sodebo maxi trimaran

Published on January 15th, 2024 | by Editor

Brazilian pit-stop in maxi trimaran race

Published on January 15th, 2024 by Editor -->

(January 15, 2024; Day 9) – While the leading duo of Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue) and Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild) are still less than 50 miles apart in the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE-Brest, making around 34-35.5 knots sailing SSE of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, the first pit-stop for the six-boat Ultim fleet has occurred.

In this solo, non-stop race around the world in the 32m Ultim Class, Armel Le Cléac’h (Maxi Banque Populaire XI) arrived today in the port of Recife in Recife just before 0740hrs UTC. A team from Banque Populaire was waiting for her so that they could begin repairs as soon as the boat was docked.

When his big gennaker came loose at the tack and tore off the pulpit during gales several nights earlier, his team was unanimous the skipper should not go into the ‘big south’ with no pulpit on the main hull.

He is expected to time his departure from the Brazilian port at the required 24 hours minimum stipulated by the rules for a skipper who accepts help for a pitstop.

“Continuing the race without the pulpit which keeps me safe during maneuvers would be impossible,” Le Cléac’h said. Maxi Banque Populaire XI also has an issue with the hydraulics on the starboard foil which would not go right down and the team was standing by to repair.

“We will be back to sea tomorrow morning,” reiterated the skipper. “So many things can still happen, the race is far from over.”

According to the SIs which stipulate the minimum of 24 hours, the Maxi Banque Populaire XI will not be able to leave before 07:38 a.m. UTC tomorrow morning.

For Laperche and Caudrelier, they are working their way around the Saint Helena High in the South Atlantic, and have yet to depart from the Brazilian coast line. However, they are both looking to have a good timing to hook into a depression, probably in two days, with the low promising downwind conditions with the winds averaging 25 to 35 knots which will take them to the tip of South Africa by December 19

More than 400 miles behind Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3) is now third. Having been racing side by side with Armel Le Cléac’h for a long time, Coville is now on his own as he transits the western side of the Saint Helena anticyclone. But what is concerning for the eight times round the world circumnavigator Coville is that he won’t make it on to the same depression as the first two.

Observes Race Director Guillaume Rottee, “The door will close, the anticyclone will expand again, which will not be easy.”

Anthony Marchand is the fifth skipper to pass the Equator. The skipper of Actual Ultim 3 crossed it at 1057hrs UTC after 7 days, 22 hours and 27 minutes at sea, or 1 day, 16 hours and 14 minutes after Tom Laperche. He had a more complicated battle with the doldrums where he had slightly less wind than expected.

“It was a little slower and harder than for the leaders who didn’t stop,” explains Rottee. “But from now on Marchand is heading towards the Brazilian coast. He probably won’t get past Recife before Armel comes back out but it’s always better for morale to have a boat close to you.”

In sixth, Éric Péron is more than 1,800 miles from the race lead after having to be patient to maneuver between the Cape Verde cetacean exclusion zone and a light wind area which had slowed his progress. But that is behind him and the skipper of ULTIM ADAGIO gybed onto starboard to head west and head down to the Doldrums.

Details: https://arkeaultimchallengebrest.com/en

The Ultim Class trimarans have a maximum length of 32 meters and a maximum width of 23 meters.

The solo speed record around the world was set in 2017 by François Gabart (FRA) on the 30m Macif trimaran in a time of 42d 14h 40m 15s for an average speed of 21.08 knots. This yacht has been rebranded and will be raced by Marchand.

Entrants: • Charles Caudrelier (FRA), Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (2017 Verdier 32/23) • Thomas Coville (FRA), Sodebo Ultim 3 (2019 VPLP/others 32/23) • Tom Laperche (FRA), Trimaran SVR-Lazartigue (2021 VPLP 32/23) • Armel Le Cléac’h (FRA), Maxi Banque Populaire XI (2021 VPLP 32/23) • Anthony Marchand (FRA), Actual Ultim 3 (2015 VPLP 30/22) • Éric Péron (FRA), Trimaran Adagio (2014 VPLP 31/21)* * Only entrant without foiling appendages

Five rules from the Sailing Instructions: • The start line is kept open for 168 hours and the finish line is closed after an elapsed time of 100 days after the start time, that is to say 16th April 2024.

• The skippers can communicate and exchange with their teams on shore, so they have the freedom to get weather information and be routed by their team on shore and get technical help and advice to help with technical problems.

