A good compromise for Actual
Remained without a trimaran following his shipwrecked on his solo circumnavigation of the world upside down , Yves le Blévec will nevertheless participate in Nice UltiMed a race in the Mediterranean, reserved for the famous Ultimate. With the Actual Group - its sponsor - they will be hiring the former Gitana XI, renamed Actual - Grand Large Emotion for the occasion.
However, this situation was not destined to last forever... This is how Samual Tual - CEO of the Actual Group - announced the purchase of Sodebo 4, Thomas Coville's current trimaran and holder of numerous records: solo round the world in 2016, Transat Jacques Vabre in 2017... The maxi-Sodebo is in fact the most recent and the most efficient trimaran on the market. This will therefore be the second time that Actual has bought a boat from Sodebo, as the Ultim Actual lost at sea was already the former Sodebo 3.
"He made us dream about the Trinity Pier on the sea when we were neighbors. We're really happy to be able to go up a step and this will allow Yves to continue to grow and progress." explains Samual Tual.
It is after the Route du Rhum 2018 - Destination Guadeloupe (which will start on 5th November) that the boat will pass into the hands of Yves le Blevec. It is still too early to know if the skipper and his team will be making improvements to the boat or if the boat is already at the peak of its optimisation. Even if she is not of the latest generation like the recent Maxi Banque Populaire IX or Gitana 17 Sodebo 4 is still fast and retains its full potential, allowing Yves le Blévec to stay in the game.
"The idea of buying back the Sodebo 4 had been considered even before I set off on the Round the World Tour in reverse. Our aim was to continue our commitment to the 32/23 Ultim Class in the best possible conditions. With the loss of the Actual Ultim, this project became a reality quite quickly", details Yves le Blevec.
Building a new boat would have taken too much time and the skipper and his team would not have been able to take part in the solo round the world race in 2019... Buying Sodebo will therefore allow the start of this great new race, but will not necessarily prove to be an ongoing operation in the long term.
"Continuing History" for Sodebo
For the Sodebo group, this operation allows the maxi trimaran to continue to take part in the major races which mark the season, but also to reinforce the commitment of the Actual group, which is very active in the 32/23 Ultim Class.
"This new transfer of the Sodebo boat to Actual satisfies us for several reasons: First of all, since our commitment to sailing sponsorship in 1998 we have been working to keep our boats in the circuit and thus contribute to the vitality of the classes. Furthermore, it's a story that continues. This boat, bought from Olivier de Kersauson in 2013, has already sailed the seas of the world. Skippered by Thomas Coville, she has put in some very fine performances, including of course the solo round the world record in 2016, but also the North Atlantic record in 2017 and won the last Transat Jacques Vabre. As President of the Ultim Class, I'm delighted that this boat will be taking part in our race programme over the next few years, the major event of which will be the single-handed round the world race in 2019. I am particularly pleased that Samuel Tual and his company, which are pillars of the Ultim Class, are continuing and strongly reaffirming their commitment to sailing. Bravo!" explains Patricia Brochard, co-president of Sodebo.
A handover after the Route du Rhum 2018
It is possible that the technical teams from Sodebo and Actual will be able to work together from the end of the Nice UltiMed until the start of the Route du Rhum, which will be raced by Thomas Coville on his boat. "Our common objective is to facilitate the transition, with knowledge acquisition on our side and transmission on their side to be put in place as soon as possible so that, by the end of the Route du Rhum, the Team and the Ultim Actual are as operational as possible" explains Yves le Blévec.
At the end of the race, the Ultim will be flying the colours of Actual and will undergo a major technical overhaul before taking part in the Lorient - Bermuda - Lorient race in April 2019 and then the Brest Ultim Challenge in December.
"This boat is perfectly finished and reliable. She's matured. We'll be relying on the excellent work done by Thomas and his team. Our preparation time will remain relatively short: we'll have just over a year before the start of the round the world race. The idea will be to sail as much as possible to get the boat in hand..
It's really exciting to be able to restart so quickly on such a project. The boat is bigger, more powerful and more powerful than the old one: that obviously changes the "performance" approach considerably. On a round the world voyage, she will be one of the boats capable of winning..."
