Place the city of Nice at the heart of ocean racing
For the first time, Nice will host from 28 April to 6 May 2018 a regatta for the Ultimate - giant trimarans 30 m long, skippered by the world's greatest sailors "Never before seen in the heart of the Mediterranean and a fantastic opportunity for Nice to take a new step in its ambition to strengthen its great nautical tradition" says Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi.
" The innovative concept of this race will allow it to be in contact with the public on the many passages near the coasts, to highlight the most remarkable Mediterranean sites and to offer to the public many animations on water and on land. We benefit, I would remind you, from ASO's expertise [NDRL : Amaury Sport Organisation which also manages the Tour de France à la Voile] which is a reference in the organization of major sporting events and which accompanies us in the organization of Nice UltiMed to which I also wish to associate the two flagship clubs of our city, the Club Nautique de Nice and the Aigle Nautique. It is therefore an exceptional nautical event that is being prepared for Nice and for the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Region" continues Christian Estrosi.
The Mediterranean, a new kind of arena for the Ultimates
"The Mediterranean is a complex playground with many weather traps that will have to be avoided. This event is also an opportunity for the Mediterranean people to discover our formidable machine" comments Francis Joyon "It's really interesting to go to the Mediterranean and do an intermediate format course, at the edge of the regatta. This will make it possible to be confronted on very sporting formats, i.e. in contact with others", says Yves Le Blévec.
"I am delighted with the Nice UltiMed project which will take place in spring 2018. There are several reasons for this. On the one hand, the Ultim Collective also aims to make its boats sail in the framework of events whose formats are different from those on which they are usually measured. This project meets this ambition. On the other hand, we do not make sufficient use of the magnificent Mediterranean basin. With this event, the PACA Region will have the pleasure of welcoming the Ultims along its coastline and the Mediterranean will have the opportunity to meet the skippers and their crews. Finally, I am sensitive to the commitment of the local authorities and the organiser. They seized our desires to translate them concretely in this beautiful maritime setting in which our teams will be able to measure themselves within the framework of an event with the changing and numerous meteorological conditions which augur a beautiful naval joust" said Patricia Brochard, Co-President of Sodebo and President of the Ultim Collective.
Bringing the Ultimates together in a new racing format in the heart of the Mediterranean
For the first time, the giant trimarans of the Ultimate class will be gathered in the Mediterranean. And on exceptional occasions, exceptional format "The launch of Nice UltiMed is very good news, it will be for us the first race of the season and I am very happy to return sailing in the Mediterranean. It will be a great opportunity to test the Maxi Solo BP IX in regattas, but also to confront my little friends in Ultim before meeting them on the start line of the Route du Rhum" enthuses Armel Le Cléac'h, winner of the last Vendée Globe.
To be able to express itself at full power in this basin, while remaining as close as possible to the public, Nice UltiMed will propose a hybrid sports format of"Offshore Sprint" hyphen between Offshore Racing and Nautical Stadium.
Between a start and an finish from Nice, the race will offer a sublime course to meet some of the most iconic Mediterranean coasts "The raison d'être of this event is to share with the Mediterranean public "'extraordinary spectacle offered, as well on land as on water, by these boats whose dimensions exceed the understanding: they are longer than a basketball court, wider than a hand field, reach 35 meters in height, that is to say a building of 10 floors, and are propelled by a sail whose surface is equivalent to 2,5 tennis courts "! stresses Jean-Baptiste Durier, Race Director.
A dream casting
Nice UltiMed will bring together the skippers of the Ultimes class, who will once again sail as a crew, as was the case on The Bridge. With the help of top flight crew, the skippers will be able to exploit their multihulls at full power, in a radically different exercise from solo sailing "It's really nice to go to the Mediterranean with Sodebo Ultim'. This opens up new routes and other, sometimes more complex and complicated sailing conditions. It is a new journey with other landscapes. I have very good sailing memories, the water is magnificent. We don't go there very often, but to bring a bird like Sodebo Ultim' is not very common in the eyes of the Mediterranean. It's nice to meet them. Besides, it's interesting to have a new crewed race on the programme. I am attached to this solo/team alternation, and this race offers the possibility of also having a change of place in relation to the Atlantic" adds Thomas Coville.
Included in the calendar for the Ultimate class, the race will see the winner of the last Vendée Globe, Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire XI), the single-handed round the world record holder, Thomas Coville (Sodebo) and Yves Le Blévec (Actual), third in the last English Transat.
The fourth member of the Ultim Collective, François Gabart (Macif), will decide on his participation at the end of his solo round the world record attempt scheduled for this winter, and on the refit of his trimaran which will follow her.
Other giant trimarans are expected at the start, such as Francis Joyon (Idec Sport), holder of the Jules Verne Trophy, the crewed round the world record.
