trimaran sodebo 73

• www.sodebo.com

Direction d'où provient le vent par rapport à un bateau à voile, ex : Près, travers, reaching, vent arrière...

Désigne le côté gauche d'un bateau lorsque l'on regarde vers l'avant de celui-ci

Elément de gréement long accroché perpendiculairement au mât et sur lequel sont fixés la base de la grande voile, les écoutes...

Désigne deux pièces transversales rattachées à la coque centrale qui soutiennent les flotteurs latéraux du trimaran. Pièces légères mais robustes car sont soumises à de fortes pressions, notamment lorsque les flotteurs sont secoués par les vagues.

Zone du bateau dédiée à la navigation où se trouve la barre (direction), les postes de réglages de voiles...

Structure qui supporte le cockpit*, le mât et les voiles hissées ainsi que les bras de liaison qui eux-mêmes portent les flotteurs latéraux. Abrite aussi la cellule la vie où notre skipper dort, mange et travaille sa stratégie en contact avec la terre via ordinateurs. Par sa position structurelle et sa taille imposante, une des pièces les plus longues à réaliser.

Pose de couches successives de matière (type fibres en rouleaux...) pour épouser la forme d'un moule

Enfoncer l'avant du bateau sous l'eau dans un mouvement de plongeon

Câble qui maintient le mât par l'avant

Partie avant du bateau

Désigne les deux pièces latérales qui assurent la stabilité du bateau et sur lesquels sont fixés des safrans*, les foils et les éléments qui portent le gréement (mât)... .

Unité de mesure de vitesse utilisée en navigation maritime. 1 nœud (ou nd) = 1,852 km/heure

Objet flottant non identifié

Surface parallèle à l'eau qui réduit la portance généralement imposé à la coque / aux flotteurs

Rail fixé sur le bateau et dans lequel coulisse le point d'accroche de la grand-voile qui permet de régler son ouverture en fonction de la provenance du vent

Réduction de la surface d’une voile grâce à des points d'accroche à différentes hauteurs qui permettent de la replier sur elle-même. S'utilise notamment lorsque les conditions de vent forcisse, pour garder la maîtrise de la vitesse du bateau.

Partie immergée pivotante qui permet de changer la direction du bateau en déviant les flux d'eau sous la coque

Titre d'une chanson de Céline Dion et Garou :-)... Dans le champs lexical maritime, s'utilise pour situer un objet qui se trouve du côté opposé à celui d'où souffle le vent par rapport à un autre référentiel. Par exemple, si le vent arrive sur tribord, on dit que le flotteur tribord est « au vent » et le flotteur bâbord « sous le vent » par rapport à la coque centrale du bateau.

Hauteur de la partie immergée du bateau qui varie en fonction de la charge transportée

Hauteur de la partie émergée allant de la flottaison jusqu'au point le plus élevé du bateau

Désigne le côté droit d'un bateau lorsque l'on regarde vers l'avant de celui-ci

Bateau à trois coques

Collectif définissant les règles de jauge des trimarans « Ultim », notamment la longueur (comprise entre 24 et 32 mètres) et la largeur (maximum de 23 mètres)

Vague formée à l'avant du bateau lorsque celui fend l'eau en avançant

Entreprise spécialisées dans la fabrication de voiles

Type de treuil permettant de contrôler la traction des cordages du bateau

Zone d'efforts subits par une structure entre des pièces rattachées en différents points et suite aux chocs reçus par ces pièces

• A-z lexique

S odebo Ultim 3

Bienvenue dans les coulisses du team Sodebo et de son trimaran géant! Partagez avec nous cette aventure humaine et technologique hors norme

La coque centrale

"La silhouette de Sodebo Ultim 3 est unique. Le skipper est vraiment au centre du bateau"

Les bras de liaison

"Avec la cellule de vie située sur l'avant du bateau, nous avons fait le choix d'une structure en H. Découvrez de quoi il s'agit"

Les flotteurs

"A la construction,nous avons utilisé les moules d'un Ultim déjà existant, mais les avons fait évoluer au fil des chantiers, et notamment raccourcis pour installer des safrans rétractables"

Les appendices

"Les appendices sont des pièces en constante évolution car ils peuvent vraiment faire la différence en terme de performance, ils peuvent toujours être optimisés"

