trimaran ultim sodebo

• 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

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The Supreme Soloists of the Ultimes

• By James Boyd
• January 9, 2024

On January 7, ocean racing will take another evolutionary step with the mind-boggling feat of six brave Frenchmen who will set off from Brest in northwest France on board their giant 105-by-75-foot foiling trimarans—around the world, nonstop. Singlehanded. The new event is the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest, a sprint marathon that is expected to take 45 days or less at an ­average of 20 knots.

The present record for a solo lap of the planet stands at 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes, 35 seconds, but when this was set in 2018, skipper François Gabart had the luxury of departing with an optimal 10-day forecast (covering the first quarter of his voyage all the way down to the Southern Ocean). Competitors in the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest will have to leave on the designated start date and make the best of whatever Mother Nature offers them. However, while Gabart’s MACIF trimaran is going again (in new livery as Anthony Marchand’s Actual Ultim 3 ), it is now one of the older of the six trimarans that will set out. The newest Ultims, which harness the latest offshore foiling technology, are much, much faster.

Two of the biggest names in solo round-the-world ­record-breaking will be missing from the lineup; Gabart has passed over the helm of his Ultim to “the next generation” in Tom Laperche. Francis Joyon, who demolished the record for the solo lap on two occasions, bringing it down from 125 days to 72 days in 2005 and from 71 days to 57 days four years later, is now 67. While all six starting skippers are highly experienced, they range in age from 55-year-old Thomas Coville, skipper of Sodebo Ultim 3 , to 26-year-old Laperche.

Coville is the race titan. When it comes to racing large trimarans around the world singlehanded, his experience is unprecedented. He’s been attempting circumnavigation records on large trimarans since 1997 and as a skipper since 2008. On his fifth attempt in 2016, he finally set a new record only for it to be broken a year later by Gabart. He also has raced in the America’s Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race (winning it with Franck Cammas on Groupama in 2011-12) and was twice part of crews claiming the Jules Verne Trophy (fully crewed, nonstop around-the-world record). He has completed circumnavigations eight times—four times solo and six times on trimarans.

The most hotly tipped skippers, however, are Armel le Cléac’h, 46, on Maxi Banque Populaire XI, and Charles Caudrelier, 49, on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild . While Caudrelier is best known for being a two-time Volvo Ocean Race winner (with Groupama , then as skipper of Dongfeng Race Team in 2017-18), both cut their teeth solo racing in the French one-design Figaro circuit. But when it comes to solo offshore credentials, Le Cléac’h knocks it out of the park. He’s won La Solitaire three times, most recently in 2020, and crucially for the upcoming Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest has also raced in three Vendée Globe races, finishing on the podium in all and winning in 2016-17.

Le Cléac’h’s trimaran was launched in 2021 as a replacement for his ­previous Banque Populaire-backed Ultim, which broke up terminally in the 2018 Route du Rhum. Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is unique in the race for being designed by Guillaume Verdier, while the rest are from VPLP (although in every case, the team itself offers substantial input). While Caudrelier has won most Ultim silverware in recent seasons, including the singlehanded Route du Rhum trans-Atlantic race in 2022, Le Cléac’h ended his run by winning this fall’s Transat Jacques Vabre race between Le Havre in northern France and the French Caribbean island of Martinique.

Tom Laperche has taken over as skipper of Francois Gabart’s SVR-Lazartigue for solo races. This is Gabart’s second Ultim trimaran and is considered the most advanced of the six. Laperche won La Solitaire du Figaro in 2022 and has raced with Gabart on the Ultim ever since the boat was launched. He gained his round-the-world experience on the IMOCA Holcim in The Ocean Race.

Also inheriting his Ultim campaign is Anthony Marchand, who took over the helm of Actual Ultim 3 from Yves le Blevec in January. Launched in 2015, Actual Ultim 3 is Gabart’s former MACIF ­trimaran, which is the present holder of the solo round-the-world record. Marchand, 38, sets off with vast experience on ORMA 60 trimarans, in the Figaro class, the Volvo Ocean Race (competing in 2015-16 on MAPFRE ) and in the IMOCA.

