After the goodbyes, the farewells and the tears at the pontoons, a sequence all the more moving as the journey will be long and difficult, the six sailors of the Arkéa Ultim Challenge quickly switched to racing mode, off the coast of Brest. This Sunday at 1:30 p.m., leaving the famous Goulet de Brest, the sky and the sun were keen to salute these heroes who came to challenge the most difficult oceans on the planet. A unique round-the-world challenge that they were able to undertake in very mild weather conditions, namely around ten knots. Enough to allow a less stressful start than with a strong storm expected at the exit from the port.
“There is a lot of emotion, days like that we don’t experience every day,” detailed Tom Laperche, the skipper of the SVR-Lazartigue trimaran, before crossing the starting line with Armel Le Cléac. ‘h (Banque Populaire), Charles Caudrelier (Edmond de Rothschild), Thomas Coville (Sodebo), Anthony Marchand (Actual) and Eric Péron (Adagio). “We always like to leave, we’re going to try to do it well,” said Caudrelier, one of the big favorites and winner of the last Route du rhum after a little one-hour nap “to evacuate the emotions” of goodbyes.
The breeze being very light, the sailors had all the difficulty in the world to get their 32 meter monster off the ground on their foils. And they had to wait until they were further from the coast to finally gain height. Off the Goulet de Brest, at an average of more than twenty knots (still), the spectacle and emotion were there for these first miles which herald thousands more. Have a good trip, gentlemen…
