trademark of his new baby: two sliding bubbles, flush with the deck, which call to mind a Spitfire aeroplane or fighter jet. The analogy is not accidental: these ultra high performance trimarans reach such high speeds that staying outside is not only uncomfortable, but almost unbearable, and certainly incompatible with achieving a high level of human performance.

Boat speeds of 40 knots have become the norm – below 30 knots the crew feels unusually slow!

Despite being exhausted, Gabart and his teammate are smiling broadly. They have just completed a 200-mile reaching leg at an average boat speed of 37 knots, racing side by side with Sodebo. But to have completed 1,000 miles in racing conditions without any major technical problems in such a new launch is clearly the main satisfaction. That’s a triumph for Gabart’s MerConcept technical team – just a week before, they had to abandon the Défi Azimut Ultim race following damage to a foil jack.

Hydraulics are a key component on these boats. With enormous forces involved there are 23 hydraulic cylinders onboard on SVR-Lazartigue. One of the particularities of the Ultim class is that everything on board must be controlled by human power; only so-called closed-loop circuits are allowed.

Above: electronics, regulators, electric engine and a small diesel generator are housed under the floor of the cockpit and living areas

So while the grinders are connected to the winches, they are also connected to hydraulic pumps. If, for example, the crew want to increase the rake on a foil by 3°, they set the control to 3°, open the valve and it goes up to 3°. But the hydraulic pressure to achieve that has to be generated by the two-man crew, and it is in no way automated or self-adjusting.

65 knots of apparent wind

Most of the cylinders are hidden – inside the boom, behind a foil arm, and down below – the aerodynamics are optimised as never before on an offshore boat.

The apparent wind created by the speeds reached is “mind-blowing”, says Gabart. “This is the most impressive thing about this boat. We have never had these apparent wind figures on other boats.

“Here, we regularly reach speeds of over 40 knots at less than 90° true wind angle (TWA). In certain conditions, such as 25 knots of wind on flat seas, at 65°-70° off the wind, you’re doing 40 knots. That’s 60-65 knots of apparent wind speed. The maximum AWS in our log is not far from 70 knots.

The low profile fighter pilot-style cockpit ‘pods’

“When you go outside, it’s violent. Compared to the previous generation, this is where the difference is the most significant, between 65° and 80° off the wind, where we see very strong apparent winds,” Gabart explains.

At these speeds air resistance takes on an unprecedented importance. The design team, including VPLP , has focussed heavily on creating an aerodynamically optimised shape with every element refined to offer the lowest possible drag. The upper part of the foredeck is non-structural – all the strength is underneath at the level of the anchoring points of the headsails.

“The interesting [point] is that we can stow the sails there, protected from the wind. In the long term it will be closed off by a canvas cover to reduce water ingress, even though there are drains on the sides. This is an area that still needs to be optimised. We can see that the technical team seems to have played with the jigsaw before this training session,” observes Gabart.

Fred Bérat, the boat captain, asks Tom Laperche for his feedback. “We’ll have to use foam or partition off the unused areas to reduce the volume likely to take on sea water,” Laperche comments. That will add weight, but aerodynamically, nothing protrudes, the furling drums are completely hidden and the sail is flush with the deck when unfurled.

Gabart, a passionate engineer, explaining how the foils work. Each weighs 400kg (882lb) and supports a trimaran that weighs 38 times that

The entire deck and structure is designed to favour laminar flow and reduce air disturbance. All the way aft, only the two small cockpit bubbles protrude from the deck. Even the Fleet communication antennas, although cylindrical, are streamlined at the rear.

Within each of the two cockpit bubbles, a small Formula 1-type steering wheel acts as a helm. For the time being, only one button is fitted, the emergency mainsail release button, but more controls will come in the long term, Gabart explains. “We imagine we’ll be able to put a lot of things on it, especially for safety. And possibly sail adjustments when there are people around to grind the winches and therefore power the hydraulics below deck.”

The pilot-style flight position is designed to help the sailors maintain focus and high levels of performance while helming for long periods of time.“While we thought we would have to wear a helmet or harness to avoid hitting our heads, it turns out we are very well supported at shoulder level, especially since we don’t have to steer at high angles. You can steer standing up or sitting down and footrests are due to be fitted soon.”

Gabart is confident he’ll be able to spend hours comfortably at the helm “just like in a car”.

Fingertip conrol on SVR-Lazartigue

Three rudders are mechanically connected at the back of the stern arm, while at the front, electronics are used. The two Madintech pilots have their cylinders permanently connected to the same central rudder shaft.

More fingertip controls are planned for the Formula 1-style steering wheel in future

Just above, on the outside, a conventional wheel is connected directly to it, which is more practical for port manoeuvres or race starts: “Because we can see what’s going on better and we’re more used to the feeling. In the long term I am confident that we will be able to have the same feeling and efficiency on our small steering wheels, from a distance, but there is still work to be done, especially because of the speed of reaction of the cylinders,” he says.