Le mât & les voiles

"Les voiles sont le moteur du bateau : parce qu'elles doivent être adaptées à toutes les conditions de vent, nous en avons fait fabriquer cinq, de 92 à 420m2"

Longueur de la coque centrale

Depuis le 07 janvier Débâchage de la Coque Centrale Peintures faites Anti dérapant fait Panneau éléctronique mis en place Début de la pose des plexis

Depuis le 28 janvier Fermeture trappe pont de la coque centrale cette semaine Première presentation de la bâche aéro Montage définitif des winches, accastillage, hydraulique

Depuis le 20 février Retouches peinture terminées Montage accastillage plage avant (amures) Stickage en cours Antifooling réalisé

Superficie de la cellule de vie

Depuis le 07 janvier Peintures faites Anti dérapant fait Début montage accastillage

Depuis le 28 janvier Pose des hublots Réception des plans d'amménagement intérieur

Depuis le 20 février Retouches peinture terminées Montage des bailles à boots en cours Aménagement intérieur en cours Accastillage et hydrauloque en cours de finalisation

Largeur du bateau

Depuis le 07 janvier Support éolienne en cours Supports de feux en cours

Depuis le 28 janvier Support éolienne à poste Démontage du rail de traveler pour finition stickage

Depuis le 20 février Support de jon buoy en cours Supports de feux posés Montage final accastillage traveler en cours Montage définitif du système de barre

Depuis le 07 janvier Début renforcement

Depuis le 28 janvier Strat de fermeture des renfort Début des retouches peintures

Depuis le 20 février Jauge fibre optique posée Retouche peinture en cours Montage bâche aéro inférieure en cours

de hauteur totale

Depuis le 28 janvier Contrôle ultra son état 0 fait Présentation à blanc de la belt sur le foil OK

Depuis le 20 février Les deux foils sont en place dans leurs flotteurs respectifs Reste à poser les butées hautes et basses

Hauteur du mât

Depuis le 28 janvier Mât entré dans le hangar Réalisation des supports composite

Depuis le 20 février Fin du câblage éléc et électronique Montage du gréement courant Montage des supports aériens

en position haute

Depuis le 28 janvier Montage des boîtiers de lattes Mise en place des lattes

Voile la plus grande

Depuis le 28 janvier J2 terminé J1 en cours de déco J0 terminé

Winner of the Transat Jacques-Vabre 2017

2017: Winner of the Transat Jacques-Vabre in 7 days, 22h 7 min 27 s, double-handed with Jean-Luc Nélias on Maxi Trimaran Sodebo Ultim'.

2017: Record single-handed North Atlantic crossing in a multihull in 4 days 11h 10 min 23 s

2016: Record distance covered in 24 hours: 714 miles

2016: Single and multihull round-the-world sailing record in 49 days 3 hrs 7 min

2016: 2nd in The Transat (Plymouth/New York)

2015: 2nd in the Transat Jacques-Vabre double-handed with Jean-Luc Nélias on Maxi Trimaran Sodebo Ultim'.

Thomas Coville

Testimonial.

2023 Winner of the Rolex Fastnet

Equipped with

For the pilot aboard Initiatives-Cœur, I worked with Madintec on a mode that allows the boat to maintain an apparent wind angle at a speed I'd never have dared imagine if I were at the helm.

Victory on the first leg of the Mini Transat 2023

2023: Second overall in The Ocean Race

2022: 6th in the Route du Rhum

2023: Winner of the 40 Malouine LAMOTTE

Rolex Fastnet 2023 victory

2023 4th place on the first leg of the mini transat 2023

2022 3rd place in the Mini Barcelona

2022 1st of the Drheam Cup 2021 RORC Transatlantic Race

Mini Transat victory stage 1 - 2023

2nd Route Du Rhum 2022

2021: 3rd in the Transat Jacques Vabre

2021: 9th in the Transat Jacques Vabre

2021: 7th Transat Jacques Vabre

2021 : Winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre

2021 : Winner Normandy Challenge Race

(...) we will never again hold the helm and will break the 24-hour record, under auto pilot!

