Arkea Ultim Challenge: Obstacle course with many hardships - Armel Le Cléac'h finishes in third place
Tatjana Pokorny
· 03.03.2024
Armel Le Cléac'h completed his solo circumnavigation of the world in the Arkea Ultim Challenge on Sunday evening in Brest. The "Banque Populaire XI" skipper crossed the finish line at 9.31 pm on 3 March after 56 days, 8 hours, 1 minute and 31 seconds in third place. Armel Le Cléac'h had to make two technical stops on his course and was the victim of another water ingress in the final days of the race. The third place on the podium rewards above all his tenacity and his staying qualities.
Repair marathon for Armel Le Cléac'h
For the skipper from Saint-Pol-de-Léon, the completed race marked his fourth solo circumnavigation. He had started the Arkea Ultim Challenge on 7 January with the aim of winning the Ultim race around the world. He had last triumphed together with Sébastien Josse in the Transat Jacques Vabre. But just nine days after the start, the first ominous news came from the blue and white Ultim giant "Banque Populaire XI": Her skipper had to call at the Brazilian harbour of Recife. There, his team repaired the hydraulic system of the starboard foil and restored the full functionality of the gennaker. The journey continued.
During this phase, Armel Le Cléac'h, who was the first to be forced to stop, lost contact with his North Atlantic partner Thomas Coville. When "Banque Populaire XI" entered the Indian Ocean on 23 January, the trimaran foiler was around 1,500 nautical miles behind Coville's "Sodebo Ultim 3", which was second in the classification after Tom Laperche retired due to major damage in Cape Town. Even more than Coville's lead, it was the different weather systems that made it difficult for the ambitious Armel Le Cléac'h to catch up in this Arkea Ultim Challenge.
In between once again in second place
It was only when the two rivals approached the east coast of Tasmania that the gap between them melted to just 120 nautical miles. Thomas Coville then announced that he would be making a three-day technical stopover in Hobart, while Armel Le Cléac'h and his routing team opted for a stark course across the north of New Zealand's North Island to avoid a severe storm.
When Thomas Coville's route, which had been slowed down by a 48-hour repair stop, and that of Armel Le Cléac'h crossed paths again in the Pacific, "Maxi Banque Populaire XI" had gained a lead of over 300 miles and second place in the fleet - 2,800 nautical miles behind Charles Caudrelier, who had long since lost the lead.
Even his fourth Cape Horn passage as a solo sailor "failed": Armel Le Cléac'h experienced it at night. Nevertheless, he was relieved that he had left two oceans - and the Indian Ocean in particular - behind him. He said: "I feel that we are getting out of the Southern Ocean, that we are moving away from the sometimes difficult conditions that I had for several days. I know that we will be sailing in an area where we are close to rescue services. That is reassuring."
The second repair stop in Brazil
After a fierce race to catch up, Armel Le Cléac'h had to make another technical stop in Rio de Janeiro in the southern hemisphere on 16 February. Thomas Coville used this second pit stop of at least 24 hours effectively to make up his deficit of more than 500 miles and make the breakthrough in the duel for second place.
Two damages caused the Banque Populaire team to make a second pit stop: The port rudder had been destroyed and lost on 13 February after a collision with a log; on 15 February, the centreboard had broken. Both damages had made further travel a high risk. After just over 48 hours in harbour, the technical team released the boat again.
At this point, Armel Le Cléac'h could have given up, completely exhausted from his never-ending battle. Instead, he fought on - and had to take the next blow: On 28 February, the deck of the central hull, presumably exhausted from the countless wave impacts, gave way in a UFO collision. Water quickly penetrated the centre hull. "There was a lot of water," recalls the skipper. "I had to stop the boat, pull in the sails and get the water out of the boat. That took a long time, almost ten hours. Then I had to plug the hole, sand it, insert carbon fibre, use glue ... It was a huge construction site."
No respite for Armel Le Cléac'h
Armel Le Cléac'h was probably dominated by conflicting emotions on his return home from the Arkea Ultim Challenge on Sunday evening: Regret, because the race had thrown particularly difficult tests at him. Relief because he had overcome all the obstacles and arrived. What is certain is that he experienced everything during his run: a race, an adventure, highs and lows, one of the toughest challenges of his career - and a podium place at the end.
It's a bit hard to live with" (Armel Le Cléac'h)
He himself said on arrival in Brest: "I'm a bit exhausted by it all. It's a bit hard to live with. There was no breathing space. I feel like everything has gone wrong. There was never an opportunity to capitalise on this trip around the world. It was really full of challenges and adventures. It's not nothing to travel around the world on an Ultim, but it was complicated. As soon as there's a technical problem, as soon as the weather doesn't play ball, you have to find other solutions. That puts a strain on the mind."
His first conclusion: "I went into this race to win it. The door closed for us in Recife and we were a long way behind the first two, especially Charles, who later found himself all alone. There was nothing I could do to catch up with him. We had managed to make up half of our gap when the rudder broke. Mentally, it's hard because I've had 56 days like that. The goal was always to finish. That was the ultimate goal with the team and with this boat. But let's say it was an experience..."
Arkea Ultim Challenge: Two boats are still in the race
Despite all the hardships, Armel Le Cléac'h has not forgotten how to smile. Exhausted but charming, he told the audience about his battle on arrival in Brest that evening and received a lot of applause. Two other Ultims continued their journey eight weeks after the start on the evening of 3 March: "Actual Ultim 3" skipper Anthony Marchand still had around 3,400 nautical miles to go before crossing the equator, while "Adagio" skipper Éric Péron had around 250 nautical miles more to go.
