Arkea Ultim Challenge: "King Caudrelier" crosses the finish line - the sailing world bows to the winner
Tatjana Pokorny
· 27.02.2024
20 years after his Figaro victory, Charles Caudrelier has won the historic premiere of the Arkea Ultim Challenge in 50 days, 19 hours, 7 minutes and 42 seconds. The triumph of the Gitana skipper, 50 years old since the previous day, was perfect at 8:37:42 on 27 February. The new king of offshore sailing mastered the last of the 28,938 nautical miles, which he had completed at an average speed of 23.74 knots, in a golden Breton morning.
On his way to the finish line, the accompanying fleet grew into an enthusiastic swarm of fans that turned Caudrelier's stern water into a white tail. On land, the winner was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd. Congratulations flooded the social networks. "This course was my dream," said Charles Caudrelier in Brest.
Taking stock, the tired but beaming winner said: "I am so happy, full of joy. It was intense, even if it took a little longer than I had imagined. I had food on board for 47 days, I arrive after 50 days. I could have arrived a bit earlier by tempting fate, but I was rather conservative. You have to remember that this is a race and not a record. The job is done!
It was an incredible adventure" (Charles Caudrelier)
The lucky winner of the Arkea Ultim Challenge went on to say the day after his 50th birthday on his jubilant arrival in Brest: "Fifty years, fifty days ... I'm not a big birthday fan, but the advantage is that I didn't have to organise anything! It will be memorable here. I remember my fortieth birthday: I had just got my first boat (Red: the ocean race yacht "Dongfeng"). Now I'm here ten years later. This is an incredible adventure. I joined the team in 2019 and riding this race was my dream. I wanted to seize this opportunity and make it to the end."
To thunderous applause, Charles Caudrelier said: "I felt strong during the race, I was never tired. I am very proud of the team. It's a victory for the team. I almost didn't start because of personal worries. But then I realised how much I wanted to be at the start. It was already a success to turn up at the start. And I think the victory is well deserved for our team."
Solo circumnavigation: Gabart's record remains untouched
Caudrelier, who has been the undisputed leader of the race since the night of 17 January, triumphs in the first edition of this superlative race. The 1st Arkea Ultim Challenge started on 7 January. Before having to slow down to avoid a huge storm near Cape Horn, Caudrelier was ahead of the time required to set a new record for solo circumnavigations in the Pacific.
However, the new record came to nothing due to unfortunate weather scenarios during the Arkea Ultim Challenge. The record for the fastest solo circumnavigation of the world is still held by François Gabart, who achieved it with "Macif" in 2017 in almost perfect wind conditions in 42 days, 16 hours, 40 minutes and 30 seconds.
Arkea Ultim Challenge: exciting race in the early stages
After a thrilling head-to-head duel with 26-year-old Tom Laperche on the South Atlantic, Charles Caudrelier had increased his lead to over 2,500 nautical miles after Laperche had to retire in Cape Town with collision damage. On his route around the world, Caudrelier set a new record for the Indian Ocean and then proved that he also knew how to slow down in order to protect the flying 32-metre-long high-tech projectile and give himself and the Gitana team the best chance of winning the 24,260 nautical mile route.
After the holding pattern off Cape Horn, Charles Caudrelier made a pit stop in the Azores last week to avoid the effects of Storm Louis. Here too, risk minimisation was at the centre of the skipper and team's thoughts.
After the passage of storm Louis, Brest welcomed "King Caudrelier" with glorious weather and smooth seas. Having grown up on the bay of Port-La-Fôret, where he once learnt to sail, Charles Caudrelier completed his greatest triumph in Brest on this day. The Gitana team, founded by Benjamin and Ariane de Rothschild, celebrates with its number one. The racing team has invested around a decade of hard work and visionary energy in this Ultim success alone.
Charles Caudrelier completes "Mission possible"
When Charles Caudrelier joined the Gitana team as the new skipper in 2019, he said how difficult he thought it would be to sail around the world solo on a boat like this. Five years later, the dream has become a reality. The failed Gitana attempts to circumnavigate the globe as a team also show how difficult it was to get here: up until today's victory in the Arkea Ultim Challenge, "Gitana 17", as the Ultim giant "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" is also known, had failed three times in her attempt to win the Jules Verne Trophy.
However, the technical team continued to develop the boat tirelessly and played a big part in the victory on Tuesday, which Charles Caudrelier has now made perfect. "He developed his technical side with us. He really got to grips with the subject of flight, worked on aerodynamic studies and worked on the simulator. In our sport, it is important to have top athletes who are also physically fit and mentally healthy. He fulfils all three criteria," says his friend and Technical Director Pierre Tissier.
What's more, the down-to-earth Charles Caudrelier is popular with his team and also with fellow travellers. "He is very modest. His way of doing things is simple. He is someone who knows his place and realises how lucky he is to be able to live out his passion. He also knows how to emphasise the work of others and share everything with his team," says Cyril Dardashti, the head of the Gitana team.
He is not a diva. He has his head firmly under control and is grounded" (Michel Desjoyeaux)
"I loved sailing with him! He's not a diva. He has his head on straight and is grounded," says Michel Desjoyeaux. "He has a very strong work ethic. He's a wonderful person and has great values. Everything he has achieved in his life is the result of hard work. He has really fought to get to where he is today," says Pascal Bidégorry."
"Not a second goes by on the water when Charles Caudrelier is not in competition mode. He puts himself under pressure in a unique way to be successful. He has made it his mission to put everything into his work, down to the smallest detail," says one of his former co-skippers on the Transat AG2R.
Winner Caudrelier: a family man with a big heart
Charles Caudrelier is also a family man and is regularly surrounded on land by his nearest and dearest, his clan: Around sixty of them are present at the triumphant finish in the harbour of Brest! The skipper's two children, who have grown up practically all over the world as part of the two victorious circumnavigations in the Ocean Race, take centre stage. During the race, Caudrelier exchanged daily messages with them. He had promised his daughter "not to take any risks". The sailor and dad stuck to this promise.
