Arkea Ultim Challenge: Coville and Le Cléac'h in the grip of monster waves

Yesterday, the view of the Race Tracker Many fans: After Thomas Coville had announced a stop in Hobart due to a torn port trampoline and a damaged pulpit and had arrived there last night, "Banque Populaire XI" sailed further and further north to Australia shortly before Canberra and hid there in the protection of the mainland, travelling for hours at a speed of only 2.5 to 4 knots. What was going on? Le Cléac'h's team reported a little later that he had briefly sought the protection of land for "technical checks". It wasn't until around 10 o'clock this morning that the Frenchman was back on course, albeit heading more towards New Zealand. But at full throttle: at 33 knots, he is trying to avoid the severe storm that is approaching from the south and seems to want to pass either between New Zealand's North and South Islands or perhaps even in the north. But quite a swell is also expected there on Saturday morning, and it will probably be six metres there too.

Thomas Coville probably already had this yesterday on the journey to Hobart, as confirmed by his team, who reported the skipper's safe arrival at around 7 p.m. UTC yesterday. But "Sodebo Ultim 3" could now be trapped: Coville should actually cast off again today at 7pm after the mandatory time penalty, but the race management suspects that he will postpone his re-start due to the swell of nine metres and winds of over 50 knots, with talk of possibly not until Sunday.

If "Banque Populaire XI" manages to escape the worst of the weather, it will probably mean a gap of over 2,000 miles to second place for Thomas Coville. Which would of course be bitter for the Frenchman, who had held on to second place for so long with his repair to the foil mechanism. So while the two are losing a lot of ground due to the rough weather in the south, Charles Caudrelier is making up miles towards Cape Horn in giant strides, unimpressed. Less than 2,000 miles separate him from the last major landmark of the race. It's no wonder that the leader, despite all his caution, is now making his first calculations for victory. If he is spared any major breakage, he should probably finish first, says the skipper for the first time.

Meanwhile, chaser Anthony Marchand and his "Actual Ultim 3" are stuck in the middle of the ocean in light winds, which he will probably not have overcome until tomorrow. Then the chase will begin for him. If Thomas Coville really does stop by Sunday, he will probably be able to halve his 3,000-mile deficit on the third-placed team.

More on the topic

• Caudrelier in the centre of the Pacific
• Tom Laperche has to give up the race