Fundamentally, the rule limits length to 32 meters and width to 23 meters, and the complex foil configuration on all six Ultims is fairly similar. 

Éric Péron, 42, is the race’s last-minute entry, and as a newcomer to the Ultim class, he will likely back marker. Péron has a strong background in the Figaro and Ocean 50 trimaran classes, and his trimaran Adagio was previously Sodebo Ultim , on which Coville set both his solo round-the-world and west-to-east trans-Atlantic records.

While there is an Ultim 32/23 rule, the design parameters of these incredible machines is a work in progress. Fundamentally, the rule limits length to 32 meters and width to 23 meters. The complex foil configuration on all six Ultims is fairly similar. Each of the boats has six appendages, including the giant, retracting rake-adjustable J-foils (of varying shapes) in the floats. The latest-generation foils have grown larger, enabling the trimarans to fly both downwind and upwind in less wind. Among the three front-runners, the most recent edition of the Transat Jacques Vabre demonstrated that SVR-Lazartigue has the lowest take-off speed, while Maxi Banque Populaire XI ’s foils work best in waves. Maxi Edmond de Rothschild lies somewhere between these two positions.

Unique to the Ultims is the T-foil pioneered by Caudrelier’s team on their MOD70 (now Giovanni Soldini’s Maserati ). Located in the center hull, this is effectively a daggerboard with a trim tab (to aid pointing ability upwind) and an elevator. This foil is used in a similar fashion to how AC50 catamaran crews negatively raked their windward rudder elevator to produce downforce, sucking the weather hull down. When a gust hits an Ultim, the crew can drop the traveler, but a more energy efficient response is to increase pitch on the T-foil’s elevator to create additional downforce. Then there are three rudders (one on each hull), each with an elevator. The rudders in the floats can be raised (typically the windward one) to reduce drag.

Aside from the significant developments to the foils, especially to reduce cavitation at high speed, teams have been focusing on improving aerodynamic efficiency. The Ultims now have low-drag vinyl fairings for the aft side of their crossbeams, and on some boats, the deck itself forms an endplate for the foot of sails. Living quarters have improved dramatically and, like modern IMOCAs, are becoming increasingly enclosed. The most extreme among them is Sodebo Ultim 3 , where the front of Coville’s “bridge” is forward of the mast step.

Autopilots have transcended beyond being able to steer to course, apparent wind angle or even true wind angle. Depending on the point of sail, the pilot will now automatically head up or bear away when a gust hits. 

The rigs are the same as those that have been fitted to French multihulls for the past 30 years—a rotating wing mast with each shroud terminating in a giant hydraulic ram, permitting the rig (and its center of effort) to be canted to weather. This reduces the downward force on the leeward bow, which can cause multihulls to pitchpole. Whether this is still required is a moot point because today’s foils effectively keep the leeward bow from immersing.

Due to the sheer physics of an Ultim, aided by the canting rig and the mast being stepped so far aft, the risk of capsize is almost ­nonexistent, Caudrelier says: “The Ultims are the safest multihulls because they fly, because they are big, but also because we have made huge improvements to the pilots with safety functions, and also we have a nice automatic ­system to ease the sails. It is quite safe. I don’t worry too much about capsizing, but I have in the back of my mind that it can happen.”

Thanks to teams working with such companies as B&G and Pixel sur Mer, Ultim autopilots have transcended beyond being able to steer to course, apparent wind angle or even true wind angle. Depending on the point of sail, the pilot (using what’s referred to as its “safety overlay”) will now automatically head up or bear away when a gust hits, which it can detect by the wind instruments or an inclinometer. In extreme circumstances, they have systems to dump the sheets, although these too seem to be near-redundant. 

An interesting point of dispute between the Ultim teams is how much automation should be permitted. Caudrelier’s team is pro automation, while other teams are less so. As a result, the autopilot can perform these functions but cannot, for example, adjust the boat’s flying mechanism, to automatically set ride height, pitch, etc.

