RAMPING UP !
Breathtaking scenery
It's a breathtaking setting. In the heart of a former foundry, dating back to 1835, the Atelier des Lumières has been created, offering digital, immersive and contemporary exhibitions. There was no better setting to plunge guests, on Wednesday evening, into the heart of one of the most fascinating races of the 21st century: the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE - Brest. Breathtaking images of the Ultims, the open seas and storms, and the sheer difficulty of maneuvering such machines, provided an immersive experience for the many journalists who attended the race presentation.
Waiting (impatiently) for the big departure
For the occasion, all the skippers taking part in the race were present. Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire), winner of the last Transat Jacques Vabre, Charles Caudrelier (Gitana Team), winner of the last Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe, Thomas Coville (Sodebo), who has attempted the solo and multihull round-the-world race six times, spoke of their enthusiasm and experience. This is also the case for Tom Laperche (SVR - Lazartigue), who benefits from François Gabart's advice, Anthony Marchand (Actual), Yves Le Blevec's successor, and Éric Péron (Adagio), who joined the adventure last September.
This was another opportunity to underline the commitment of all the race's partners, and in particular that of its title partner, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa, as well as its main partners, Brest Métropole and the City of Brest, "port of maritime records", the Brittany Region and the Finistère Department.
It was a powerful, unifying moment, with everyone looking forward to the opening of the Quai Malbert village in Brest on December 29, and to the start of the race on January 7, 2024.
They said :
Edouard Coudurier, Président du Groupe Télégramme :
"This is it! Generations of sailors have dreamed of it: to complete the first non-stop round the world race in a multihull. At Groupe Télégramme, we've been dreaming of this for nearly 20 years, when the idea was born in the minds of Roland Tresca, the Group's Managing Director and Chairman of Pen Duick, and Pierre Bojic, Pen Duick's Managing Director. It took years of work to bring this global project to fruition, thanks to the collaboration of our subsidiary OC Sport Pen Duick with all the players involved, the Ultim class first and foremost, the town of Brest and the Crédit Mutuel Arkéa group, title partner. Naturally, we are all very proud that this dream will become a reality on 7 January in Brest. Before that, we will all be together, the whole of Brest and Brittany, to celebrate and discover the giants moored on Quai Malbert during the ten days of a village of events set up in the open commercial port, starting on Friday 29 December 2023. On 7 January 2024, the sailors will set off to write the first major chapter in this new single-handed round-the-world story."
Joseph Bizard, Directeur Général d’OC Sport Pen Duick :
"The ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE - Brest is an extraordinary event, a great sporting challenge. We wanted it to be a major gathering that would facilitate encounters between the sailors and their public. We've created a village designed to tell as many people as possible just how formidable these sailors and these boats are, and just how historic this challenge is. It will also be a place brought to life by all our partners, first and foremost Arkéa, the Metropole de Brest, the Région Bretagne and the Département du Finistère. It will be a time of celebration and festivities, a popular gathering - opening on 29 December with the arrival of the boats, a great maritime and sporting festival before the big start on 7 January".
Guillaume Rottée, director of the race :
"It's a round-the-world race, and that's no mean feat! What's more, on 32 metre boats. On the strength of our experience in organising other events, this ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE - Brest marks the beginning of a story, so we wanted to set the scene for the arrival of the boats as they enter the port on 29 December, to see them take the Brest Narrows, cross the Brest roadstead... Then in the other direction, on the day of departure. There are a few peculiarities to this relatively classic round the world race: the sailors will be entitled to technical stopovers, for their own safety, but these could be penalising in terms of performance, as they will have to last a minimum of 24 hours. In addition, cetacean exclusion zones have been identified in collaboration with a team of scientists from Share the Ocean to avoid collisions with marine fauna. With a departure date of 7 January, I'm looking at around fifty days to circumnavigate the globe. But the boats have the potential to beat the record, which currently stands at 42 days."
Charles Caudrelier, skipper du Maxi Edmond de Rothschild :
"Taking part in this round the world race was Cyril Dardasthi's idea, and he managed to share this vision with our shipowner. I never thought I'd fly one day, these are really crazy boats! When you're on your own, the main challenge is to manage yourself and the boat on your own, it's exciting and I'm delighted to be here. When I started sailing, I was inspired by two things, the world records and the Vendée Globe. I haven't been able to do both until now, but now I feel like I can do both at the same time."
Thomas Coville, skipper de Sodebo Ultim 3 :
"There will be six of us on this line. It's going to be different for me because the circumnavigations I've done so far have certainly been single-handed, but they were all about going for a record. When you set out on a record, the journalists talk to you about racing and when you race, they talk to you about records. The six of us are going to share something. We're going to build a history, we're going to make our mark on our sport, make our mark on sport. Our playground is the planet. Our machines will allow us to fly, which wasn't necessarily the original idea but here we are. This race will be different from all the others. When you take on something as high as this, you have to be modest and humble. Everyone will be taking part with their own history and experience, but there will be no impostors. That's why I'm going back!"
Tom Laperche, skipper de SVR - Lazartigue :
"There will be six of us on this line. It's going to be different for me because the circumnavigations I've done so far have certainly been single-handed, but they were all about going for a record. When you set out on a record, the journalists talk to you about racing and when you race, they talk to you about records. The six of us are going to share something. We're going to build a history, we're going to make our mark on our sport, make our mark on sport. Our playground is the planet. Our machines will allow us to fly, which wasn't necessarily the original idea but here we are. This race will be different from all the others. When you take on something as high as this, you have to be modest and humble. Everyone will be taking part with their own history and experience, but there will be no impostors. That's why I'm going back!"
Armel Le Cléac’h, skipper du Maxi Banque Populaire XI :
"We knew the sequence between the Transat Jacques Vabre and this round the world race was going to be busy, but the team is hard at work, the boat is back and being thoroughly inspected in Lorient. Personally, I'm trying to recover from this intense transatlantic race and I'm also trying to look ahead to this round the world. We're setting off on a marathon, changing gear after transatlantic races which are more like sprints! But on a round the world, time management is going to be important, you're going to have to take care of the machine and manage the sailor; physically and mentally it's going to be very intense. You have to put the cursor in the right place. I've done 3 circumnavigations in monohulls, but never before in a multihull. We're not starting from scratch, but the unknown is knowing how to put the cursor in the right place."
Anthony Marchand, skipper d’Actual Ultim 3 :
"I don't really want to listen to the superlatives that people give this race. I need to set off sailing as if it were training, a race like any other, even though I know it's an extraordinary race. But I don't want to stand back too much. A lot is going to happen and I can't wait to find out about it, whether it's the joys or the misfortunes. You have to be able to switch back and forth between the Transat Jacques Vabre and this round the world, and you have to be able to rest mentally and physically. You may have the impression that you've recovered physically, but you also have to find the mental rest you need to rediscover the desire to sail around the world!"
Éric Péron, skipper d’Adagio :
"The race against the clock started for me only recently. Arriving so late on a project is the first mountain to climb. I'm lucky enough to have a boat that has already sailed around the world, that knows the route and that has been very well prepared. It was only feasible with this boat. With this qualifying passage, I was able to tame her and, in a few hours, I felt as if I'd always known her."