Winner of the Transat Jacques Vabre 2019

2021: 4th in the Transat Jacques Vabre

2020-2021: 16th in the Vendée Globe in monohulls (60 feet, IMOCA class) mixed

2022: 9th in the Route du Rhum

2018: 10th in the Transat AG2R in mixed monohulls

Victory Transat CIC 2024

Vendée Globe 2020 2021 victory

In AWA mode, you get easily scared. We wouldn't dare attack like that at the helm. It's evil!

2017: 2nd in The Transat Bakerly

2023: 7th in the Guyader Bermuda 1000 race

2022: 1st in the IMOCA championship

2015: 7th in the Transat Jacques Vabre

Victory in the Route du Rhum 2022

2019: 1st in the Transat Jacques Vabre double-handed with Antoine Carpentier

2022: First Pro Sailing Tour

An incredible level of autopilot!

2021: 2nd in the Rolex Fastnet Race on Actual Ultim' 3

Single-handed round-the-world record in 2017

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Lauching of Thomas Coville's Sodebo Ultim' trimaran

______________________________________________________________________ At the beginning of 2013, Géronimo , Olivier de Kersauson's old boat, which won the Trophée Jules Verne in 2004, entered a phase of modification in the Multiplast yard located in Vannes (Brittany).

After several months of intense work, the new Sodebo Ultim' has been launched this monday, the 19 th of May in front of the Multiplast boat yard.

Metamorphosis of a giant

In the Multiplast workshops, Géronimo has been turned into an  optimized trimaran able to be sailed singlehanded. First, the weight of the boat was reduced, then a 102 feet central hull was built and a new 115 feet mast was fitted. Furthermore, the beams had to be reinforced  to support the extra load coming from the new foils in the floats.

These floats were refitted with a new bow section in order to optimize the hydrodynamic characteristics. Finally, the entire steering system was reconfigured to accomodate three new rudders. One of the originality of this project is the way the work was shared between the different players. Indeed, Multiplast took care of the main hull and the floats while Thomas Coville's Team worked on the beams, appendixes and all the deck hardware and the rigging.

A constructive meeting

It was therefore essential that both teams could work in synergy to complete successfully this unusual project. For each one the experience has been more than positive.

For Thomas Coville , Sodebo's skipper, the relationship with the yard was key to succeed in such a refit. " Some meetings have allowed this extraordinary project to emerge. Multiplast was certainly one of the main player in these meetings and  it has been very constructive ."

For Dominique Dubois , CEO of  Multiplast,  the human assets and the technical challenge of the project were key points in the operation." It's the second time, that the Multiplast yard undertakes this type of refit : to give a second life to an old racing boat; it's a complex operation where each decision, to either keep or  replace an existing piece, is the object of both financial and technical discussions and choices. The daily exchanges between the Sodebo team and the Multiplast yard were rich, fuitful and always cordial. Unlike a boat building contract for a new boat, a refit of such a scale requires real team integration, transparent communication and mutual trust. It's undeniably a beautiful adventure that we've lived together." 

On the starting line

With its 7136 sq ft of sails (maximum downwind sail area), Thomas Coville with Sodebo Ultim'  will cross the starting line for the next Route du Rhum which will  take place in  St-Malo on the  2nd of  November.

Sodedo Ultim' in numbers

Length : 102 ft Width : 70 ft Mast height : 115 ft Mast chord : 4 ft Air draft : 121 ft Main sail area : 3046 sq ft Upwind maximum sail area : 4779 sq ft

For more information :

Contacts : 

Yann Penfornis : + 33 2 97 40 98 44

Internet : Multiplast Groupe Carboman  Team Sodebo

MULTIPLAST S.A.S

Parc du Golfe        24 Allée Loïc Caradec        56000 VANNES        France

Tél. +33 (0)2 97 40 98 44

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VIDEO: Tour the Ultime Sodebo

Published on November 1st, 2019 by Editor -->

Onboard tour of Thomas Coville’s giant Ultime trimaran, Sodebo, which measures 104 feet long by 75 feet wide. Video published Nov 1, 2019.

Tags: Sodebo , Thomas Coville , Ultim Class

Related Posts

First to foil Giant multihull around world →

Ultim Challenge done with final finish →

Coville finishes second in Arkea Ultim Challenge →

Caudrelier wins Arkea Ultim Challenge →

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VIDEO: The launch of Thomas Coville’s radical new foiling maxi-tri Sodebo 3

Sea-trials commence imminently for Thomas Coville’s new ‘Ultime’ trimaran Sodebo 3. Meanwhile we thought you’d enjoy seeing the boat take to the water for the first time…

Article below posted 3 March 2019

Leading (and steering) from the front. Is Sodebo 3 the boat to retake the multihull single-hander record for Thomas Coville?