If capsize is less of a concern, then the skipper’s biggest worries are technical failures on their giant boats, as well as collisions. They have tried to overcome the former through sheer time at sea, testing and failing to improve reliability. Le Cléac’h, for example, says that in the past year, he has sailed Maxi Banque Populaire XI some 20,000 miles, or half a circumnavigation. This has been solo and crewed, in a mix of races, private sea trials and the Ultim fleet training en masse. To avoid collisions, the Ultims have all available kit from radar to AIS alarms to the latest tech such as SEA.AI, which uses a masthead-mounted camera array to see objects—floating or semisubmerged—in the water ahead of the boat. These are compared in real time with the SEA.AI’s huge and ever-growing database of objects to identify them as threats.

In the recent Transat Jacques Vabre, Maxi Edmond de Rothschild suffered rudder issues soon after the start (later found to be a delaminating starboard rudder) and then damage to its port J-foil, but it still finished the race. It seems, therefore, very likely that this level of attrition can be expected in the Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest. Caudrelier says that this proved to be a wake-up call for his team as well as valuable practice for how to deal with midrace technical issues. For example, the J-foil damage occurred after a small impact. “But while we were sailing, the damage increased,” he says. Perhaps it would have been faster in the long term to stop, fix the issue, and then continue, he muses. For bigger issues, race’s sailing instructions permit skippers to pitstop where their teams can join them to effect repairs, but in this case, they are obliged to spend a minimum of 24 hours in port as a penalty.

To help reduce risks, OC Sport Pen Duick, the race’s organizers, are ­imposing a movable virtual ice barrier as we have seen in other round-the-world races. Competitors must stay north of this, regardless of whether it drives them into high pressure or storms. Interestingly, they are also imposing exclusion zones around known breeding grounds for whales (yet to be defined at the time of writing).

The Arkea Ultim Challenge-Brest may be a solo race, but each campaign is genuinely a team affair. Ultim teams today are giant, some the scale of America’s Cup teams two or three decades ago, with their own in-house designers, engineers, hydro and aerodynamic specialists, and electronic and hydraulic experts. In the event of a technical issue during the race, skippers can now get immediate support using reliable satellite communications. The most consistent remote support each skipper gets is with their routing. In the Ultim class, shore-based routing is permitted. Le Cleac’h, for example, is using Dutch legend Marcel van Triest and French skipper/navigator Nicolas Lunven to provide round-the-clock routing assistance.

Ultims are fast—50 knots is very possible—but skippers are less interested in top speed and entirely focused on maintaining high averages of 30 to 35 knots. They don’t need much wind to achieve such a pace, however. An Ultim’s optimal conditions are broad-reaching in 20 to 25 knots. Any more wind than that, and the sea state gets too large to foil safely. Even in optimal wind conditions, skippers must back off if sea state and wave direction is not ideal. Understanding this is vital to the routing process.

The Ultims are potentially so fast that their routing team can go a long way in ensuring that they stay in optimal conditions. For example, in the Southern Ocean, if they can get into the optimal reaching conditions in flat water ahead of a front, they can potentially ride this for days. But the biggest limitation is the solo skipper. The Ultims typically carry a mainsail and four headsails, including two gennakers and a permanently hoisted J2, all set on furlers. Tacking and jibing requires the sails to be released and sheeted in, the mast to be canted and tacked, and foils and rudders to be raised and lowered. It’s a process that typically takes 20 to 30 minutes. Le Cleac’h says that the most time-consuming sail change is going from the J0 to the J1 because the sails are heavy (around 120 kg), and this can take up to an hour. Factoring all this into the routing is vital because the skipper on his own can do only so much.

“If reaching 95 percent of the boat’s potential requires making three jibes and four tacks and to change two sails, it will be difficult to do that if you are tired,” Le Cleac’h says. His routers offer him three options—from the one offering optimal performance to the easiest for him to achieve—which can be decided based on his energy level and capabilities.

One positive for the skippers is that the required endurance is comparably short compared with a Vendée Globe effort, but still, so much remains unknown as they embark on this extreme test of man and machine. 