• The solo skippers can stop but there are two distinct operations. A technical stop is unassisted and requires the sailor to drop anchor, take a mooring, or tie up alongside an anchored or moored boat with no external help. There is no time penalty for a technical stop. But for a technical stopover (escale technique) where one or more crew or technical team come on board to help, there is a mandatory 24 hours minimum. This does not apply to the start port of Brest where all means are authorized to reach or leave the port within a radius of 50 miles.

• For the first time in ocean racing, zones where there are known to be a high concentration of whales and sea mammals are determined. Establishing these zones should both protect the marine wildlife and reduce the chance of a collision. These zones are around the Azores, the Canaries, south of South Africa, the Kerguelens, and parts of the Antarctic.

• There are ice exclusion zones to protect the skippers and their boats.

Tags: ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE – Brest , Ultim Class

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Maxi trimaran : Thomas Coville's new Monster Tri

Andreas Fritsch

 ·  15.03.2019

The 32-metre tri is built for the Ultim Class, in which six to eight boats will ultimately sail a multihull edition of the Vendée Globe with the huge multihulls in 2020. Coville is one of the top favourites for this race, even though his opponent Francois Gabart snatched the record for the fastest single-handed circumnavigation in 2018 - Coville had set a record of 49 days, which Gabart improved to an incredible 42 days and 16 hours.

The video of the roll-out in Vannes at the Multiplast shipyard.

His "Sodebo Ultim 2", a Nigel Irens Cabaret design that was getting on in years, has now been replaced with a state-of-the-art version. It was built at the Multiplast shipyard in Vannes, with parts also supplied by the Italian luxury forge Persico.

This means there are three boats from the last generation: François Gabart's "Macif", the "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" from the Gitana team, which has just replaced Sébastien Josse as skipper, and Coville's "Sodebo Ultim 3". The fourth boat, Armel Le Cléac'h's "Banque Populaire", broke up in a storm during the 2018 Route du Rhum and was lost. However, work is already feverishly underway to build a new one.

The remaining three boats are all foilers created by the VPLP design studio in collaboration with the teams' designers. Coville is also utilising the expertise of America's Cup designer Martin Fisher for the foils and is aiming for a top speed of 45 to 50 knots. The Tri also has a completely different, innovative construction approach to its three competitors: The cockpit has moved far forwards, ducking directly behind the front beam. "We have concentrated the centre of gravity of the boat very centrally. This improves manoeuvrability enormously and the boat is more aero- and hydrodynamically efficient," says Thomas Coville. The movements should also be more comfortable for the skipper. Not entirely unimportant when the boats are travelling single-handed. Sébastian Jossse, until recently skipper of the Gitana team, had repeatedly made it clear how physically and mentally exhausting it is to sail such extreme boats alone at these speeds.

The design was based on the design of aircraft cockpits - perhaps not the worst thing for a flying boat, says Thomas Coville. The mast is actually positioned far aft, and the space behind it up to the central T-rudder is protected by aerodynamic panelling.

Coville will compete with the boat this autumn in the Transat Jacques Vabre, which he won in 2017. The organisers are hoping for six to eight starters for the ultimate regatta around the world in 2020. So far, it is clear that the four new builds want to take part in the race, but it is also possible that Francis Joyon will take part again with his old "Idec Sport" and Yves le Blevec with Thomas Coville's former "Sodebo", now "Actual Ultim".

Most read in category Yachts

Refit complete for maxi trimaran Sodeb’o

• October 7, 2008

Thomas Coville prepares 105ft trimaran for solo round the world record

On Monday 6 October Thomas Coville relaunched the 105 foot trimaran Sodeb’O after a three week refit at Lorient, France.

The team have been working on the optimisation of the trimaran for the solo round the world record – which Thomas will be attempting to beat this winter. “This work is an important stage as it’s the last opportunity to adapt the boat according to everything we’ve learnt during the past year spent sailing aboard Sodeb’O” explained the skipper.

“Besides the centreboard and sails, we’ve optimised the balance of the helm, which is an essential point for the solo sailor, as is the constant work on the automatic pilots. My living space has been adapted to make it even more functional, and a window has been cut into of the cockpit hood so as to enable me to keep an eye on the sails whilst staying protected”.

Thomas knows that his boat is fast and totally suited to being sailed single-handed. In a little over a year, it has already covered the equivalent of one and a half circumnavigations of the globe, and set a new 24 hour speed record. The boat also holds the North Atlantic record.

This week Thomas will perform sea trials to test the latest modifications and from 15 October, he will be on standby in La Trinite sur Mer, south-west Brittany, to await favourable weather conditions to set off around the world.

For more information, visit www.sodebo-voile.com  .