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

The new ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE - Brest race musters six 32m (105ft) ULTIM design trimarans which are set to be raced singlehanded round the globe by six of France's top ocean racers. The modern cutting edge, giant ULTIMs fly on foils at sustained speeds in excess of 40kts making them capable of making 700-800 mile days. If all the normal seasonal weather systems around the course are in place as usual, the winner is predicted to complete the course in around 43 to 45 days.

Crewed or singlehanded the 32m x23m ULTIM trimarans have evolved as the weapon of choice for sailors challenging for the out-and-out round the world record. The best solo time was set in 2017 by François Gabart at 42 days 16 hours 40 minutes and the crewed mark (for the Trophée Jules Verne) is 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes established by Francis Joyon and a crew of five on IDEC finishing in January 2017.

Until now the ULTIMs have only sailed round the world against the clock, always waiting for the best possible weather window to start. But this new race reflects the high level of interest from the assembled teams and has attracted a committed sponsor in Brittany-based banking brand Arkéa and a passionate organisation in OC-Pen Duick which owns and manages the Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe, the CIC Transatlantic race and La Solitaire du Figaro.

Last year's Route du Rhum Destination Guadeloupe and this autumn's double handed Transat Jacques Vabre Normandie Le Havre transatlantic races have together proven a heightened level of reliability among the ULTIMs which historically have suffered a high rate of damage and technical failures when challenging round the world records or transoceanic races or records. The outrigger floats and the appendages – rudders, centreboards and foils – are prone to damage from floating objects and the highly stressed cross beams are under huge loads.

But the most recent Transat Jacques Vabre which finished in Martinique in mid November in Martinique saw all five ULTIMs finish, some with performance affecting damage. But it also proved that three of the most recent, best optimised boats Banque Populaire XI (Armel Le Cléac'h), SVR Lazartigue (Tom Laperche) and Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Charles Caudrelier) are now quite evenly matched in terms of performance.

Around the race dock in Brest this week, where huge crowds have gathered over the festive holiday period to marvel at the assembled fleet, the big question remains how many skippers and their boats will make it to the finish line, expected to be around 17-20th February. Among the weather experts who have advised on many of the round the world records the consensus holds that if a boat finishes the race they will have a good chance of finishing on the podium.

Outside routing and pitstops permitted
Although the lone skippers have to sail and manage their giant boats entirely solo, each has a team of shore based weather routers who provide 24/7 real time information on the optimum course to race as well as technical experts on call day and night to immediately offer solutions to any problems.
Unlike the Vendée Globe solo round the world race in IMOCA monhulls, the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE-Brest racers are allowed to make a pitstop but if they receive assistance the mimumum period for any stop is 24 hours – deemed to be punitive for multihulls making in excess of 650 or 700 miles on a typical day.

While five of the six ULTIMs have been at the pontoon in Brest for the last, the SVR Lazartigue team have been working around the clock to make repairs to the front crossbeam of their boat after damage was discovered on its return from the Transat Jacques Vabre. The boat has been relaunched and is due in Brest on Saturday.

Who's who?
Anthony Marchand (Actual Ultim 3) is a relative newcomer to the ULTIM class and solo ocean racing although has a long and distinguished history offshore one design solo racing on La Solitaire de Figaro. The 38 year old took over the helm of Actual Ultim 3 in the winter of 2022 and has worked hard to build miles with the VPLP design which actually holds the course record, set in 2017 in the hands of Francois Gabart. The boat has been updated with new foils, rudders and daggerboard and is smallest and lighter than the most recent boats.

Armel Le Cléac'h (Maxi Banque Populaire XI) has just won the double handed Transat Jacques Vabre race from Le Havre to Martinique racing with Seb Josse. Le Cléac'h has a long but chequered history racing multihulls and the TJV was 46 year old Le Cléac'h's first multihull win. Having raced the Vendée Globe three times, winning in 2016 and finishing second in 2012 and 2008, the Southern Ocean is well known to Le Cleac'h who is an extremely focused perfectionist who has also now won La Solitaire du Figaro three times. Recent modifications showed his 2021 launched VPLP designed Banque Populaire to have a speed edge downwind in certain conditions.

Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) has twice won the fully crewed race round the world The Ocean Race, once as skipper and until this season was unbeaten with Maxi Edmond de Rothschild winning the 2022 Route du Rum as well the 2021 Transat Jacques Vabre. The Gitana team's ULTIM was designed by Guillaume Verdier and as the heaviest and most powerful allrounder in the fleet is especially quick flying upwind and good in strong winds.  

Éric Péron (Adagio) is the last to qualify and enter for the race and sails the oldest boat in the event which was previously the 2015 launched Sodebo. Adagio is a non foiling ULTIM and Péron, 42, who has widespread experience in many different offshore and inshore classes – including race legs of the The Ocean Race and La Soltaire du Figaro is out to learn his personal limits. His objective is to finish and if he does there is a good chance of a podium finish.

Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) has eight circumnavigations under his belt, five in multihulls. The 55 year old is the most experienced solo in big multihulls sailing round the world and after five attempts he set the solo multihull record at 49 days in 2016 finishing into Brest on Christmas Day. His Sodebo Ultim 3 was launched in March 2019 after the different key components of his boat were designed by different experts in their field. It was substantially updated for this season but has yet to reach the performance levels of the top three ULTIMs but Coville's mental tenacity and experience could prove key.

Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue) at 26 is the youngest skipper in the fleet and has been mentored and trained by Vendée Globe winner and solo round the world record holder François Gabart. He has many the same traits and skills as Gabart who won the Vendée Globe as the youngest skipper ever at 29 in 2013. Like Gabart Laperche is a talented engineer who is quick learner with a capacity to push hard. He won La Solitaire du Figaro in 2022 and has sailed as co-skipper with Gabart on SVR Lazartigue since the boat was launched. The VPLP design showed good speeds in the Transat Jacques Vabre although is said to be less easy to sail than Banque Populaire XI which comes from the same design house where both ULTIMs were designed by different teams within the same studio. Banque Populaire XI is a development of her predecessor Banque Populaire IX which capsized and was lost on the 2018 Route du Rhum when Le Cléac'h  was rescued by helicopter, whilst SVR Lazartigue started with a blank sheet of paper. It features the central cockpit integrated low into the central hull which allows a lower centre of gravity, improved aerodynamics and the mainsail to skim the deck creating an 'end plate effect.