Arkea Ultim Challenge: Tension off Cape Horn - Charles Caudrelier takes a run-up

The pacemaker of the Arkea Ultim Challenge has increased his speed again. For two days, Charles Caudrelier had felt compelled to slow down his boat speed considerably. This was the only way he could avoid encountering winds of up to 70 knots at Cape Horn. Now the 49-year-old has doubled his speed again to more than 20 knots, taking a concentrated run-up to the most important "obstacle" on the solo circumnavigation course like a show jumper.

Arkea Ultim Challenge: first Cape Horn passage on 6 February?

Caudrelier's Cape Horn passage will not be a comfortable one, even with slightly decreasing winds. Around 1,200 nautical miles still lay ahead of him on the fourth race Sunday of the Arkea Ultim Challenge to Cape Horn. Only then will the Gitana skipper be able to enjoy the farewell to the Pacific and the return to the Atlantic. The "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" skipper still has to reckon with strong winds at Cape Horn. His best option recently seemed to have been found between two systems for next Tuesday.

In the meantime, Armel Le Cléac'h ("Banque Populaire XI") is also heading more directly for Cape Horn after his passage north of New Zealand on a south-easterly course. He had reported an encounter with a passenger ship from the French luxury line Ponant off the north-east corner of the North Island on Saturday and also suffered a minor injury to his nose.

Strong winds continue on course for Cape Horn

On the morning of 4 February, Armel Le Cléac'h set his sights on the north-west corner of a new low-pressure area that should carry him towards Cape Horn at a good speed. According to current routings, he is expected to pass Cape Horn on 10 February. At midday on Sunday, the "Banque Populaire XI" skipper had a lead of around 370 nautical miles over third-placed Thomas Coville ("Sodebo Ultim 3"), who was travelling at just under 30 knots off the southern tip of New Zealand.

Thomas Coville recently sailed in 35 knots of wind with gusts of over 40 knots and six metre waves. Experts expect the swell to increase even further at the south-eastern tip of New Zealand. Until Cape Horn, which Thomas Coville could reach in the night from 10 to 11 February, the French veteran can still expect strong winds.

"Actual Ultim 3" ploughs through the Indian Ocean in the Roaring Forties

Still travelling in the Indian Ocean, fourth-placed Anthony Marchand made good progress on "Actual Ultim 3" at the weekend. In 20 knots of wind from the west, Anthony Marchand headed for the longitude of Cape Leeuwin with top speeds of around 30 knots along the ice edge just below the 45th parallel south in the Rouring Fourties. "Actual Ultim 3" is expected to benefit from these conditions until the beginning of the week.

Fleet leader Éric Péron ("Adagio") also made good progress again and had a low-pressure area in sight this Sunday, which will bring him winds of 30 to 35 knots and gusts of over 40 knots at around 30 degrees south latitude in the Indian Ocean. This means that Éric Péron can also hope to make faster progress. The increasing pressure could help him to make up at least some of the miles he lost in light winds after his pit stop in Cape Town.

Interview with Franck Cammas about the Arkea Ultim Challenge

In the Arkea Ultim Challenge organisers' regular weekend interview with stars from the sailing scene, Caudrelier's former companion Franck Cammas was asked shortly before the Cape Horn passage. Caudrelier and Cammas shared the skipper duties in the Gitana team between 2019 and 2021 and also raced together.

France's technical jack-of-all-trades Franck Cammas has already won the Ocean Race, the Route du Rhum and the Transat Jacques Vabre four times. He is currently focussing on his tasks in the French America's Cup team. As Head of Performance, Cammas drives the Cup chasers under the blue, white and red flag. In the Cup team founded by Stephane Kandler and Bruno Dubois, Franck Cammas is the link between the design group and the sailors as an experienced sailing mastermind.

After the equator, Charles had an ideal scenario - like in a film" (Franck Cammas)

In an interview about the Arkea Ultim Challenge, Franck Cammas said about the dominance of his former co-skipper Charles Caudrelier: "After the equator, Charles had an ideal scenario - like in a film. I think he would have liked that at the beginning. He had great combinations with mostly good conditions that allowed him to sail fast and on a direct course. That really is the perfect combination in the south. Charles sailed fast when he had to and he benefited from the excellent reliability of his boat."

When asked whether he was surprised by the reliability of the "Maxi Edmond de Rothschild" as former co-skipper, Franck Cammas said: "No. Mainly because he always sails at a reasonable speed. I spoke to Charles twice on the phone. He told me that he only manages his boat, that he doesn't drive it at all and that there's no reason to."

Charles was able to adapt, find the right pace, adopt the pace of a marathon runner to keep going" (Franck Cammas)

Cammas continued: "The race was inevitably much more intense when Tom (Laperche) was still at his side: he was more in route-du-rhum mode than round-the-world mode. Perhaps the pace was initially too high for a round-the-world race. But Charles was able to adapt, find the right pace, adopt the pace of a marathon runner to keep going."

Cammas also commented on the total of five pit stops by the competition so far: "This is obviously a scenario that we hadn't hoped for. Apart from Tom and Éric, everyone could perhaps have more or less carried on, even if it is complicated. Imoca boats, for example, can lose 30 per cent of their capacity, but you can still perform well. With the Ultims, the loss is enormous when you drop from 100 per cent of the boat's potential to 70 per cent. And the gaps quickly become very large."

Passing Cape Horn is quite a liberation" (Franck Cammas)

Cammas also took stock of the historic premiere of the Arkea Ultim Challenge: "I was pleasantly surprised by what happened up to the equator. If you know the magic of these boats, it was great to follow, very breathless. As a spectator, you are a little disappointed by what happened with all the accidents. We all wished that there had been less than 500 miles between the first three or four sailors at Cape Horn!"

The Cape connoisseur gave a small preview of the approaching Cape Horn passages: "Passing Cape Horn is quite a liberation. If you are sailing around the world, Cape Horn is your Everest. You can compare it to a hard-to-reach summit. It's the end of the tunnel. You've had tough conditions for about two weeks and you finally find yourself in conditions and an environment that are improving. The state of mind changes: you gain comfort, you ascend into the tropics, your mind becomes a little more at peace again."

Click here to go directly to the live tracker of the Arkea Ultim Challenge at YACHT online.

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