The Brest Atlantic is lancée?!! The four giant trimarans of the Ultim 32/23 Class left the pontoons of Brest in the early morning to join the wet start line in front of the Chaussée de Sein. The departure was made at 11 a.m. by a north-north-westerly wind of around thirty knots and in rough seas of 4.50 metres.
The Trimaran Macif, led by François Gabart and Gwénolé Gahinet, was the first to cross the line, slightly off to the north compared to its three competitors. Actual Leader (Yves le Blévec and Alex Pella), Maxi Edmond de Rothschild (Franck Cammas/Charles Caudrelier) and Sodebo Ultim 3 (Thomas Coville/Jean-Luc Nélias), had chosen to pass at the southern end of the 2.5 mile line.
"We're going to have to be careful in the Bay of Biscay with some tough conditions, but it's pretty good to get back into the trade wind quickly. We have to find the right pace from the start for the boat and for us. During the first few hours, we will always have one of us listening and not far from the helm to try to go fast without forcing on the boat. A priori, there will not be many manoeuvres, it will be mostly piloting" explains François Gabart.
Read: "Atlantic Brest, "a weather window worthy of a Jules Verne trophy"
The four pairs will have to gnaw at their brakes as they descend the Bay of Biscay, as heavy seas await them in the first few hours of the race. However, conditions are expected to improve later on. Cape Finisterre, at the northwestern tip of Spain, should be crossed after about ten hours.
"The start will be windy and tonight it will calm down, so this soir?! Until then, we'll try to be careful, to get out unharmed in Cape Finisterre, there's no point in attacking from the start, we're only at the beginning of the race. We can do more tomorrow morning when we're already enough sud?!" concludes Franck Cammas.