“It is a bit like the first Vendée Globe,” Caudrelier says. “It is not quite the same because we know where we are going, but it is the first one, so it is a bit of an adventure. Usually you push to the maximum constantly, but for me, this is the first time I can’t do that. We will have to find the good balance between good performance and safety of the boat. That is an interesting exercise.”

• More: Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest , Print January 2024 , Racing , Sailboat Racing
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Ultim Foiling Trimarans Schedule and Behind the Scenes

Discussion in ' Multihulls ' started by Doug Lord , Apr 5, 2019 .

Doug Lord Flight Ready

From Tip and Shaft Newsletter today: ULTIM 32/23 CLASS: WHAT LIES BEHIND THEIR SCHEDULE On Tuesday in Paris, the Ultim 32/23 class unveiled its calendar for the next five years. They will be competing in two round the world races, including the Brest Oceans as the climax at the end of 2023, several transatlantic races , a race around Europe and this autumn, a double-handed 14,000 mile race across the North and South Atlantic. Tip & Shaft analyses what lies behind these events. After the accidents in the Route du Rhum , which led to the postponement of the Lorient-Bermuda Race and the Brest Oceans, the solo round the world race initially scheduled for late 2019, and then t he refusal of the Transat Jacques Vabre to allow the maxi trimarans to compete, the Ultim 32/23 class had to respond. After the problems they encountered during the winter of 2018, they are bouncing back with a new, ambitious 5-year programme . "It took a long time," admitted Patricia Brochard, the class president. The programme was supposed to have been announced two months ago, but it took a while for Banque Populaire to sign up again , and to analyse together the accidents in the Route du Rhum, while consulting towns and partners about the right choice of dates. It would seem that the reaction from Brest was the deciding factor : "They could have forced us to organise the solo round the world race in 2021,” explained Thomas Coville, whose Sodebo Ultim 3 has just sailed for the first time. “But they were exemplary. The possibility of postponing the race until 2023 meant that the situation became much clearer.” See Brest Atlantiques and Brest Oceans News here: Ultims Brest Oceans Race https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/ultims-brest-oceans-race.61545/ 2020: The Transat… or maybe not. The legendary race is on the calendar for the Ultims next year, which has annoyed its organiser, OC Sport Pen Duick. Contacted on Thursday, Hervé Favre , CEO told Tip & Shaft: " No agreement has so far been signed . Talks are ongoing, but the Notice of Race won’t be published until the end of May and nothing is certain. It looks like this announcement is an attempt to force us to allow them to race . The same goes for the next Route du Rhum." However, 2022 is still some way off and a lot could happen before then. No round the world race until 2021 … with six boats competing. Until the second half of 2021, the boats will remain in the Atlantic with a short incursion into the Mediterranean for the Round Europe Race, called The Arch , which is being organised by Damien Grimont (who was behind The Bridge). The start of the crewed round the world race at the end of 2021 will also start in the Mediterranean . The town for the start has officially not yet been announced, but everyone knows that the application from ASO and the City of Nice – who organised the Nice UltiMed in 2018 – is likely to be chosen. The timing means that Armel Le Cléac’h’s new Banque Populaire and François Gabart’s new trimaran will therefore be able to compete, so there should be at least six boats for this crewed race, as the former Macif will officially be up for sale this summer and will be available in 2020 after The Transat, and the delivery trip home, which Gabart is to attempt in record mode.  

Nice day for a walk in La Trinite-sur-Mer: posted in sa-no credit....  