“This boat is crazy, it’s going to be like nothing you’ve ever seen before,” says Thomas Coville when we catch up with him at Helly Hansen HQ in Oslo a few days before the grand unveiling of his new 32m Ultim foiling trimaran. “To be honest, it frightens me a little bit, because I don’t even know how I’m going to be able to steer it or trim the sails.”

Hang on… that’s one of the world’s most experienced round-the-world yachtsmen talking. One of only five people in the world to single-hand a multihull around the globe – his 49 days 3hr circumnavigation on the 4 th attempt smashing the earlier record to pieces – and even he’s alarmed about what this latest €10m investment from long-term backer Sodebo has the potential to deliver.

Now we can show you why, because today – Saturday 2 March – Thomas has thrown open the doors to the yard in Morbihan, France, that’s built his new deep ocean weapon. Until now under a veil of extreme secrecy.

The boat many thought was going to be a sister-vessel to Banque Populaire is nothing of the sort. Far from a carbon-fibre copy of a racing yacht that came unstuck in such spectacular fashion in November when crashing water smashed off one of its sponsons, the new Sodebo 3 is more radical than anyone outside the team would have dared to presume. From the computer simulations at least, say Coville and the team that designed it, this boat has all the makings of a game-changer.

The triple hulls came from the same moulds as Banque Populaire, but that’s where the similarities begin and end. And here’s the thing we can’t hold out from mentioning any longer – the cockpit and cabin are at the ‘wrong’ end of the boat, which means Coville will be helming and trimming the mainsail from a position in front of the mast.

Sportscar enthusiasts familiar with the Porsche 911 will know that moving key components to the other end of a vehicle can produce startling – and winning – results, and in fact Sodebo 3’s unusual configuration stems in part from the fact its 12-strong design team had an automotive engineer on board who was familiar with Porsche’s race-winning Le Mans strategy. It also brought in expertise from the aviation world, as well as bringing together rival designers from the Oracle and Luna Rossa America’s Cup camps. (To begin with the latter ‘looked at each other like dogs and cats’, Thomas reveals with a grin.)

It’s a far cry from the traditional method of building a racing yacht, which generally starts with a commission from a single naval architect who will oversee the whole concept. And Thomas is reassuringly open about why the new boat happened this way: “It was Sodebo who said to me, look, we will do what you want, but it has to be done differently, because it’s no longer possible for one person to have all the knowledge we need for a project this complicated.”

So that was it, a team of 12 was convened, and a concept was dreamed up that redraws traditional thinking about how such vessels should be configured.

“They started by taking off the roof off the cabin so it was like an open boat,” says Thomas, describing the team’s first stab at getting the boom down to deck level, and thus eliminating the turbulence-inducing gap between sail and yacht that reduces efficiency by as much as 25 per cent. “Later we had a meeting when one of the engineers asked if I’d be OK with living and steering in front of the mast,” Thomas recalls. “Sodebo were there too, and they said immediately ‘yes, we want to do that, we don’t want to build an ordinary boat…  so that was it.”

Sodebo 3 will take to the water for the first time in a couple of weeks, at which point Coville and his team will begin to find out whether the computer analysis translates into real world performance.

Increasing sail efficiency by 25 per cent has meant the mast height has been reduced by 3m improving stability, and the yacht’s radical design is said also to allow the boat to use smaller rudders – creating less drag.

The result is more speed. Enough speed, says Thomas, to keep the boat ahead of weather systems, and eliminating the traditional need to wait for a succession of depressions to catch the boat up. Sodebo 3 will be faster than the wind between low pressure zones, and for the first time we can choose the weather system we want to sail in, he reckons.

With sea trials commencing on March 14 th , the boat has a packed schedule ahead of it. Over the next four years there are three circumnavigations and 14 transatlantic races and record attempts planned – not to mention the Fastnet Race for which the boat is entered this August.

