A bold option
Leaving Le Havre on Sunday, October 29, 2023, the Maxi Banque Populaire XI took a bold option to pass Madeira. Although the fleet avoided the storm Ciaran, conditions were nonetheless invigorating, with 45-knot squalls and cross seas. On reaching the latitude of Madeira, Armel le Cléac'h and Sébastien Josse opted for a more westerly course than their rivals. This option enabled them to take the lead on November 2, with a tiny lead.
Neck-and-neck with SVR Lazartigue
After leading the fleet for a week, the pair was overtaken by SVR-Lazartigue, led by François Gabart and Tom Laperche, as they passed Ascension Island. The two competitors battled it out for the last few miles, before the blue-and-white Ultim regained the lead thanks to high average speeds downwind. They managed to widen the gap and hold on to first place until the finish in Martinique.
14 days at sea for Ultim victory
The Banque Populaire XI duo crossed the finish line on Sunday November 12, 2023 at 23:19 Paris time, or 18:19 local time, after a real course of 9,263 miles and an average speed of 26.75 knots. He was followed by SVR Lazartigue 4 hours, 51 minutes and 5 seconds later, with an average speed of 26.22 knots on the water. We regret the lack of images of the finish or the broadcast of a live feed. Let's hope we can make up for it on the other series.
Armel le Cléac'h's first words
While this is a second victory for Sebastien Josse, it is a first for Armel le Cléac'h, who explains: "It's a great satisfaction to win with this boat. We've been looking for a big win with Banque Populaire for a long time. Two years ago, we were there for the first race. Last year, there was the difficult Route du Rhum, where we had to turn back, put back a daggerboard... This year, we're reaping the fruits of our labor. All the details we worked on with the team to optimize, make reliable and finally show that we had good speed, even very good speed. With Sébastien, these 14 days went by very quickly. As we said at the start, the Transat Jacques Vabre was not a preparation race. We hadn't come to test the boat, but to win. It was a box to tick in the calendar. It wasn't easy to win. We gave it our all right up to the end, and we didn't skimp on the boat, achieving good averages right up to the end. To win now with these boats, you have to push them to the limit. We're undoubtedly the crew that has sailed the most this year, with a fairly similar course completed in May. It's paying off today."
We're now waiting to see who will be the 3rd Ultim on the podium, between the Maxi Edmond de Rotschild, handicapped by heavy damage to her helm, Sodebo and Actual.
The next category expected in Fort de France is the Ocean Fifty, starting this weekend.
