Stop or go in Brest Atlantiques

(November 21, 2019; Day 17) – It has been a very exciting 24 hours on the 14,000nm Brest Atlantiques with all four 32m trimarans either rounding the final course mark or making a pitstop at Cape Town. Leader Maxi Edmond de Rothschild got the ball rolling, making the rounding at Robben Island yesterday evening at 19:16.

Next was MACIF this morning which made a brief pitstop before setting sail again, hot on the heels of Actual Leader. Last but not least, Sodebo Ultim 3 has been docked at Cape Town since 10am, assessing the damage to their three rudders along with the missing rear section of their starboard float.

After 15 days, 9 hours and 16 minutes at sea, having covered a distance of 9161 miles at an average speed of 24.8 knots, Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Franck Cammas/Charles Caudrelier) was the first of the Ultim 32/23 trimarans to round the Robben Island course mark, at 19:16 yesterday evening.

So, it was smooth sailing into the night for Cammas and Caudrelier, who were nevertheless able to enjoy the sunset on Table Mountain. “We went from 30 knots of wind to zero in less than a minute, and we wondered how long this would last,” said Cammas. “The wind then came back from the opposite direction and we were able to get moving again. Now our eyes are set on Brest.”

A little less than eight hours later, MACIF arrived in Cape Town today at 2:55am for a pitstop, which lasted 6 hours and 25 minutes. Returning to the race at 10:20 am, François Gabart and Gwénolé Gahinet rounded Robben Island 24 minutes later in third place, after Maxi Edmond de Rothschild in first, and Actual Leader (Yves Le Blévec/Alex Pella) in second, which is their best ranking since the start of the race.

“We had a few problems that made it difficult to manoeuvre the boat, so we made the most of being near the coast to make a short pitstop” explained Gabart. “We arrived just as day was breaking in Cape Town. We didn’t have much time to appreciate the beauty around us, we just wanted to set sail again as soon as possible. The good news is that the boat is fully repaired.”

Thomas Coville and Jean-Luc Nélias on Sodebo Ultim 3 also made a pitstop just as MACIF was setting off again. Said Coville, “We are still yet to confirm whether the boat will be in full race mode. We’ll know more tonight.”

Event details – Race brochure – Tracker – YouTube

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

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