Ultim 32/23 Class starts Atlantic loop

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