Hope is the theme of the day on this fourth weekend of the Arkea Ultim Challenge. All five participating skippers are hoping for more favourable winds in the near future. Team Gitana's frontman Charles Caudrelier hopes that Cape Horn will soon be passable again. Around 3,050 and 3,325 nautical miles behind Caudrelier, Armel Le Cléac'h and Thomas Coville are jointly hoping for better conditions between Australia and New Zealand in their revived duel in the Pacific after Coville's pit stop.
Some are hoping for more favourable winds, others for more pressure
"Actual Ultim 3" skipper Anthony Marchand, in fourth place in the Indian Ocean and around 5,870 nautical miles behind Charles Caudrelier, is hoping that he can maintain his good speed of around 28 knots along the ice edge. And Éric Péron, in fifth place, is hoping that he can finally break away from the high-pressure area that is moving at the same speed as he is. But as it seemed on the morning of 3 February, all five skippers will have to be patient.
For the first time since the start of the Arkea Ultim Challenge on 7 January, the leader Charles Caudrelier continued to sail at a reduced speed of around ten to twelve knots on Saturday morning. During his deliberately chosen "slow-motion phase", the 49-year-old had even been travelling at an average speed of just 5.2 knots at times to avoid an overly threatening Cape Horn passage.
We knew that the Arkea Ultim Challenge would be a great adventure. And it is a great adventure!" (Charles Caudrelier)
"Charles is still travelling at reduced speed," said race director Guillaume Rottée on the morning of 3 February. "According to our weather models, he could pass Cape Horn between Tuesday and Wednesday morning under more favourable conditions. That would mean that it would set off eastwards between this afternoon and tomorrow."
While the skipper, his team and the race organisers made calculations to ensure the safest possible Cape Horn passage, Caudrelier sailed towards the last of the three major capes of the Arkea Ultim Challenge solo circumnavigation on Saturday morning with around 1,700 nautical miles remaining at around twelve knots. "We knew that the Arkea Ultim Challenge would be a great adventure. And it is a great adventure!" commented Charles Caudrelier, smiling at the unusual situation, even for him.
I promised my daughter that I wouldn't take any risks" (Charles Caudrelier)
Caudrelier continued: "This is the first time I have made such a decision. In this way, I am keeping my word. I promised my daughter, who was worried about me because of the solo mission, that I wouldn't take any risks. So this time I'm not taking any risks passing Cape Horn either. It's a bit frustrating because Cape Horn is ahead and I could be there in two days. And I'm looking forward to it. But you have to see things in the right perspective."
Charles Caudrelier explained: "If I compare my situation with that of my colleagues with their problems in the race and then look at the weather situation, then I have a boat and a skipper in the best possible condition. So I can be in good spirits. I may feel impatient because my lead is dwindling. But passing Cape Horn with a day to spare is the dream of every circumnavigator. And I think it will be even more than that."
Reignited: the duel between Le Cléac'h and Coville
Behind Caudrelier, the battle for second place is gaining new tension. Armel Le Cléac'h ("Banque Populaire XI") has endeavoured to pass New Zealand in the north, while strong areas of low pressure are circling around the land of the long white cloud. "From now on, it will head south again, but it's not as easy as you might imagine," explains Guillaume Rottée. "East of New Zealand, it will enter an anticyclonic situation that will continue and slow it down."
This could reignite the current duel for second place between Armel Le Cléac'h and "Sodebo Ultim 3" skipper Thomas Coville. Thomas Coville left Hobart on Tasmania via the Derwent River after a pit stop of 2 days, 2 hours and 39 minutes. He too still has to contend with challenging conditions: 30 to 35 knots of wind, gusts of over 40 knots and five to six metre seas.
Arkea Ultim Challenge: Coville advantage at Cape Horn?
But if Thomas Coville can increase his speed as expected, the gap of around 275 nautical miles to "Banque Populaire XI" could quickly melt away. "The two boats could even pass Cape Horn within just a few hours," explains Guillaume Rottée. The current routings on Saturday morning even showed that "Sodebo Ultim 3" could have built up a small lead by then.
Charles Caudrelier explained his "holding pattern" when approaching Cape Horn:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