Ultimes threaten Rolex Fastnet Race record destruction Unless there is a flat calm, it is very likely that the outright record will fall in this August's edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's premium event, the Rolex Fastnet Race. For leading the charge in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, with a fleet of 300-350 competing, will be the world's fastest offshore boats - the Ultimes. In the last windy Rolex Fastnet Race in 2011, the Loick Peyron-skippered Banque Populaire V blasted around the 608 mile course in 1 day, 8 hours and 48 minutes. But for the mighty 131ft (40m) long trimaran (later re-christened Spindrift 2) her average speed, a mere 18.53 knots, was like she was towing buckets. Two years earlier she had managed the 2880 mile west to east Atlantic crossing, averaging 32.94 knots. Today, while her transatlantic record may remain tough to beat, Banque Populaire V is old technology. Modern day Ultime trimarans at 100ft long may be shorter but, mostly thanks to their new foiling technology, are substantially faster. And this year's Rolex Fastnet Race will feature at least three of them. Francois Gabart: MACIF, all 30 x 21m of her, can fly in around 13 knots of wind but optimum conditions are 15-18 knots - more than this and the sea state becomes too lumpy. In her sweet spot MACIF has already touched 49.4 knots (in the Route du Rhum, singlehanded under autopilot) although he admits this is not the goal. "Our target is to average more than 40 knots." A 40 knots Rolex Fastnet Race would take just over 15 hours! Franck Cammas-Charles Caudrelier co-skipper set-up on board the rebuilt Edmond de Rothschild, following its bow breakage in last autumn's Route du Rhum. The latest Ultime, Thomas Coville's Sodebo Ultim 3. Coville is remarkable for having competing in almost every major sailing event from the America's Cup and Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Race (winning with Groupama 4) to the Mini, IMOCA 60, ORMA 60 and for more than a decade in giant multihulls, on which in 2016 he set a new solo round the world record (later broken by Gabart). www.rolexfastnetrace.com  

Sodebo Ultim 3 Foiling Trimaran

Arkea Ultim challenge : the race around the world, in solo !

Ultims are back in 2021, ultims are back, for the dhream cup july 19, brest atlantiques 2019 - ultims, ultims in next fastnet race 3rd august, ultim: actual leader, banque populaire xi- new ultim for 2020-21 by vplp, ultims brest oceans race, transat jacques vabre: no ultims-"the question did not arise".

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Sodebo Ultim’

Sodebo Ultim’ then Ultim ActualLeader then Brest Ultim Sailing then Mieux. 

Thomas Coville came to VPLP with an exciting project to rebuild Geronimo with the aim of winning the 2014 Route du Rhum .The firm, having originally designed the trimaran for Olivier de Kersauson, more than rose to the challenge.

So what went into turning that grey trimaran, precursor of the Ultim class, into one of the most competitive maxi-trimarans in single-handed racing? First of all replacing the central hull with a new design which focused on single-handed sailing and, at 31 metres long, was 3 metres more than the previous one.

Next, the beams were reinforced so rudders and foils – which Geronimo had been lacking – could be added to the floats. The forward 9 metres of the latter were also rebuilt, adding powerful raked bows.

And with the addition of a new mast and changes to the original boom, Geronimo became Sodebo Ultim’ , weighing in 6 tonnes lighter!

After a difficult start in the 2014 Route du Rhum (collision with a freighter and retirement), Sodebo Ultim’ would go on to enjoy a magnificent career . Her achievements include the solo round the world record (49 days, 3 hours), the transatlantic record (4 days, 11 hours) and victory in the 2017 Transat Jacques Vabre – all in the space of twelve months.

Following a period under the sponsorship of Actual with Yves Le Blevec at the controls, she was bought by the company Brest Ultim Sailing in 2021. Under the name of the corporate collective MIEUX, Arthur le vaillant takes the helm of the Ultim for the Route du Rhum 2022.

2014/2018/2021

VPLP Design

Sun Fast 30 One Design

Paris +33 1 42 77 24 00 Vannes +33 2 97 44 74 19 Nantes +33 9 85 11 79 77

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Sodebo Ultim 3 arrives in home port La Trinité-sur-Mer

The first images of the Trimaran Sodebo Ultim 3 in the port of La Trinité-sur-Mer in Morbihan in Brittany its home port.

The 32m long by 23m wide trimaran was launched at Vannes Multiplast Yard in Morbihan two weeks ago.

Incredibly, Thomas Coville’s new Trimaran is flying from the front, not the rear. The Cockpit is at the front of the Sailboat, in front of the mast.