From the inside helm stations or watch stations, as well as the companionway access just aft, there’s good visibility, almost 360°, even under the boom. However, below deck, where manoeuvres, navigation and living space are organised, there is no direct view outside.

As on Alex Thomson ’s IMOCA Hugo Boss , cameras have been installed for an exterior view. But the two SVR-Lazartigue co-skippers admit they’re not yet always in the habit of automatically looking at the screens.

Chainplates and furling drums for the headsails are integrated under a false deck to help aerodynamics

At the stern, all sheets are tunnelled to two huge 43cm diameter Harken Air 900 winches: “We can put each of the eight sheets, which all arrive at the same place, crosswise on the two main winches, so we can do peels at any time between any sails: J0, J1, J2 and J3,” says Gabart. Up front are the so-called utility winches for halyards, furling lines, reefing lines, or barber-haulers.

Living zone

At the rear of the low-slung, white painted cockpit, a living area houses a navigation zone with a newly installed bucket seat facing a canting screen. There is a beanbag for sleeping on the floor, although berths will be installed on both sides for stowage. The only extra is a micro-galley.

Forward is another living area, this one in bare carbon, located along the centre of gravity of the boat. When the boat is being sailed in crewed mode, the space is big enough to sleep six people in a race or on a record attempt. “In terms of noise, we were quite uncertain about this central hull living area,” admits Gabart,

As well as nav and performance information the screens also display the positions and trim settings of the foils, rudders and centreboard

“I’m surprised, because intuitively I thought it would be quite different from the previous boat (Macif which became Actual) and in the end, here, in the closed cockpit, it’s quite similar. As soon as you put your head in the bubble, even when it’s closed, you hear and feel the wind, just like before.”

The central hull on SVR-Lazartigue is divided in two along its entire length, with a lower level under the cockpit and the living areas. In addition to the electric motor, the battery pack and a small diesel generator, there are a lot of electronics housed below. “Emilien Lavigne, the computer and electronics specialist is, after me, the one who has sailed the boat the most since she was launched,” points out the skipper, such is the importance of the hidden technology on board.

Meanwhile the most obvious examples of latest development technology are the incredible wings of this boat designed for flight. The shape of the SVR-Lazartigue foils is particularly complex, between the L-shaped lower section and and the S-shaped vertical a free ball joint gives a degree of freedom in the foil boxes to be able to raise and lower them. The upper section moves longitudinally, allowing the rake to be adjusted.

Skipper for scale! The two main Harken Air 900 winches on which all the headsail sheets are mounted

Unlike a conventional racing yacht, the VPPs (velocity prediction programmes) provided by the architects VPLP are much more than simple polars with the speed targets. The charts, displayed in the cockpit, also recommend theoretical settings for foil depth, rake and flaps.

“It’s amazing how good the fit is, on a windy sea, in out-of-the-ordinary conditions like a reaching leg in 40 knots, 50m from the beach without a single wave. Or the opposite, like now, where there’s only 10 knots of wind, but the sea remains rough following the passage of a front,” says Gabart.

As for the sensation of foiling at high speeds, Gabart is effusive about the behaviour of his blue rocket: “The more foil surface you have, the more damping there is in the waves. When you fly, there are few shocks, just quite violent movements due to the high speed. When the boat jumps a wave, the foil never really comes out of the water, even if it stalls, it absorbs a lot. Even when you’re not flying, at the same speed, it’s much more comfortable than an IMOCA. Even though, sometimes we go twice as fast…”

SVR-Lazartigue specifications

Length: 32m / 105ft 0in Beam: 23m / 75ft 5in Displacement (approx): 15,000kg / 33,000lb Weight of one foil: 400kg / 880lb Draught: 4.5m / 14ft 9in Air draught: 37m / 121ft 5in Mast length: 33m / 108ft 3in Sail area upwind: 425m² / 4,574ft Sail area downwind: 645m² / 6,942ft

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Ultim 32/23 Class regroups with five-year race plan announcement

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They are the most highly-advanced and exciting ocean-going race boats on the planet but the monster-sized trimarans of the Ultim 32/23 Class has faced an uncertain future in recent months after the majority of the boats competing in last year’s Route du Rum failed to make it through the transatlantic race’s stormy opening 48 hours.

Of the five maxi-trimarans taking part, only Francois Gabart on Macif and Francis Joyon on IDEC managed to make it all the way across. The battle between these two to be first to Guadeloupe was a compelling one which went down to the final hours of the crossing when Joyon edged ahead to take the line honours gun.

Two of the other three giant multihulls – Thomas Coville on Sodebo and Sebastien Josse on Edmond de Rothschild – suffered damage bad enough to force their retirement. Meanwhile Armel Le Cléac’h on Banque Populaire had to be rescued after his boat capsized and began to break up in strong winds and big seas.

Happily Le Cléac’h survived his ordeal largely unscathed but his boat was a total write off.

This and the clear vulnerability of all the Ultims in strong headwinds and big seas sent a shockwave through the class. Particularly with two new boats being built – Sodebo and Macif – it was time for a rethink and plans in 2019 for the Lorient – Bermuda – Lorient race and a singlehanded around the world race – the Brest Oceans Race – scheduled for the end of year, were quickly shelved.

