Arkea Ultim Challenge: Danger of ice in the south - race organisers check area with overflights

Even before Charles Caudrelier passed Cape Horn on 6 February, icebergs had been discovered north of the Antarctic Exclusion Zone (AEZ). Now, before his pursuers Armel Le Cléac'h ("Banque Populaire XI") and Thomas Coville ("Sodebo Ultim 3") pass the third and final cape of the Arkea Ultim Challenge solo circumnavigation this weekend, the race organisers have mobilised to ensure the safety of all sailors in this zone.

Iceberg danger for the skippers of the Arkea Ultim Challenge

The race management issued a statement on this in the early morning of 8 February after the 31st night of the Arkea Ultim Challenge. The statement read:

"In addition to the smiles and enthusiasm that all Cape Horners radiate, Charles Caudrelier must have been relieved last Tuesday that he passed Cape Horn without any problems. Because last Friday, the company CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites), which determines the risk zones with a view of icebergs for the race management, had discovered icebergs on satellite images that were positioned further north than the previous ones that had previously marked the AEZ (Editorial team: Antarctic Exclusion Zone, also known as the ice exclusion zone) defined.

The CLS observations had already contributed to changing the AEZ several times during the race. This was particularly true for the Kerguelen on the weekend of 21 January. With regard to Cape Horn, the information was quickly passed on to all teams by the race organisers (DC).

Team member of the race management on site for ice observation

What was the goal? To secure the zone as well as possible by carrying out several overflights to secure the passage. The Gitana team commissioned by the race organisers had therefore decided to send a team member, Yann Riou, to the region to carry out this monitoring mission in advance and also to provide images and videos of the skipper.

In addition, the race organisers wanted to introduce a procedure to ensure sporting fairness and the same level of safety for the other skippers. It therefore sent one of its team members, Frédéric Le Peutrec, to the site. Using the latest satellite images analysed by CLS, he can fly over the area and inform the teams concerned of any potential risks.

"Banque Populaire XI" ahead of weekend encounter with Cape Horn

It is expected that Armel Le Cléac'h ("Maxi Banque Populaire XI", 2nd place) will pass Cape Horn on Saturday afternoon and Thomas Coville ("Sodebo Ultim 3", 3rd place) on the night from Saturday to Sunday."

While observations of the threatening ice situation continue, people on land are also busy calculating. When could Charles Caudrelier reach Brest? How are his hunters progressing? For a comprehensive forecast, the routings of all the teams were collated and compared with each other. On this basis, the following picture emerges for the Arkea Ultim Challenge field, which is now almost 7,400 nautical miles apart:

Around 7,400 nautical miles separate the front-runners from the tail-enders

Fourth-placed Anthony Marchand has just passed Cape Leeuwin on "Actual Ultim 3" and reached the Pacific. Éric Péron, sailing in fifth place behind Marchand, is currently diving far to the south on "Adagio" to position himself on the front of a depression that will probably allow him to reach the longitude of Cape Leeuwin on the morning of 9 February. Éric Péron was more than 1,800 nautical miles behind Anthony Marchand on Tuesday morning.

Second-placed Armel Le Cléac'h had less than 2,000 nautical miles to go to Cape Horn on Thursday morning after his 31st night at sea. Armel Le Cléac'h is looking forward to his fourth Cape Horn passage, but it will be his first on an Ultim trimaran. If he can maintain a good average of almost 800 nautical miles per 24 hours, he could leave the Pacific for the South Atlantic on Sunday morning. 400 miles behind him, Thomas Coville should pass Cape Horn on Sunday night.

Target forecasts for the frontrunner still imprecise

The predictions for the expected finish time of front runner Charles Caudrelier are still very imprecise. This is mainly due to the fact that predictions over a period of up to two weeks are not possible with any certainty. Observers currently assume that Charles Caudrelier and his giant foiler "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" could reach the start and finish port of Brest on around 23 February or 24 February.

The record time for solo circumnavigations would then remain unattainable. In 2017, François Gabart circumnavigated the world on his 100-foot trimaran "Macif" in 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 35 seconds. The current forecasts indicate that Charles Caudrelier on "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" will probably take longer than 45 days after the difficult Cape Horn Passage with its "storm waiting loop" and before the complex Atlantic ascent.

Impressive pictures! A look back at the Cape Horn Passage by Charles Caudrelier:

Click here to go directly to the live tracking for the Arkea Ultim Challenge at YACHT online.