TV Quiberon 24/7

Sodebo Ultim 3 left the site at Vannes, France, after 18 months of construction in the Multiplast hanger.

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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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On October 15th, Sodebo Ultim 3 will enter the stand-by phase for tackling the Jules Verne Trophy. In an attempt to beat the record held since January 26th 2017 by Idec Sport in a time of 40 days 23 hours 30 minutes and 30 seconds, Thomas Coville has surrounded himself with seven sailors, selected for their experience of foiling boats, their physical abilities and their ability to blend into a collective: François Duguet Thomas Rouxel, Sam Goodchild, Corentin Horeau, François Morvan, Matthieu Vandame and Martin Keruzoré. A crack team that have been multiplying their training sessions since mid-May in order to be ready to take up this ultimate challenge - to circumnavigate, under sail, via the Great Capes, in under 40 days...

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Sunday is D-Day for six solo ocean racers as Arkea Ultim Challenge - Brest starts

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Charles Caudrelier vainqueur des 24 H Ultim

Charles Caudrelier a remporté dimanche à Lorient les 24 H Ultim, échauffement de rentrée pour la classe des maxi-trimarans (32 m). Le skippeur du Maxi Edmond-de-Rothschild a coupé la ligne avec 2'55'' d'avance sur Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3).

Vainqueur de l'Arkea Ultim Challenge le 27 février dernier à Brest en 50 j19h7', Charles Caudrelier a entamé la saison hivernale par une victoire ce dimanche à Lorient à la barre du Maxi Edmond-de-Rothschild. Le skippeur et ses cinq équipiers ont remporté à 12h45, après 22 h 10' 58'' de course (une boucle dans le golfe de Gascogne), les 24 H Ultim.

Ils ont devancé de 2'55'' le Sodebo Ultim 3 de Thomas Coville. SVR-Lazartigue de François Gabart a complété le podium, à 17'59'' du lauréat. Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque-Populaire XI) a terminé 4e, à 24'32'' et Actual d'Anthony Marchand, 5e, à 1h13. Prochain rendez-vous pour les géants, la Finistère Atlantique (en équipage), entre Concarneau et Antibes dont le départ sera donné le 28 septembre au large de la ville close.

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North Atlantic in six days solo: Arkea Ultim Challenge leaders cross the Equator  

• Helen Fretter
• January 13, 2024

Just over six days since starting from Brest, the leading solo skippers in the Arkea Ultim Challenge have crossed the Equator

Less than a week after setting out from the start in Brest, the leading Ultim trimarans in the Arkea Ultim Challenge have crossed the Equator.

First to enter the Southern Hemisphere was Tom Laperche on SVR Lazartigue , who crossed at around 1843 (CET) this evening, with Charles Caudrelier on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild around 1.5 hours behind.

The blistering pace set by the 100ft foiling trimarans has seen the leading Ultims cover the North Atlantic, from northern France to the Equator, in six and a half days.

For context, on his 2017 record breaking solo circumnavigation Francois Gabart ’s took 5d and 20h to get to the Equator, while the fastest solo time was during Thomas Coville’s previous record, in 5d 17h 11m. The fastest ever is is that of the crewed Spindrift 2 team, who sailed from Brest to Latitude 0 in just 4d 20h at the start of a Jules Verne Trophy attempt.

However, all of those record attempts were carefully timed to depart at the absolute optimum moment for a fast Atlantic passage, while the Arkea Ultim Challenge fleet set out on a predetermined race start day.

The start of the Arkea Ultim Challenge in Brest, January 2024. Photos: Alexis Courcoux

High speed solo trimarans

The Arkea Ultim Challenge, which is the first race of its kind as solo around the world non-stop in giant multihulls, set off from Brest on the West of France, on Sunday lunchtime, 7 January 2024.  

The six trimaran fleet had passed Cape Finisterre before breakfast on Monday and hurtled past the latitude of the Azores in the small hours of Tuesday. Despite being briefly slowed in the first 48 hours by a ridge of high pressure, the Race HQ frequently noted speeds of more than 45 knots at times by the fastest trio while by Wednesday, as they approached the Canary Islands, the leading boats were posting averages of 38 knots.