Will this be the boat to take Coville around the world in less than 40 days, and reclaim the multi-hull single-hander record in the process? This boat is the first of a new generation that makes that time-frame possible, he says, and has confirmed that will be the goal for both crewed and single-handed attempts.

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SODEBO ULTIM 3

SODEBO ULTIM 3 is a 32.0 m Sail Yacht, built in France by Multiplast and delivered in 2019.

Her power comes from a diesel engine. She has a 23.0 m beam.

SODEBO ULTIM 3 is one of 390 sailing yachts in the 30-35m size range.

SODEBO ULTIM 3 is currently sailing under the France flag (along with a total of other 112 yachts). She is known to be an active superyacht and has most recently been spotted cruising near France. For more information regarding SODEBO ULTIM 3's movements, find out more about BOATPro AIS .

Specifications

• Name: SODEBO ULTIM 3
• Yacht Type: Sail Yacht
• Yacht Subtype: Multihull , Racing Yacht
• Builder: Multiplast

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The newest maxi trimaran Sodebo Ultim 3

Discussion in ' Boat Design ' started by Ilan Voyager , Mar 25, 2019 .

Ilan Voyager Senior Member

The last maxi in date, has been launched march 2019. The videos allow to have a look on the lines. Very interesting... Magnificent building in carbon fiber by Multiplast, a shipyard used also to build for the aerospace industry. Designed by a team including the NA VPLP and a big troop of specialists. 400 providers. 50,000 hours of design and engineering, and 110,000 hours of work in the shipyard during 18 months Foiler 32 meters long, 23 meters wide. Mast 34 meters. Mainsail 277 m2, total sail downwind 700 m2. The beast is surely not cheap but that smells the very fast animal... Sodebo Ultim 3, le maxi-trimaran ultra novateur de Thomas Coville se dévoile enfin ! https://www.bateaux.com/article/30391/sodebo-ultim-3-maxi-trimaran-ultra-novateur-se-devoile  

Doug Lord Flight Ready

More here including the first photo with the main up: Sodebo Ultim 3 Foiling Trimaran https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/sodebo-ultim-3-foiling-trimaran.61627/  

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Yachting World

• Digital Edition

Six solo skippers ready to race 100ft foiling multihulls around the world

• January 4, 2024

Is this the most audacious race ever? Six skippers are getting ready to race 100ft foiling maxi trimarans solo around the world – James Boyd looks forward to the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest

There are very few ‘firsts’ left in the world of sailing, but one such remaining barrier could be smashed when the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest sets off from north-west France on 7 January 2024.

Since the Sunday Times Golden Globe in 1968/69 – the ‘impossible feat’ – there have been all manner of non-stop laps of the planet, from fully crewed Jules Verne Trophy and solo records, to races such as the single-handed Vendée Globe , and The Race in 2000 for fully crewed maxi-multihulls. This January sees a new pinnacle-of-pinnacles event: the first solo, non-stop, round the world race in Ultim trimarans. Six brave French skippers on their 100ft multihulls are entered.

The advancement in human endeavour and technology in this cutting edge area of sailing has been extraordinary. Thirty years ago we were in Brest for the first tentative Jules Verne Trophy attempts. Back then no one knew if sailing around the world in under 80 days was even possible: three boats set off and only one made it – Bruno Peyron’s maxi-catamaran Commodore Explorer in 79 days 6 hours.

Since then the record has been reduced by titans such as Peter Blake/Robin Knox-Johnston, Olivier de Kersauson, Loïck Peyron, Franck Cammas and, ultimately, Francis Joyon . In a quarter of a century, the record has halved with Joyon’s 105ft IDEC Sport setting the present benchmark of 40d 23h 30m 30s (at 26.85 knots average) five years ago.

You might assume that a solo around the world would be much slower, but Joyon destroyed this notion. In 2004, when the Jules Verne Trophy record was 63 days, he completed a lap in just under 73 days alone on his 90ft trimaran IDEC (also the first successful solo non-stop circumnavigation by a trimaran). The following year the UK ground to a halt for an afternoon, television dominated by live coverage of Ellen MacArthur’s arrival into Falmouth after she’d taken more than a day off Joyon’s time.

Gabart on his previous Macif Ultime. Photo: Rolex/Carlo Borlenghi

Thomas Coville took the time below 50 days in 2016 with 49d 3h, broken the following year by François Gabart ’s 100ft Macif , establishing the present solo non-stop record: 42d 16h 40m 3s (just 4% slower than Joyon’s fully crewed).

