Giant trimarans against a gigantic liner
On June 25, 2017 will be held The Bridge The race will bring together four Ultimates against the Queen Mary 2 liner, in a frantic crossing from Saint-Nazaire to New York, lasting just over a week. Four ocean-going trimarans (more than 30 meters long) will participate in this transatlantic race: Sodebo Ultim' skippered by Thomas Coville, MACIF skippered by François Gabart, IDEC skippered by Francis Joyon and ACTUAL skippered by Yves Le Blevec.
For this new race, six crew members will embark on each trimaran. To accompany him, Thomas Coville has chosen to bring together specialists from different backgrounds. For almost 6,000 kilometers, these six men will take turns maneuvering, trimming and steering Sodebo Ultim', heading due west towards the Statue of Liberty.
Six crew members on board Sodebo Ultim'
Will be present on board Sodebo Ultim' :
- Jean-Luc Nélias who had already accompanied Thomas Coville on his Round the World Tour and who is a great accomplice of the sailor
- Loïc Le Mignon, boat captain of Sodebo but also an outstanding maneuverer
- Thierry Briend a member of Thomas' "close guard", who was also part of the routing team this winter for the record with Jean-Luc Nélias
Two other great sailors, one a specialist in ocean racing and former winner of the Vendée Globe and the other an Olympic champion and Nacra specialist will complete the crew. They are :
- Vincent Riou The sailor, who has been involved in ocean racing, particularly on the IMOCA circuit, is a close friend of Thomas Coville. He also collaborates with the latter on the development of the automatic pilots.
- Billy Besson The Olympic champion, who specializes in the sport catamaran Nacra 17 alongside Marie Riou, will bring to the team his touch and feel as an extraordinary helmsman.
"This is the first time we'll be maneuvering with six people on this boat, and we'll be able to push it to its maximum. I can't wait to see the potential of Sodebo Ultim' with a crew compared to this winter when I was alone on board. The line-up is incredible and this crossing promises to be exceptional in sporting terms.
The silhouette of the Queen Mary 2 will do something to me, the image of the start will be beautiful with the four Ultimates. New York is a city that makes you fantasize, it's a city of reference for me with many memories of arrivals under the Verrazano Bridge" explains Thomas Coville.
A busy and varied program to follow
In July, after returning from his crewed race, Thomas Coville will set out to break the North Atlantic solo crossing record, which he will do after a fortnight's stand-by in New York. This record is currently held by Francis Joyon with a time of 5 d 2 h 56 min since 2013. If the right weather window does not present itself, he will make this return in "convoy-training" mode in duo with Jean-Luc Nélia with a view to the Transat Jacques Vabre.
On November 5, Thomas Coville will start the Transat Jacques Vabre, accompanied by Jean-Luc Nélias, with whom he will be setting off for the second time. In 2015, the duo finished second and covered the 5,400 mile course in 13 days.
