The 32-metre tri is built for the Ultim Class, in which six to eight boats will ultimately sail a multihull edition of the Vendée Globe with the huge multihulls in 2020. Coville is one of the top favourites for this race, even though his opponent Francois Gabart snatched the record for the fastest single-handed circumnavigation in 2018 - Coville had set a record of 49 days, which Gabart improved to an incredible 42 days and 16 hours.
The video of the roll-out in Vannes at the Multiplast shipyard.
His "Sodebo Ultim 2", a Nigel Irens Cabaret design that was getting on in years, has now been replaced with a state-of-the-art version. It was built at the Multiplast shipyard in Vannes, with parts also supplied by the Italian luxury forge Persico.
This means there are three boats from the last generation: François Gabart's "Macif", the "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" from the Gitana team, which has just replaced Sébastien Josse as skipper, and Coville's "Sodebo Ultim 3". The fourth boat, Armel Le Cléac'h's "Banque Populaire", broke up in a storm during the 2018 Route du Rhum and was lost. However, work is already feverishly underway to build a new one.
The remaining three boats are all foilers created by the VPLP design studio in collaboration with the teams' designers. Coville is also utilising the expertise of America's Cup designer Martin Fisher for the foils and is aiming for a top speed of 45 to 50 knots. The Tri also has a completely different, innovative construction approach to its three competitors: The cockpit has moved far forwards, ducking directly behind the front beam. "We have concentrated the centre of gravity of the boat very centrally. This improves manoeuvrability enormously and the boat is more aero- and hydrodynamically efficient," says Thomas Coville. The movements should also be more comfortable for the skipper. Not entirely unimportant when the boats are travelling single-handed. Sébastian Jossse, until recently skipper of the Gitana team, had repeatedly made it clear how physically and mentally exhausting it is to sail such extreme boats alone at these speeds.
The design was based on the design of aircraft cockpits - perhaps not the worst thing for a flying boat, says Thomas Coville. The mast is actually positioned far aft, and the space behind it up to the central T-rudder is protected by aerodynamic panelling.
Coville will compete with the boat this autumn in the Transat Jacques Vabre, which he won in 2017. The organisers are hoping for six to eight starters for the ultimate regatta around the world in 2020. So far, it is clear that the four new builds want to take part in the race, but it is also possible that Francis Joyon will take part again with his old "Idec Sport" and Yves le Blevec with Thomas Coville's former "Sodebo", now "Actual Ultim".