While these times are impressive, they are records set in optimum, carefully selected conditions (for the first two weeks at least), whereas the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest is a race. The solo sailors will have onshore routers, but their departure day is set, and pace likely dictated by their opponents. It’s a very different test of man and machine.

“It is something new,” says Gitana’s Charles Caudrelier . “The first time racing around the world with these big flying boats. It is a bit like the first Vendée Globe – not quite the same because we know where we are going! But it is a bit of an adventure, and I’m happy about that.”

Armel le Cléac’h in solo mode on Maxi Banque Populaire XI. Photo: Benoît Stichelbaut

The contenders

Surprisingly, skippers at all stages of their careers are competing. Amiable sea-dog Thomas Coville will be 55 when the race sets off. There is almost no major event Coville hasn’t done, from the America’s Cup to winning the Volvo Ocean Race.

Having sailed ORMA 60s, Coville moved into the record breaking business on maxi trimarans and is now on his third, Sodebo having backed him continuously. Of the six skippers Coville is the most experienced racing Ultims single-handed and is laudable for his sheer tenacity – he finally set a solo round the world record on his fifth attempt, after 11 years of trying.

At the other end of the scale, it was a surprise to learn that SVR-Lazartigue will not be raced by François Gabart, the single-handed round the world record holder and the blue trimaran’s initial skipper. Instead, taking over for solo races will be 26-year-old Tom Laperche. An engineer and highly talented sailor, Laperche is a graduate of the classic French offshore racing pathway; and has been involved with SVR-Lazartigue since its launch, racing as Gabart’s co-skipper in the last two Transat Jacques Vabre .

Anthony Marchand, 38, has also newly taken on a campaign, replacing Yves le Blevec on Actual Ultim 3 (ex-Macif) in early 2023. Meanwhile an 11th hour entry is Eric Péron on Adagio , the previous Sodebo Ultim. The boat is something of a ‘Frankenstein’ creation – recycling the 2001 maxi-tri Geronimo with appendages from 2010 America’s Cup winner USA17 – but a fast one.

Thomas Coville, on Sodebo Ultime 3. Photo: Vincent Curutchet/Team Sodebo

“I’ve been preparing for this kind of thing for years now,” said Péron. I haven’t done much preparation on the boat, but for everything else, the boxes are ticked. So, in the short time I’ve got left before the start, I hope to become at one with the machine. What motivates me most of all is the fact that it’s an extreme race, and that’s why I want to take up the challenge. Obviously, I’m not leaving totally confident. But I’m not going to give up.”

In the absence of Gabart, the two favourites are likely to be Armel le Cléac’h on Maxi Banque Populaire XI and Charles Caudrelier on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Gitana 17) . Theirs are two of the best funded and oldest teams.

Banque Populaire first sponsored Joyon’s ORMA 60 in 1989 and has campaigned seven trimarans since, including building two Ultims. The team’s first Ultim had a disastrous 2018, before a final crash left it utterly destroyed during the Route du Rhum . Undeterred, the French bank set about building a replacement. Now, alongside SVR-Lazartigue, their two-year-old Maxi Banque Populaire XI is one of the newest Ultims.

SVR-Lazartigue and Banque Populaire XI are essentially VPLP designs (Ultim teams have their own in-house designers, engineers, aero- and hydrodynamists, foil and hydraulics experts), while Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is from Guillaume Verdier – Emirates Team New Zealand’s long term naval architect who has applied much of his Cup experience to the offshore trimaran .

Adagio, the previous Sodebo Ultim. Photo: Yvan Zedda

Impressive statistics

An Ultim’s length can be anything from 24-32m (78ft 8in-105ft) with a maximum beam of 23m (75ft), though in practice all six are trimarans built to, or near to the rule’s maximum. Overall mast height is less than 120% of length of the longest hull, so 38.4m (126ft). Additional rules cover minimum air draught below the beams and float volume. Water ballast, autopilots and automatic anti-capsize systems are permitted, but stored energy (produced by the crew) or the creation of inertial energy and computer or electromechanical assistance for adjusting any of the appendages is forbidden.

