Records, navigations, construction sites... Each skipper of the now recent Ultim Class 32/23 (and not only...) pampers his mount for the famous Route du Rhum. A transatlantic race between Saint-Malo and Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), as famous as the Vendée Globe, considered as the Grail of multihulls, which takes place every four years. " The Route du Rhum is to multihulls what the Vendée Globe is to monohulls... that's saying something!" indicates the Gitana team in its press release. Everyone is working hard to make their boat as efficient as possible. This will also be an opportunity to confront all these giant trimarans of the latest generation, before a dedicated round-the-world race at the end of 2019.
Starting with Armel le Cléac'h, who is sailing the Atlantic with a crew on his Maxi Banque Populaire IX, recently launched in late October 2017 . After a first transatlantic realized in less than a week The skipper of Banque Populaire left Guadeloupe on Thursday, February 15 in a configuration that should allow him to try his hand at false solo sailing. That is to say that the crew members will not help him in the maneuvers. This is essential training for the Route du Rhum.
François Gabart, back from his Single-handed round-the-world race as a winner december 17, 2017 recovers after a tiring start to the year (TV sets, interviews...). The record is well and truly behind him, and from now on, his goal is the Route du Rhum. His trimaran Macif is now under construction with the objective of installing new foils and will be relaunched in June 2017.
Francis Joyon is also optimizing his trimaran IDEC Sport (which is not part of the Ultim Collective). The trimaran continues its transformation . "In addition to the usual revisions, the boat is undergoing numerous modifications, the most important since the maxi-trimaran is in the hands of Francis Joyon, the objective being to have a reliable and optimized mount for single-handed sailing in view of the Route du Rhum, the start of which will be given on November 4th. For this purpose, a new carriage and a new rail have been installed, allowing a gain of 30 kg. New rudders will also be installed. As for the original foils, their modification should ensure a 30% increase in the boat's thrust. Finally, the bicycle is also making a comeback. Already present on Groupama 3, it will allow Francis to be more efficient when he is the sole master on board.
Paint, antifouling, the maxi-trimaran is also taking care of its appearance and should be ready for its launch in a month, after which training will resume in order to appreciate all the work done! indicates the skipper's team on its Facebook account.
Gitana left the water at the end of January for her new base on the Keroman quay, not far from the Cité de la Voile Éric Tabarly. For 3 months, the trimaran will be optimized after an intense period of sailing: nearly 15 000 miles between her launch in July 2017 and its water outlet at the end of January. The team has embarked on an overhaul and reliability project, as technical director Pierre Tissier explains: "The team is now working on the construction of a new building The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild has been through a fine-tooth comb. We dismantle all the systems for overhaul (mechanical, hydraulic, electronic...) or repair, as is the case for the foils. After their breakage in the Transat Jacques Vabre, we were able to identify that these were not structural problems, but mechanical defects. We minimized the impact of the sea on the windward foil and the blocking of the foil... this design flaw will be quickly erased on the basis of the existing foils which are repairable."
These three months of work will also be an opportunity to make a few optimizations, starting with the steering system and energy production. Finally, in view of the single-handed program that awaits Sébastien Josse, the cockpit ergonomics will be fine-tuned to give the sailor a boat that is fully equipped for the sporting challenge that is the Route du Rhum.
To train, Sébastien Josse has chosen a training program that is essentially focused on the open sea. "The objective is to prepare for the Route du Rhum, a crossing of more than 3 We have scheduled two transatlantic races between May and July. An outward journey between Cadiz and San Salvador, which offers sailing conditions very similar to those of the Route du Rhum, and a return journey from New York to test the boat in the slightly more challenging conditions of the North Atlantic. The idea is to set off on known routes with timing references, but not necessarily in a record mode. To set records, you need to have perfect weather conditions and for that you need to have time to devote to stand-by, which is not our case this year explains the skipper.
Since December 18, Sodebo Ultim' (Thomas Coville) has also been in the works in Vannes (Multiplast) and will spend the winter there. What will happen to Yves le Blévec, whose the trimaran Actual capsized on December 14, 2017 The boat is now lost, but Actual has confirmed its membership in the Ultim 32/23 Class. The boat is now lost, but Actual has confirmed its membership in the Ultim 32/23 Class.
