Ultim Challenge: Caudrelier winner in Brest for a historic first

Le maxi Edmond de Rothschild de Charles Caudrelier. MAXPPP – Lionel Le Saux

Charles Caudrelier a passé mardi la ligne d'arrivée de l'Ultim Challenge à Brest, remportant la première course autour du monde en solitaire en trimaran;

After 50 days at sea and more than 28,000 miles (51,000 km) traveled on the seas of the globe, Charles Caudrelier crossed the finish line of the Ultim Challenge in Brest on Tuesday, winning the first race around of the world solo in a trimaran.

At 8:37 a.m., accompanied by a magnificent sunrise and many boats coming to congratulate him, he wrote a new page in the history of navigation. "It's a great moment for all of us, for the team, for Charles, for our shipowner", welcomed Cyril Dardashti, general director of the Gitana stable, on Tuesday.

The Finisterian, father of two children and already winner of the prestigious Route du Rhum in 2022, completed an almost faultless round the world aboard his Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, despite the difficult weather conditions encountered on his journey.

"He has been monstrous since the start of this race. We had no doubt about it. He did something incredible. He shows his peers that he is a great sailor", Dardashti emphasized. The skipper – who celebrated his 50th birthday on Monday – crossed the line, 50 days 19 hours 7 minutes and 42 seconds after leaving Brittany, only about eight days more than the record held by François Gabart since 2017 (42 days 16 hours 40 minutes 35 seconds), carried out against the clock and not in a race.

During his journey, Caudrelier kept the best solo sailors at bay: Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire), victim of numerous damages, Thomas Coville (Sodebo) and his eight world tours, Anthony Marchand (Actual) or Eric Péron (Adagio). Everyone left aboard Ultim, the largest racing multihulls in the world, measuring 32 meters long by 23 wide, capable of racing across the water at crazy speeds.

"A kind of killer"

"It's weird, but I had the impression of becoming a machine, a robot connected to the performance, a kind of killer who doesn't let go of a nautical mile", said Caudrelier, "totally connected" to his boat. Only Tom Laperche (SVR-Lazartigue) resisted his frantic pace for a while.

As it approached the Cape of Good Hope, the youngest of the fleet was forced to abandon after a collision with an unidentified object. Manhandled by the weather, but spared by bad luck, Caudrelier waited several days near Cape Horn, crossed after 30 days of racing, then stopped in the Azores, in the last stretch, to let a storm pass .

Leaving after a three-day stopover, rested and well-shaven, Charles Caudrelier finished the journey in slow motion, much more obsessed with victory than with his time around the world, preserving as much as possible his tired boat. "He showed reason and wisdom to preserve his boat until the end", said Monday Pierre Hays, of race direction. His first pursuer, Thomas Coville (Sodebo), expected on Thursday in Brest, praised this weekend in an audio from the board the historic performance of his opponent and the originality of the situation.

"Funny race where the first one has the opportunity to stop, go to the ;hotel and wait for a good window and as a good sailor to leave at the right time", he noted. "But I know he will manage well, well done!", he simply added. The feat achieved by Charles Caudrelier is a rarity. Since Alain Colas in 1974, only eight sailors have completed a solo round-the-world trip on a trimaran, a much more fragile and risky support than the Vendée Globe monohulls. And no one had done it before in a race against other highly motivated opponents.