2024-01-09 05:06:17
After 24 hours at sea, the six sailors entered in the Ultim Challenge, the first solo round-the-world race between trimarans, continued to head south at full speed on Monday, despite irregular wind conditions and heavy maritime traffic. At 1 p.m. (12 p.m. GMT), Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild), Tom Laperche (SVR Lazartigue), Thomas Coville (Sodebo), Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire), Anthony Marchand (Actual) and Éric Péron (Adagio) had already put Cape Finisterre, in the northwest of Spain, behind them.
“They went very quickly last night with favorable wind strength and angle. We recorded peaks of 45 knots (83 km/h)” underlined Guillaume Rottée, the race director. With all sails set, the six men decided to put their foot on the accelerator from the start of Brest, despite the dangers between Ushant and Spain and the journey of around 40 days which still lies ahead of them. “There is super irregular wind, which is quite rare. Suddenly we are at 40 knots, suddenly we are at 15 knots. And what’s more, we slalom between the cargo ships! It’s not super easy but I managed to take a few naps,” said Tom Laperche who, at 26, is attempting his first solo trip around the world.
Computer problems for Éric Péron
At the front of the fleet, no Ultim had managed to escape alone in the lead at midday. The navigator Charles Caudrelier was only a few nautical miles ahead of Banque Populaire and Sodebo. Distanced more than 100 nautical miles (185 km) from the race lead, Éric Péron on the Ultim Adagio reported “small computer problems” during the morning session on Monday. “It was quite stressful to cross this area with cargo ships without really seeing them. I didn’t sleep very well, but I made up for it this morning so I lost a little ground,” he explained. At the end of the day, the wind was expected to strengthen with gusts to 35 knots (64 km/h) off the coast of Portugal.
#Sailing #maxitrimarans #Arkéa #Ultim #challenge #turbocharged