The class received another blow to its confidence when the organisers of this year’s doublehanded Jacques Vabre transatlantic race withdrew an invitation for the Ultim 32/23 fleet to take part.

Now though the class appears to have turned a corner with Banque Populaire committing earlier this year to building a new Ultim for Le Cléac’h , and the Gitana Team behind the blue Edmond de Rothschild Ultim officially joining the class – although not with Josse as skipper after parting company with the French yachtsman earlier in 2019.

Meanwhile, although Francis Joyon’s gigantic red multihull IDEC is to all intents and purposes an Ultim, for his own reasons the veteran French skipper prefers to remain outside the class structure.

An announcement from the Ultim 32/23 Class this week in Paris laid out a five-year racing schedule including two solo round the world races, a round Europe race, and a marathon double-handed race taking in the North and South Atlantic.

Clearly piqued over its rejection from the Transat Jacques Vabre the Ultim 32/23 class has hit back with its own double-handed non-stop race – the Brest Atlantiques – scheduled to start a week after the TJV fleet departs from nearby Le Havre.

The race will be over a testing 14,000-mile course starting and finishing in Brest and taking the fleet around island turning marks off Rio de Janeiro and Cape Town. It’s a clever move that will fully challenge the fleet while keeping the crews within range of rescue if required.

The boats will carry on board reporters and the race rules will officially allow “pit stops”.

At this stage four boats are forecast to take part: Edmond de Rothschild, Macif, Sodebo and Actual Leader – the refitted record-breaking Sodebo, now skippered by Yves Le Blevec.

Earlier in 2019 the Ultim fleet is also cited to take part in the (for these boats) short hops of the Tour de Belle Ile, Armen Race, and Rolex Fastnet Race.

In 2020 the Ultims plan to take part in the singlehanded ‘The Transat’ race from Plymouth in the United Kingdom to New York – although according to French newsletter Tip and Shaft , this is yet to be confirmed by the organisers OC Sport Pen Duick.

2021 could see the Ultim fleet take part in a new Mediterranean event called The Arch – a round Europe race being planned by Damien Grimond the creator of The Bridge transatlantic race in 2017.

A fully-crewed around the world race starting from the Med – most likely Nice – is also on the cards for the end of 2021, by when the new Sodebo and Macif should be up and running to boost the fleet to six boats.

A gap in the calendar for the whole of 2022 will free up the teams to schedule in refits and/or record attempts ahead of the tantalising prospect of the solo, singlehanded around the world Brest Oceans Race in 2023. According to the Tip and Shaft report, a singlehanded transatlantic race earlier in the year is also a strong possibility.

Published on November 5th, 2019 | by Editor

Ultim 32/23 Class starts Atlantic loop

Published on November 5th, 2019 by Editor -->

Brest, France (November 5, 2019) – The four trimarans of the Ultim 32/23 Class set off today at more than 30 knots of speed, propelled by a north-westerly wind of about thirty knots and in a heavy sea with waves 4.5 metres high, to start the Brest Atlantiques race, an inaugural event taking the maxi multihulls on a 14,000 mile loop in the Atlantic Ocean.

Trimaran Macif (François Gabart / Gwénolé Gahinet) was the first to cross the line, and shifted slightly northwards ahead of the three other competitors: Actual Leader (Yves Le Blevec / Alex Pella), Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Franck Cammas / Charles Caudrelier), and Sodebo Ultim 3 (Thomas Coville / Jean-Luc Nélias), who were all at the southern end of the 2.5-mile line.

On the first day out at sea, the descent down into the Bay of Biscay was fast, with heavy waves which should gradually die down. They should cross Cape Finisterre, at the north-western tip of Spain, after about ten hours.

Said Gabart before the start, “We have to find the right pace from the start for the boat and for us. During the first few hours, we will always have one of us listening and not far from the helm to try to go fast without forcing the boat.”

The Class is for trimarans with a maximum length of 32 meters and a maximum width of 23 meters.

Event details – Race brochure – Tracker

The race sends these doublehanded speedsters on a course from Brest that will turn at Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) and Cape Town (South Africa) before returning to Brest.

The turning marks will see the boats leave to port the chain of Cagarras Islands, in front of the famous Ipanema beach in the Bay of Rio and Robben Island off the coast of Cape Town, where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years.

It is an unprecedented course, lined with several weather traps, especially along The Cape, a route almost never taken in offshore racing.

Each entry will be skippered by four fantastic pairs and accompanied by a media man who is not allowed to take an active role in the performance of the boat. The teams are:

• Actual leader: Yves Le Blévec/Alex Pella • Maxi Edmond de Rothschild: Franck Cammas/Charles Caudrelier • Trimaran Macif: François Gabart/Gwénolé Gahinet • Sodebo Ultim 3: Thomas Coville/Jean-Luc Nélias

Source: BREST ULTIM SAILING

Tags: Brest Atlantiques , Ultim Class

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