As a result of the brest Océans report , the Ultimate round the world race that was to take place at the end of 2019, we were impatient to discover the programme of the large multihulls. The latter was revealed this morning, in the presence of the teams of the collective (Banque Populaire, Actual, Macif, Sodebo and Gitana) as well as three of the Ultimate skippers, Armel le Cléac'h, François Gabart and Yves le Blévec.
"At the end of January, we met at a key moment in the history of the Class. Since the initial schedule was disrupted following the accidents in the fall, a new program had to be created. I wasn't particularly worried about our ability to converge our visions and interests, but it's reassuring to feel that the Ultim 32/23 class is generating real momentum. We talk to each other, respect each other and build together. And I believe that, from all these misadventures, we emerge stronger than before." explains François Gabart.
Besides washing? The Tour of Belle-Île 2019 at the time of the circular economy In addition to the Tour of Belle-Île (17-19 May), the Armen Race (30 May/2 June) and the Rolex Fastnet (3 August/5 August), all crewed, a new race has been launched. The Atlantic Brest created for the Ultimates will be run in doubles (with an extra mediaman) and non-stop, from and to Brest via Rio (Brazil) and Cape Town (South Africa). The start date will be November 3, 2019.
The Brest Atlantic is "a little less than a month at sea, which is not much shorter than a round the world trip by the three capes, after all. The first part is quite classic, then we'll go around St Helena by its north, before going up downwind from Cape Town to the equator. The ascent of the Atlantic will be a classic of its kind. In the end, I think we will have spent more time on VMG (velocity made good), i. e. the search for maximum optimisation of heading and speed). As for the double, I think it allows us to stay in a format close to that of the Transat Jacques Vabre, and it will allow us to respond to the reliability issues we have recently experienced, even if such trimarans are not easy to manage, even with two people" adds the skipper of the trimaran Macif.
The year 2020 will be dedicated to round the world races - crewed (Jules Verne Trophy) or solo (Saint-Exupéry Trophy). Teams will also be able to run The Transat between England and the United States, if the Ultimates are accepted. But no decision has been taken so far by the race organisation.
In 2021, The Arch - crewed tour of Europe will depart Hamburg on 23 May, and will stop over in Nantes - Saint-Nazaire (28-30 May), Valence (3 June) and Marseille (6 June) with an arrival in Athens around 12 June.
This year will also be the year of the crewed round the world race, which will start from the Mediterranean. It will be necessary to wait until 2020 to know the port of departure. The crews will return to their starting point in early 2022. That same year, the Route du Rhum will take place.
Finally, it will be necessary to wait until 2023 for the highlight of this season, the solo round the world race of the Ultimates, Brest Oceans. But before that, spring will host a new transatlantic race, starting from a port in Brittany.
