This winter, two Ultim will attempt to break Francis Joyon’s record in this round-the-world race. SVR-Lazartigue and the trimaran Sodebo started for the first time last weekend. However, after a collision on Monday night, SVR-Lazartigue had to make a pit stop. And Sodebo fared no better, losing their main rudder a few hours after their rival’s accident.
Will two flying giants soon appear behind the boats of the VendĂ©e Globe? Last Friday, a first favorable weather window opened up for Sodebo. Thomas Coville, who already has nine circumnavigations behind him, was the first to set off with his team shortly after 9 pm on Friday. The next morning, shortly before 8 a.m., it was SVR-Lazartigue’s turn. During the night from Monday to Tuesday, however, the trimaran of François Gabart and Tom Laperche unfortunately collided with an unknown water object and had to abandon its record chase due to a damaged starboard foil. Depending on the weather, however, the two should soon resume their record chase. While SVR only has one damaged foil, which can be easily replaced, Sodebo will not be able to assess the consequences of the damage to the rudder until they reach Concarneau. However, the team hopes to be back in standby mode as soon as possible.
Live at the Jules Verne Trophy
Since the start, the two trimarans have been chasing the reference time set by Francis Joyon. However, the gap has always been minimal and the two maxi trimarans should be able to set a fast pace thanks to the stable trade winds. The Sodebo team has also set up an innovative web platform to document its record attempt. In addition to traditional cartography, the chat history between the shore team and the sailors can be followed there and there are daily livestreams of life on board – a completely new way of immersing yourself in the race for this legendary record.
To the maps and interactive content from Sodebo
