A promising time to the equator
Yesterday at 20:14 UTC, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild crossed the equator after 6 days 7 hours 42 minutes 11 seconds. This is clearly no record time, the latter still held by Thomas Coville since his victorious ‘Trophée St Exupéry’ in 2016 (round the world record under sail, editor’s note), which saw him cover the distance from Ushant to 0 degrees latitude in 5 days 17 hours and 11 minutes. However, it’s important to remember that not only did the solo sailors in the Arkea Ultim Challenge not choose their departure weather window, but the atypical weather scenario for the North Atlantic has also been far from favourable for setting a record time. That said, this combination of factors does provide a good indication of the high pace and commitment of Charles Caudrelier and the five other sailors in this ULTIM round the world race.
Since yesterday’s express negotiation of the doldrums and the symbolic passage across the equator in the evening, Tom Laperche has managed to drive his 32-metre giant to perfection and gain a slight advantage. Indeed, the medium airs which punctuated yesterday suited his platform to a T. At the 16:00 UTC ranking this Sunday, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild was some 56.5 miles astern of SVR – Lazartigue. Conceding miles goes against the grain for someone competitive like Charles Caudrelier but his deficit is very minor given the scale of their planetary challenge.
Charles Caudrelier, 14 January 2024
“That’s it, we’re through the doldrums. We could have done a little better but we haven’t faired too badly! Bravo to Tom, who’s sailed a remarkable race. We made a few mistakes yesterday and he’s capitalised on that. He’s sailed the perfect race so far. It’s still satisfying to have got through the doldrums having broken right away from our other serious rivals though. My hopes now are that we’ll be able to latch onto a sequence of weather systems that the others won’t hook onto, so we can get some important separation in a few days’ time. Overall, I’m pleased with how the first week has gone. I’ve had a few repairs to make, but they’re only details. For example, I had to do a bit of work on the cuddy, which was damaged, but nothing special. All in all, the situation is very positive as we arrive in the South Atlantic with a boat in tip-top condition after what was a fairly powerful depression. I feel well in myself too. I feel very good at sea. I’m into the swing of things. I’m sailing my own race and the South Atlantic is opening up in front of us!”
Ranking at the 16:00 UTC position report
1) SVR Lazartigue – Tom Laperche
2) Maxi Edmond de Rothschild – Charles Caudrelier – 56.5 miles behind the leader
3) Sodebo Ultim 3 – Thomas Coville – 417.3 miles behind the leader
4) Maxi Banque Populaire XI – Armel Le Cléac’h – 463.7 behind the leader
5) Actual Ultim 3 – Anthony Marchand – 879.3 behind the leader
6) Ultim Adagio – Eric Peron – 1,576.0 behind the leader