Arkea Ultim Challenge: Next collision! Marchands Foil hit in Roaring Fourties
Tatjana Pokorny
· 24.01.2024
Collisions with flotsam are rare in the cold and rarely frequented Southern Ocean beyond 40 degrees latitude. Nevertheless, "Actual Ultim 3" skipper Anthony Marchand was hit on 23 January. His giant foiler was brought to an abrupt halt at 8.23 a.m. on Tuesday morning. An unknown object hit the port foil of the trimaran in particular.
The skipper is fine and the boat is safe" (Team Actual Ultim 3)
An initial statement from Team Actual on Tuesday said: "The skipper is fine and the boat is safe." The racing team also announced that "Anthony Marchand and his team have decided to continue the course and are not planning a technical stopover".
Initial reports described the collision as "very brutal". Initial images from on board show the demolished port foil. "It is in place, but badly damaged," was the brief description of the collision and its consequences. The team has announced further information on the condition of the foil and the boat.
Arkea Ultim Challenge: "Actual Ultim 3" with reduced speed
Anthony Marchand had been involved in a strategically exciting duel with Armel Le Cléac'h on "Banque Populaire XI" over the past few days and was in fourth place at the time of the accident. On Wednesday morning, the 38-year-old from Saint-Brieuc was travelling at just under 16 knots at just over half the speed of Armel Le Cléac'h as a result of the collision. The "Banque Populaire XI" skipper has now extended his lead over Anthony Marchand to almost 300 nautical miles 24 hours after the collision of "Actual Ultim 3".
At the front of the field, Charles Caudrelier continued to dominate early on 24 January, racing towards the longitude of Cape Leeuwin at top speeds of 30 knots. Pursuer Thomas Coville raced after him on "Sodebo Ultim 3" at a recent four-hour average of 24 knots further north and with a gap of around 1,500 nautical miles. Meanwhile, 4,500 nautical miles behind the leader Charles Caudrelier, Éric Péron has now brought up the rear on "Adagio", while Tom Laperche's "SVR Lazartigue" continues to be inspected and repaired in Cape Town.
The collision rate increases
Given the small fleet, the fact that two out of six boats have already had serious collisions results in a rate of 33.33 per cent at the halfway point. We can only hope that this black streak does not continue.
UPDATE (24 January, 3pm): A pitchstop for Anthony Marchand after all!
A good 24 hours after the collision of "Actual Ultim 3", skipper Anthony Marchand and his team have now decided on a technical pit stop in Cape Town after all. Attentive tracker observers have already been able to see this in the past few hours. In the crash with an unknown object, the port foil of the Ultim trimaran was badly hit 16 days after the start of the solo circumnavigation Arkea Ultim Challenge.
Following an initial diagnosis, the skipper and Team Actual had initially decided on 23 January to continue the race and attempt repairs. This was followed by a U-turn on the night of 24 January: Marchand was already heading for the nearest harbour, Cape Town in South Africa, which was around 400 miles away. The demolished "Actual Ultim 3" is expected to reach Cape Town during the course of the day on Friday.
There are too many uncertainties for us to allow ourselves to cross the two most hostile oceans in the world." Yves Le Blevec
After the repairs that Marchand had carried out at sea on the advice of Team Actual, the situation initially seemed stable, but last night it deteriorated so much that the skipper and team no longer wanted to consider the upcoming crossing of the Indian and Pacific Oceans without the intervention of the shore crew.
Yves Le Blevec, Director of Team Actual: "There are too many imponderables for us to allow ourselves to cross the two most hostile oceans in the world. The damaged foil has warped in its housing and is loose. The 420-kilogramme part cannot be fixed in place. Repetitive impacts pose a real risk to the structural integrity of the entire boat."
The pit stop should not exceed the minimum time
According to the team, the solution was to remove the foil. However, alone at sea, with wind and swell, this is an impossible task. Members of Team Actual are already on their way to meet their skipper Anthony Marchand in Cape Town to carry out all the necessary repairs, which should and can be done within the prescribed time of 24 hours - the minimum time for a stopover according to the race regulations. Marchand is expected to arrive in Cape Town on Friday. If all goes well, he could resume the race on Saturday.
