Arkea Ultim Challenge: "Plague or Cholera" - Caudrelier's difficult Atlantic ascent

His playing field is the Atlantic, his tasks complex: Charles Caudrelier is making progress in the "decompression chamber" of the South Atlantic, climbing back up the Atlantic with "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" since his Cape Horn passage on 6 February towards the destination port of Brest. However, his sense of relief at "returning to civilisation" clashes with the challenges that the Atlantic Ocean has in store for the leader in this historic premiere of the Arkea Ultim Challenge.

Arkea Ultim Challenge: When the danger of ice dictates the strategy ...

In increasing winds after the Cape Horn Passage, Charles Caudrelier was initially forced to sail into the Le Maire Strait between Tierra del Fuego and the easternmost foothills of the Argentinian part of Tierra del Fuego to protect himself from ice drift. Ice had previously been sighted to the north-east of the island at latitude 54 degrees south. This situation and the approach of a low-pressure area dictated the leading skipper's strategy for the initial phase of the Atlantic ascent.

Charles Caudrelier had already throttled back his speed on Wednesday for a period of six hours. "After that, we had to choose between plague and cholera," reports Benjamin Schwartz, also known to sailing fans as the final skipper for Team Holcim. PRB in the Ocean Race. As a member of the routing group in the Gitana team, Benjamin Schwartz explained: "Passing to the east of the Falkland Islands offered a strategically favourable, albeit tricky, option with the risk of ice. The alternative: staying in the middle of a myriad of fishing boats."

Weekend date with Cape Horn

Soloist Caudrelier opted for option two in consultation with his shore crew and spent "a very, very arduous night in strong winds and terrible seas" while being forced to keep a non-stop lookout for fishing boats. In the meantime, the Gitana skipper, who has been in the lead for 23 days, has managed to reduce the remaining mileage mountain to just under 6,000. This Friday, the 49-year-old family man from Fouesnant had mastered around three quarters of the historic premiere of the Arkea Ultim Challenge.

The decision to either fight their way northwards close to the Brazilian coast or to try the eastern Atlantic seems to have been made in favour of the coastal option. There, "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" was travelling at boat speeds of around 20 knots on the morning of 9 February. At the same time, his two pursuers were approaching their Cape Horn passage at speeds in excess of 30 knots at the weekend.

Duel between Le Cléac'h and Coville?

Second-placed Armel Le Cléac'h drove his "Banque Populaire XI" like a racehorse with less than 1,300 nautical miles to Cape Horn on 9 February. Around 370 nautical miles behind him, third-placed Thomas Coville on "Sodebo Ultim 3" struggled to keep up and maintain his chances in the duel with Le Cléac'h in the Arkea Ultim Challenge.

Thomas Coville was in particularly good form last night, keeping up the pace of Armel le Cléac'h and not allowing his rival to gain any more ground. The two Ultim greats were travelling at high speeds in a north-westerly current towards Cape Horn. This current would accompany them until they left the Southern Ocean.

First calm, then rough: the Atlantic forecast for the chasers

After the Cape Horn passage, their game will also become more difficult as they will initially have to contend with light conditions before facing tougher conditions. This is especially true for Thomas Coville, who will come into direct contact with a large area of low pressure from the west. The ice 20 nautical miles east of the island remains an important factor.

In view of the approaching low-pressure system, the race organisers are not planning to restrict the route of the two skippers: "We will not close the door," confirmed Guillaume Évrard. He continued: "If Thomas goes up the Le Maire Strait, he could suffer from the Venturi effect coming from the mainland. He needs options."

Marchand and Péron on the move

Anthony Marchand ("Actual Ultim 3") and Éric Péron ("Adagio") at the back of the pack have no such problems to solve. Éric Péron made rapid progress throughout the night. The skipper was able to maintain his position in front of a front and reached average speeds of over 28 knots. He was able to make a lucky catch at the second of the three capes in the Arkea Ultim Challenge solo circumnavigation. The longitude of Cape Leeuwin now lies in his stern water.

On a currently very northerly route, "Actual Ultim 3" skipper Anthony Marchand approached the northern tip of New Zealand a good 1,760 nautical miles off Éric Péron on Friday morning. At around 47 degrees south latitude, the 38-year-old from Saint-Brieuc is expected to pass the "land of the long white cloud" this Friday at speeds of around 27 knots to the north.

Click here for the live tracker of the Arkea Ultim Challenge at YACHT online.

How the giant ploughs through the Southern Ocean - Armel Le Cléac'h reports from the sea:

Images that inspire Charles Caudrelier and his team in the final spurt - a close-up of Cape Horn: