ULTIM's are go......

[dunedin]

Clearly they routed very close in to the coast after a period of very strong Northerly winds, but still looks amazingly small waves for Cape Horn after a period of very strong winds. I assumed there was always a big Westerly swell running past there due to the open Ocean all the round the same southern ocean.
Clearly the weather routers judged it to perfection.

 

[John_Silver]

I assumed there was always a big Westerly swell running past there due to the open Ocean all the round the same southern ocean.
Clearly the weather routers judged it to perfection.

I had the same mental image. More like the conditions which Pen Duick Vl experienced, rounding (half a day?) earlier. Amazing what can be achieved with a super quick boat and smart routing…..

EDIT: Pen Duick Vl rounded at 05.00 and Gitana at 17.00 UTC 6.2.24

 

[dunedin]

New underwear moment for the leading Ultim - “I was so very tired from the squalls, I scared myself a little by broaching up to 40 degrees of heel, something this has never happened in my entire history with this boat."
It takes a lot to “scare” these guys - but I guess with a boat that size, a 40 degree heel must have the windward hull a LONG way up in the air. Wonder where the point of no return is - can’t be much further.
Unfortunately second placed Banque Populaire has to make another pit stop, after breaking two out of three rudders.

 

[Chiara’s slave]

New underwear moment for the leading Ultim - “I was so very tired from the squalls, I scared myself a little by broaching up to 40 degrees of heel, something this has never happened in my entire history with this boat."
It takes a lot to “scare” these guys - but I guess with a boat that size, a 40 degree heel must have the windward hull a LONG way up in the air. Wonder where the point of no return is - can’t be much further.
Unfortunately second placed Banque Populaire has to make another pit stop, after breaking two out of three rudders.

40 degrees is very much touch and go for any tri, even a baby like a Diam. For any multi really, you have the weight of the rig and windage under the tramps to fight. The Gunboat that capsized in the RTI last year initially only went that far.

 

[dunedin]

Some very nasty weather in the North Atlantic at present, and heading for the Bay of Biscay (as well as Ireland and UK) - I wonder if Edmund du Rothschild is again slowing up to wait for the worst to pass Biscay (or by the looks of it, to try to squeeze in between two nasty systems)?

 

[John_Silver]

Apparently Gitana / Edmond de Rothschild has been nursing a broken front beam, since day four. Charles Caudrelier mentions it, in an interview with race control. Talking about his approach to Brest, across Biscay, he says:
"I want a great arrival, to share with my team. We are talking about 8m, 8.50m of sea with a wind forecast at 35-40 knots, which rather means 45 to 50 knots and 70 in squalls. On the fourth day of the race, in the first depression, I broke my front beam. First, I saw nothing, then I discovered a piece of carbon in the cockpit. I’ve put straps everywhere. You see what the sea can do to a boat like ours when it hits: there were 4 meters of sea and 40 knots of wind, for an hour. I don't really want to spend twelve hours in 8 meters of sea. On this round the world we have amply highlighted the work of the team. I’m not going to sacrifice all of that just because of impatience.”

 

[John_Silver]

We have our answer, to @dunedin ’s question. Charles Caudrelier has taken shelter in Horta. Waiting out the weather. And topping up food supplies, which he reported as running low, a few days back. Guessing that attending to the cracked beam will be beyond the scope of this pit stop. But maybe the splinting / strapping can be improved?

 

[dunedin]

Apparently Gitana / Edmond de Rothschild has been nursing a broken front beam, since day four. Charles Caudrelier mentions it, in an interview with race control. Talking about his approach to Brest, across Biscay, he says:
"I want a great arrival, to share with my team. We are talking about 8m, 8.50m of sea with a wind forecast at 35-40 knots, which rather means 45 to 50 knots and 70 in squalls. On the fourth day of the race, in the first depression, I broke my front beam. First, I saw nothing, then I discovered a piece of carbon in the cockpit. I’ve put straps everywhere. You see what the sea can do to a boat like ours when it hits: there were 4 meters of sea and 40 knots of wind, for an hour. I don't really want to spend twelve hours in 8 meters of sea. On this round the world we have amply highlighted the work of the team. I’m not going to sacrifice all of that just because of impatience.”

Going to stop in the Azores to let the first weather system pass - Arkéa Ultim Challenge - Brest day 46 morning update

Seamanlike decision - going into Biscay with forecast of 9-10m waves would be unsafe. Suspect many of the harbours will be closed. And how do you slow down a solo Ultim after crossing a finishing line close to a lee shore anyway.

Global Solo Challenge skipper also caught in this.

 

[dunedin]

Still waiting in the Azores - Arkéa Ultim Challenge - Brest day 47: Big bad Louis is holding up proceedings...

Whilst Cape Horn was difficult, going into the Bay of Biscay with a forecast of "9 - 13 metre high" waves, single handed on a huge multihull that would be very difficult to slow down would certainly be a very dangerous

 

[dunedin]

And the winner is …. Charles Caudrelier on Edmond de Rothschild - French skipper Charles Caudrelier wins the first Arkéa Ultim Challenge - Brest solo multihull race

Even after pausing to let the two very severe weather systems pass, amazing to average nearly 24 knots solo over 29k miles, managing a beast as huge as that. Who would have thought a few years ago that you could literally fly round the world, foiling through the southern ocean, solo. Incredible achievement.

PS. After many days having to “slow down” and dawdle at “just” 20 knots, sounds like the skipper got bored and decided to have a play on the final stretch to the finish line - “Caudrelier lit the afterburners and flew at nearly 40 knots for a sustained period in the early morning sun, as it to remind himself, and the 100 thousand or so race fans watching on line, of the sheer unbridled speed potential of the flying, foiling ULTIM”

 

[Chiara’s slave]

Absolutely. Sometimes it’s scary enough on a baby cruising tri in the Solent!

 

[Bobc]

Gitana finishing live (yesterday)

 

[dunedin]

Gitana finishing live (yesterday)

Incredible,how they can make something so huge fly on foils so close to the water in the huge waves of the southern ocean - and do this for 30,000 miles, day and night at 30+ knots, even with the skipper (occasionally) asleep.
A foiling Moth goes fairly fast, but generally much slower than this - and few could keep one sailing constantly in strong winds and waves without an occasional capsize.

 

[dunedin]

Ultims are …… finished! The 5th and final finisher now completed the solo round the world race, with just one retiral. What an amazing feat to guide these huge monsters safely round the world solo.
And whilst most neede to make a technical stop, these were largely due to foil impacts and amazingly two due to the sheer forced of water over the decks breaking off the safety pulpit at the bow - and not safe to continue without this.
But the basic boats have been incredibly reliable - no dismastings, no serious sail failures, no serious structural faults - and incredibly nocapsizes, in spite of hurtling across the Soutehrn Ocean at 30+ knots whilst the skipper tries to nap.

Many on this forum would think a lightweight carbon fibre construction wouldn’t survive leaving the dock. But actually had a much better survival rate than the fleets of slow long keeled GGR yachts.
And whilst the tri rounded the Horn at the same time as a large Swan, it was the Swan that suffered devastating structural hull damage.

 

[flaming]

Many on this forum would think a lightweight carbon fibre construction wouldn’t survive leaving the dock. But actually had a much better survival rate than the fleets of slow long keeled GGR yachts.
And whilst the tri rounded the Horn at the same time as a large Swan, it was the Swan that suffered devastating structural hull damage.

To be completely fair, slightly different budgets too....