Postponement of the race
The Brest Atlantic is a new offshore race created specifically for Ultims, with an eight-shaped course between Brest, Rio and Cape Town. The start originally scheduled for Sunday, November 3, 2019 was finally postponed due to stormy weather conditions.
For several days, the organization had been monitoring the weather to see whether or not the start would be given. Finally, in agreement with the skippers and shipowners, it has decided to confirm the postponement of the race on Thursday 31 October 2019.
"From Saturday onwards, a very active front is passing by, with winds above 45 knots, which means 50-55 knots in the gusts, and a sea above 8 metres in the Bay of Biscay, it's not a suitable playground for these boats, and no other boat for that matter. The situation is very deteriorated, which led us to postpone this departure, we are not in the circus games, it would have been a professional mistake on our part to launch the race on Sunday. We are now looking very carefully at the coming weather situation, knowing that these are boats that can "de-golfer" (leave the Bay of Biscay) very quickly, in 10-12 hours, we will seize the slightest opportunity with the agreement of the skippers. Today, we see a window for next Tuesday, which we are studying carefully, then the situation will be blocked again until the end of next week as another depression arrives on Thursday", says race director Jacques Caraës.
Managing Director of Brest Ultim Sailing, the company that organizes Brest Atlantic, Emmanuel Bachellerie adds:" It is obviously a regret to be forced to postpone the departure, for local authorities, for shipowners, for the public and especially for the sailors who were preparing to leave, but it was not possible to do otherwise, this is the lot of our sport. Taking maximum precautions for the safety of seafarers and the integrity of boats is the top priority."
The opinion of the skippers
The skippers all welcomed this decision with understanding, as Thomas Coville explains: "This postponement is completely normal. It is a matter of humility that we must have as seafarers, we must even set an example. In such a situation, we must say that we must not go there. This decision was welcomed by the sailors in a collegial way, there are no strong arms in these cases, we are a sport that has a certain maturity, we do not play against nature."
A statement confirmed by Charles Caudrelier: "It's not that you can't face these conditions, but it's always complicated to face them from the beginning, near the coast, in a place where the sea is often very bad. And if we have a problem, we hire help, so the lives of the rescuers. Compared to the class, I think it's smarter not to put the boats in danger, we all have the Route du Rhum in mind, the fleet is still young, we're not going to do just anything. This decision was unanimous, no one said he wanted to go."
