Special envoy to Brest
The Brest gray and the showers accompanied by short sunny spells did not discourage offshore racing enthusiasts or simple onlookers passing through. Saturday, the day before the big start of the solo round the world trip on giant trimarans, there was always a crowd on the Quai du Commandant Malbert to see the five boats (which left Lorient in the morning SVR Lazartigue is only expected in in the afternoon, Editor’s note) and try, why not, to see the navigators.
For this large Parisian family who are preparing to hit the road again at the end of the holidays, they had to be patient in a queue of more than 100 meters at the entrance to the village, which opened on December 29 and which can accommodate 4000 people at the same time. The public responded. A relief for the organizers of this first edition. Between 15 and 20,000 people have gathered at the foot of the pontoons daily since the start of the week. “It’s progressing quickly, we didn’t wait too long,” slips Eric, the father who had not planned to take a trip to the port with his four toddlers when coming to spend the holidays on his homeland. “My family told me that I absolutely had to see it and it’s true that it’s an incredible show, even when it’s stopped. I never would have imagined such gigantism. It’s gigantic, I didn’t realize that size. But how can you pilot something like this alone?” adds the dad. “Yes, but there’s no veil,” one of the little ones rightly points out. They will be deployed Sunday morning before departure for the scheduled parade, at 10:30 a.m. One of the highlights of the day.
At the dock, the machines ready to cover 40,000 km to reach Brest in several weeks, fascinate by their size. We could fit three tennis court widths along each Ultim (32 meters)! The masts can be seen from afar, they are one and a half times the height of the Obelisk of Concord, pointing 35 meters towards the sky. In front of Sant Ewann, the largest space in the village for a gourmet break, children enjoy a Nutella pancake with their parents, who have come from Conquet. “We absolutely wanted to see them and for the little ones to see them up close. We will come back for the departure tomorrow,” says Carole, the mother, a Sunday sailor, like their father. “Going to sea for almost two months on boats like this… They are the last adventurers in our world. It’s fascinating. The guys have twenty tonnes under their feet (16 to be precise, Editor’s note) and are speeding through the night at 70-80 km/h with the risk of hitting something. It’s crazy,” says the admiring father, Yohann. “We saw the Cléac’h go by at full speed earlier, it’s a crack, my favorite,” he adds.
Further on, a retired couple admires the spectacle. Still for a few minutes. Monsieur has the smartphone in hand and is strafing the small fleet of boats on which the teams are working. Final preparations before the cannon fire, Sunday at 1:30 p.m. No need to jostle, it was raining and a large part of the public rushed to take refuge in the entertainment areas set up by the sponsors. “I was at the start of the Vendée Globe in 1989 and I will be there tomorrow to see them leave. Brest has its big race now, like Saint-Malo and Les Sables-d’Olonne for the Vendée Globe, it’s good. I’m an earthling so it always fascinates me. They say it’s the race of the century, I believe in it but there will be damage, that’s for sure,” he slips. “I don’t know anything about it but I have to admit that it’s sublime,” continues his wife.
Also read: Arkéa Ultim Challenge: start, route, competitors and reward, what you need to know about the event race
Posed, the Ultim are a dream machine for Alain, a Brestois with a full beard wrapped up in a big parka. “He is the most beautiful Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. This is excessive, but aren’t we going too far? What they are going to experience is extraordinary and you have to be very courageous to lead a boat like that in the southern seas. Tomorrow it will be sunny and the departure will be in good weather. We haven’t been spoiled this week, but it’s Brest, that’s how it is,” he tells us. He will be at the start of the event, somewhere in the crowd of spectators who will have managed to park at the port very early on Sunday, “probably on the sea wall if I get there”. 15,000 spectators are expected on this long stone projection over the sea and seats will be very expensive. And when the winner arrives too? “Yes, of course, even at night you can count on me,” he concluded. A little patience, the hero who will win the first edition of this historic world tour is not expected for around 45 days.