As with all things yachting, their quantum performance leap has come since going airborne. Today all six use a similar, complex foil configuration: on each hull is a rudder with an elevator where lift can be adjusted via a flap on its trailing edge. Midships in each float is a giant J-foil, which can be raised, lowered and its rake adjusted. Unique to the Ultims (apart from Adagio) is the daggerboard, which is fitted not only with a trim tab on its trailing edge to prevent leeway, but an elevator.

Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Gitana 17). Photo: Yann Riou/Gitana

The foils and elevators are adjusted hydraulically in combination to alter, for example, fore and aft trim and ride height, depending upon the point of sail and sea state. Generally the aim is for the platform to have zero heel/pitch. Thanks to the rudder elevators the ride is very stable in pitch (unlike IMOCA 60s ), the foils effectively ‘locking’ the boat to the water.

Just as America’s Cup catamarans that raked their windward rudder elevator to produce downforce (like crew on the rail), so Ultims can produce downforce with their daggerboard elevator. According to Gabart this is vital: racing an Ultim solo is about maximising efficiency so, when a gust hits, the rake on the daggerboard elevator is increased, sucking the trimaran’s main hull down. “If you release the hydraulic main sheet, it takes five minutes to pump it in again,” explains Gabart. “With this, when you are sailing at 40 knots you can add two tonnes [of down force] in one second using minimal energy.”

With their latest substantially larger foils, Ultims can fly in less wind. Originally it required 15-20 knots of wind or 26-27 knots boat speed for Macif to fly, this is now down to 12-14 knots of wind and 21-23 boat speed for SVR-Lazartigue – remarkable considering an Ultim’s 15-17 tonne displacement.

It’s similar on Banque Populaire XI, says Armel le Cléac’h. “We fly in 12-13 knots of wind or 22-23 knots of boat speed. In 15-17 knots of wind we fly upwind at 27-30 knots – that is the big step. Compared to older Ultims like IDEC in the last Route du Rhum, it’s an 8-9 knot improvement.”

Actual Ultim 3, formerly Gabart’s Macif. Photo: Thierry Martinez

Such speeds permit Ultims to become ‘masters of the weather’ – to some extent at least – often travelling so fast that their skippers can choose the weather system they can sail in. Optimum conditions for an Ultim are 15-25 knots (more than this and the sea state becomes too choppy for foiling), so they aim at the sweet spot of weather systems (flat water ahead of a warm front), which they then ride, like a surfer on a wave.

Le Cléac’h says their top speed has been 47 knots, “But that is not an objective. We want to have a good average speed: 40-42 knots for one or two hours is very good. 35-37 knots for 24 hours is very good too.”

Riding a rocketship

So how can skippers handle such a monster-sized boat that is foiling single-handed? Autopilot technology has improved to extraordinary levels of accuracy. According to Gabart, once set up, speed sailing in a straight line is not much different between solo and crewed. “Upwind or downwind VMG you are a little bit better if you are steering and others are trimming. At 65-70° TWA it is no different.”

Naturally manoeuvres are slower alone. Gabart says that going from reefed to full main might take two minutes fully crewed, but at least 10 solo. Some technology helps, like Harken’s latest generation Air 900 winches and pedestal grinders with bespoke gearing for single-person operation.

The newest of the Ultims, SVR-Lazartigue is perhaps the most advanced design. Photo: Guillaume Gatefait

While foils and many sail controls are hydraulic (SVR-Lazartigue has 23 rams), the pedestals are able to drive twin hydraulic pumps – though it requires serious manpower: “80% of the grinding is for the hydraulics,” says Gabart. SVR-Lazartigue will race with just five sails, including main and J0-J3, two permanently rigged on furlers.

Sailing at such high speeds has several effects. With apparent wind factored in, on deck there is constantly storm force, or at best gale force, winds. Human beings cannot operate for long in this and so cockpit protection has drastically increased with some Ultims now fully enclosed.

On the latest Sodebo and SVR-Lazartigue these have moved forward. On the former, the ‘bridge’ is forward of the mast, USS Enterprise-style, while on the latter it is just aft of the mast, with jet fighter-style steering cockpits each side, complete with sliding canopies. The end result is that an Ultim’s crew rarely ventures outside, viewing the world via CCTV.

