One of the most spectacular regattas in the sailing world starts next Sunday: six Ultim giants will open the Arkea Ultim Challenge - Brest in Breton waters, aiming to circumnavigate the world non-stop and solo in 40 to 50 days. The course will take the most famous soloists in the sailing world and their monster foilers from and to Brest around the globe. The starting signal will be given on 7 January at 13:30 in Breton waters.
Taking part in the ultimate challenge are Anthony Marchand on "Actual Ultim 3", Éric Péron on the trimaran "Adagio", Tom Laperche on "SVR Lazartigue", Charles Caudrelier on the maxi "Edmond de Rothschild", Armel Le Cléac'h on "Banque Populaire XI" and Thomas Coville on "Sodebo Ultim 3". This sextet will characterise the Arkea Ultim Challenge - Brest in good times and bad.
Calm before the storm around the world: good weather prospects at the start
The latest weather forecasts promise a pleasant start in north-easterly winds of around ten to twelve knots with few waves. In an interview with the organisers a few days before the start, the most experienced of the six daring skippers gave a deep insight into his thoughts: Thomas Coville knows what lies ahead for his five rivals and himself.
The 55-year-old has already travelled around the world eight times. He has travelled on a multihull five times. In 2016, he broke the solo record for single-handed circumnavigations, completing it in 49 days. François Gabart now holds the record, which he set in 2017 on the trimaran "Macif" with 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds. Thomas Coville, who has been supported by the same partner Sodebo for almost 25 years, will not only start the Arkea Ultim Challenge - Brest next Sunday with the greatest wealth of experience.
Arkea Ultim Challenge - Brest: Interview with Thomas Coville
The father of the family is also known as a likeable philosopher and an eloquent portrayer of his extreme sailing world. Although his giant tri "Sodebo Ultim 3", built in 2019, is one of the older foilers in the futuristic small but very fine fleet, experts and competitors have great confidence in Coville based on his experience.The interview with the skipper, who was born and grew up in Rennes:
What makes the Arkea Ultim Challenge - Brest so special?
It is a race that will make history. We are all pioneers in this race. I imagined this race almost 15 years ago. Back then it seemed so far away. But I could never have imagined that we would be doing it with such fast boats and that we would be flying. And the most incredible thing is that the first question we ask ourselves is not so much "Who will win?", but "Is it possible?", considering the technical aspects that have to work and the effort required.
Because there is nothing more difficult than that in ocean sailing?
If you make a mistake on board a monohull, you will be flattened on the water. You can get injured, but usually you continue the race. On board a multihull, you can capsize, but the ultimate punishment is death. It's like being a mountaineer climbing a big wall on your own.
It feels a bit like exploring Everest"
It feels a bit like exploring Everest. We don't really know if we can do it. We'll be travelling to sea areas where there isn't much traffic. It's a heady mix of innovation, technological aspects, the purity of speed and all that is reflected in the fragility of being alone.
You attempted five circumnavigation records in multihulls and completed three of them before winning the record that was snatched away from you again in 2017. What is your relationship to this circumnavigation today?
She interests me. It fascinates me. I appreciate the fact that it becomes a constant over time, and the idea that time keeps moving on the water. The constant effort of sailing around the world fascinates me. What interests me is the perseverance, the functioning as in relationships in general.
In Antarctica, you are only tolerated as a being. You feel very small"
And then there is the passage around Antarctica, where there is no scale of values, where you have the feeling that you are only tolerated as a being. You feel very small. And then the passage around Cape Horn, where we are given a new lease of life. All in all, it's fascinating!
Why is this circumnavigation so difficult?
I've often been asked why I do it and whether I enjoy it. But I think it goes beyond that: the desire has to come from the gut. There is this extra dimension of the need to surpass yourself.
It's the different parts of pain, self-denial, lack of sleep, frustration, fear and stress when we hit ice and capsize when we're cold. But as a species, humans are kind of weird and seem to be able to magically adapt to all different situations. And I want to feel that I'm a good sailor, a real person and not an impostor. In a way, it's an expedition.
Even if the news causes stress, I remain an eternal optimist"
Does solo circumnavigation change a sailor?
Yes, we never come back completely unchanged. It's all the different impressions, the emotions that challenge the soul. When you've done several, you can put things into perspective and, above all, realise how lucky you are. I love these times we live in.
Even if the news causes stress, I remain an eternal optimist. We are a generation blessed by the gods, we are experiencing a real, huge change in our sport here, and we are the ones who can sail around the world alone on 32-metre boats.
How do you keep your distance, how do you not go crazy?
We really do go crazy. There are days when we burst into tears, when we scream, when nothing goes well at all. I don't have a superhero cape. I always come home feeling like an old soldier whose face and spirit bear the scars of battle.
More about the Ultim Challenge:
Why is it so difficult for us on land to realise how tough this challenge is?
I remember Ellen MacArthur (Editorial team: Record holder in 2005 with 71 days, 14 hours and 18 minutes) said to me after my record: "Now I know that you know what I know." Unfortunately, you have to come to terms with the fact that you can't really judge that on land.
I spoke at length with Thomas Pesquet (Editor: French astronaut), who told me about his journeys into space: "You have to accept that you don't understand it", and that I have to get involved in understanding it with the help of my imagination. But we have had the shared experience of seeing the earth with different eyes, of being able to better appreciate its dimensions, to appreciate the temporal space.
And afterwards, when you've finished, does everything on land seem bland and is it difficult to return to everyday life?
I've had painful journeys around the world because I felt much lonelier on land than on the ship. That's nobody's fault. I don't blame anyone. It's not because people don't like me or don't understand me, it's because what we do is difficult to understand.
Overall, it has brought me closer to my wife, my two children and all those I love"
A sailor becomes an islander. You set off with the secret fear that people will forget you. Then you regret setting off. And when you're done, you want to belong and be loved again. Leaving is ultimately very selfish. But I've already experienced the contradictions that hurt me a lot and that gradually made me feel this mood less. Overall, it has brought me closer to my wife, my two children and all those I love.