Vendée Globe winner Armel Le Cléac’h ( Maxi Banque Populaire XI ) commented after two days of racing: “At this pace we can be at the Cape of Good Hope in 12 days and at Cape Horn in 30 days. In the IMOCA it took more than double the time. It totally changes your vision of a race round the world.”

Anthony Marchand ( Actual Ultim 3 ) agreed: “What’s crazy is this feeling of traveling very quickly, of being at the Canaries in 3 days and the Cape Verde 23 hours later.

Eric Peron on Adagio at the start of the Arkea Ultim Challenge in Brest, January 2024. Photos: Alexis Courcoux

46 knots is too fast!

The teams swiftly faced their first low pressure system, which required a mindset shift for the skippers from the first few days of closely matched sprinting.

Anthony Marchand ( Actual ) explained on Wednesday 10 January: “Going into 6 metre waves, after three days at sea, I feel good, I am starting to switch to ‘offshore’ mode, less in tactical regatta mode.  

“You can quickly get caught up in the game of in contact racing, which can be a bad idea.”

Charles Cauderlier on Maxi Edmond de Rothschild agreed: “For sure there is a definite, noticeable intensity between us, that’s for sure, even a little too much sometimes.  

“I calmed things down in the breeze for the boat, especially after I was hitting 45, 46 knots. That really felt a bit quick for what is, after all, the start of a round the world race!

“We started out fast but I think in time everyone will find their rhythm and it will all settle down little by little, especially as things get serious with the first depression.”

All six trimarans negotiated the first major front without incident, though experienced winds of up to 40 knots, as predicted by the shoreside routing teams each skipper works closely with 24-7.

Armel Le Cléac’h explained: “The wind strengthened from ahead as expected, pretty much as I was anticipating it to do, I had reduced sail area a lot, well in advance to tackle this slightly delicate passage. Then there was a big shift in the wind with gusts of over 50 knots. At night, in torrential rain, let’s just say it wasn’t very comfortable.”

Since flying past the depression, the Arkea Ultim Challenge fleet were in search of tradewind conditions, with the fleet splitting into pairings. At the front, SVR Lazartigue and Maxi Edmond de Rothschild , with Thomas Coville on Sodebo and Armel le Cléac’h on Maxi Banque Populaire XI closely matched around behind, then Anthony Marchand on Actual Ultim 3 in 5th and Eric Peron, a late entry on Adagio , in 6th.

Thomas Coville on Sodebo racing in the Arkea Ultim Challenge, 2024. Photos: Alexis Courcoux

Long way round

Le Cleac’h revealed that he had suffered a problem with his largest headsail, the J0, which contributed to him losing touch with the leading pair.

“Two or three days ago I was still in contact with the leaders then I had a problem with a sail and it took me quite a while. I had to fix stuff and  unfortunately that left me behind. Now, though, I have found conditions that allowed me to sail quickly.

“But this course is long, I know a lot more things will happen. We must maintain our pace, our strategy with conditions which should allow us to quickly descend into the 40s.

“The idea is to get to the gates of the Indian Ocean with a boat at 100% operational capacity and to be able to attack the big South where we will have to change down the gears.”

For the leaders it now looks like a fast passage towards the longitude of Cape Town at good speeds. The wind flow around the Saint Helena high pressure system is favourable and in flat water they should be able to sail at close to maximum speed potential.

“There is no sea, no secondary swell and a very favourable weather situation,” explains  assistant race director Fred Lepeutrec from Race HQ in Brest.

“Within 48 hours, the leading duo will begin to slowly curve towards the South East, following the great circle route, the more direct route.

“It’s different to the usual sequence. With the southwest flow of the Saint Helena anticyclone, which will strengthen, they have a slant direct towards the Indian Ocean and conditions to go at their full potential.”

Follow on the live tracker at arkeaultimchallengebrest.com