While foiling reduces hydrodynamic drag, all the teams have been focussed on reducing aero-drag. Crossbeams now have trailing edge fairings made from robust vinyl, while on SVR-Lazartigue, moving their ‘cockpit’ forward has enabled them to have an AC-style ‘deck sweeper’ boom where the deck creates an endplate for the foot of the mainsail (improving efficiency).

Tom Laperche steering, jet fighter-style, on SVR-Lazartigue. Photo: Guillaume Gatefait

To finish first…

For the teams, the principal hurdle of the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest will be finishing. The major worry on such a long race is reliability. To prevent structural failures Ultims have load cells, the output from which is monitored in real time. Otherwise teams have simply been racing and sea trialling as often as possible in all conditions.

This year’s Transat Jacques Vabre’s heavier conditions were ideal, enabling the double-handed teams to really push the boats harder. While all the Ultims finished, some were in better shape than others, Maxi Edmond de Rothschild suffering rudder and foil issues while Sodebo Ultim’s starboard rudder sheared off after a collision with an underwater object.

“The main problem will be to have all of the boats finishing the race in good shape,” says Caudrelier, who says it will take a new approach from his previous crewed around the world races. “Always you push to the maximum, but this time you can’t do that and we will have to find a good balance between performance and safety for the boat. That is quite an interesting exercise and also managing a boat like this alone for 45 days.”

Éric Péron explains: “On these boats, a small incident can immediately put us out of the race, because nothing can be replaced on our own. The boat is so big that there’s not much we can do to fix it with what we’ve got on board.”

Antoine Gautier, head of the design office at Mer Concept (behind SVR-Lazartigue) adds that their enormously complex boat will be simplified: “We are going to have less systems on board to make it simpler and more reliable. There are some things which won’t make much difference on a round the world race.”

Armel le Cléac’h at Banque Populaire’s mission control/protected pod. Photo: Vincent Curutchet/ Hublot Sailing team

Capsize was once a major concern, but for Ultims today is – apparently – almost a non-issue. The multihulls are simply huge, and their rigs are now stepped almost two thirds of the way back from the bow, to prevent pitchpoling. As Gautier explains: “The boats are definitely safer than any multihulls before. There are no more pitchpoling issues and in terms of heel stability, you almost can’t heel because the leeward foil is pushing up so much. That is why they are able to sail so fast, even short-handed – because the boats are very safe and you don’t feel in danger.”

Nonetheless they do still have inclinometers which can automatically dump hydraulics (eg mainsheet) or mechanically release headsail sheets if heel is excessive.

Of greater concern are elements beyond the skipper’s control: collision. AIS and radar target alarms substantially reduce the chance of an Ultim hitting another vessel, but the threat of a ‘UFO’ (unidentified floating object) remains. As Gautier says: “Collision is the biggest fear for all of us. If you hit something at 30-plus knots it is the end of your race. The boat which is going to win will be the one which has all its appendages at the finish. It is Russian roulette and you can’t do anything about it. This is not a fun part of the sport, but it is the same for any race like this.”

To help prevent such collisions Ultims are all fitted with SEA.AI (previously known as OSCAR) a camera mounted at the masthead that can ‘see’ ahead both in daylight and at night, using infra-red. Images are compared in real time with a giant database to establish whether something ahead represents a collision threat.

Ultims raced each other double-handed in the November 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre – won by Armel le Cléac’h/Sébastien Josse in Banque Populaire XI. Photo: Jean-Marie Liot/Alea

There are other factors too that will come into play: a good deal of luck, undoubtedly, but also the skill, experience and motivation of the skippers. Caudrelier has perhaps the most experience in his boat and over the last three years has won most races, but he has never raced solo around the world. “This is my Vendée Globe” he acknowledges.

By contrast Le Cléac’h has completed three Vendées, on the podium every time. However his recent victory in the Transat Jacques Vabre was his first in an Ultim. For Coville, this might be his last lap? While for Laperche this will be his first big Ultim event and proving himself is a key objective.

What is certain is that this will be the ultimate contest between some of the world’s most talented offshore sailors. How many will make it round? And for those that do, it could be the fastest ever round the world race, so all the action will unfold quickly. Follow at arkeaultimchallengebrest.com

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The new Maxi-Trimaran Sodebo 3 of Thomas Coville FRA

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