ultim trimarane

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Head-to-head Jules Verne attempts: two Ultim trimarans set off to try and break 40 days around the world

• Helen Fretter
• November 30, 2024

Thomas Coville's Sodebo and Francois Gabart's SVR-Lazartigue set off within hours of each other, attempting to break the non-stop around the world crewed record, the famed 'no limits' Jules Verne Trophy.

The two crews are both attempting to break the non-stop, around the world record – the ‘no limits’ Jules Verne Trophy – which currently stands at 40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds.

Thomas Coville’s Sodebo Ultim 3 was first to start, crossing the virtual start line off Brest in western France, at 2103 last night, Friday 29 November. The ‘line’ is between Ouessant and the Lizard, UK.

The crew set off at nearly 30 knots, though this morning were some 100 miles behind the equivalent pace set by current record holder IDEC Sport .

Sodebo’s tracker shows the bid’s progress against current Jules Verne Trophy record holder IDEC Sport

In order to break the record, Sodebo will need to return to cross the line by January 9, 2025 at 2034hrs.

Francois Gabart’s SVR-Lazartigue then set off this morning, Saturday 30 November, at 08.51 (local time). They will need to return by the morning of January 10 in order to break the record.

Record-breaking routing

Both teams set off independently, but their weather routing teams have identified the same weather window which is currently forecasting the boats to reach the Equator in around five days.

In order to be in with a shout of beating the record, they will then need to be at the Cape of Good Hope within a dozen days of starting. Both teams progressively went from ‘Code Orange’ standby mode, to ‘Code Green’ before starting just 12 hours apart.

Sodebo Ultim 3 Skipper Thomas Coville sets off on a Jules Verne Trophy bid from Lorient on 29 November, 2024. Photo: Vincent Curutchet / Team Sodebo

Thomas Coville, skipper of Sodebo , explained: “The transition from orange to green is often quite brutal, you have to change mode and mentality.

“Personally, what helps me to switch is when I get dressed in my sea gear, when I put on my boots, it allows me to enter another world, that of a sailor.”

Thomas Coville (far left), Benjamin Schwartz (centre) and the Sodebo Ultim 3 crew. Photo: Vincent Curutchet / Team Sodebo

Crew member and navigator Benjamin Schwartz explained the team’s start strategy: “We will set off close-hauled/reaching to look for a first front in the south of a depression, with a tack planned for Saturday afternoon, then dive south in a wind that will pick up, so downwind.

“The objective is to go around the Azores high from the east and slip under it for a final gybe, probably Monday morning, which will take us straight towards the equator in about five days, so a little ahead of the record time.”

But he cautions: “The window is quite short, insofar as the Azores High tends to emit a ridge  (an extension)  which closes the route to Portugal, so we will have to manage to slip into a fairly narrow corridor in time.”

Jules Verne Trophy crews

Sodebo is sailing with a crew of seven: Thomas Coville, Frédéric Denis, Pierre Leboucher, Léonard Legrand, Guillaume Pirouelle, Benjamin Schwartz and Nicolas Troussel.

Skipper Francois Gabart, third from left, and the SVR-Lazartigue crew setting off on their way to the Jules Verne Trophy start line in Brest on Saturday, 30 November 2024. Photo: Clement Gerbaud/SVR-Lazartigue

SVR-Lazartigue is sailing with six: Francois Gabart, Tom Laperche, Pascal Bidégorry, Amélie Grassi, Antoine Gautier, and Émilien Lavigne.

For the Jules Verne Trophy the teams may use on shore routers, and each will have a team monitoring the weather, position of ice, and potential routing strategies. Sodebo’s is headed up by Philippe Legros and Simon Fisher, while SVR-Lazartigue’s router is Jean-Yves Bernot.

Record holders rematch

The current time was set by Francis Joyon on IDEC Sport in 2017, when his six-man crew completed a non-stop circumnavigation – in the non-foiling trimaran – at a blistering average speed of 26.8 knots.

Both skippers have claimed the solo non-stop around the world record, Coville setting a record time in December 2016 of 49d 3h 7m 38s.

Gabart set the current benchmark of 42d 16h 40m 35s the following year – remarkably just two days slower than the crewed record they are both attempting to beat, including an astonishing 24hr record of 851 miles solo.

The newest of the Ultims, SVR-Lazartigue is perhaps the most advanced design. Photo: Guillaume Gatefait

Going head to head

In 2016, IDEC Sport and Spindrift 2  set off within hours of each other, in the first ‘head-to-head’ Jules Verne attempt. Both teams made it round, but neither broke the record.

The last time two boats set off together was in 2020, when Gitana 17 and Sodebo started within hours of each other in late November.

Both retired from their attempt early: Gitana turning back after three days after colliding with a ‘UFO’ (unidentified floating object), while Sodebo had a great start to their bid – extending to over 200 miles ahead of IDEC Sport ’s position, and regularly posting days with 30-35-knot averages.

But by mid-December they too had to retire, after colliding with an underwater object and damaging the starboard rudder.

The foiling Ultims are notoriously vulnerable to collisions, but in February 2024 Charles Caudrelier won the first ever single-handed around the world race in the giant trimarans, after his Gitana 17 made the circumnavigation without stopping for a technical repair (he did stop in the Azores to avoid ‘impassable’ conditions in the Bay of Biscay, with a forecast of 7-10m waves and 50 knot winds). That passage proved it can be done.

Support crew bid farewell to the Sodebo Ultim 3 crew. Photo: Vincent Curutchet / Team Sodebo

How to follow the Jules Verne Trophy

You can follow the Sodebo attempt at their own tracker dashboard , which besides boat speed, wind data etc also includes the option to message the crew and even see who is on watch.

SVR-Lazartigue also has it’s own tracker – which also shows relative position to IDEC Sport (100 miles ahead after two hours of racing), wind data etc.

If they make it that far, the two crews are also likely to overtake the Vendée Globe fleet in the southern oceans.

Tout va bien à bord de Sodebo, dont l'équipage se projette sur le Pot au Noir

SVR Lazrtigue et Sodebo Ultim' 3 de nouveau en attente d'une fenêtre météo

La tentative sur le Trophée Jules Verne est lancée pour les hommes de Thomas Coville. SVR Lazartigue toujours à Ouessant.

Ultim Evènements à venir

Tentatives sur le Trophée Jules Verne

Mai 2025 Med Ultim

Juillet 2025 Rolex Fastnet Race

Septembre 2025 24 h Ultim

Octobre 2025 Tour du Monde à l'envers

Octobre 2025 Trophée Jules Verne

Novembre 2025 Transat Jacques Vabre

Juillet 2026 Finistère Atlantique

Septembre 2026 24h Ultim

Novembre 2026 Route du Rhum

Juin 2027 Lorient / Les Bermudes / Lorient

Juillet 2027 Rolex Fastnet Race

Septembre 2027 24 h Ultim  

Novembre 2027 Transat Jacques Vabr e

Ultim Championnat 2024

1 Maxi Edmond de Rothschild   32   

2 Sodebo Ultim' 3                      29

3 Banque Populaire XI               27

4 Actual Ultim' 3                         21

5 ADAGIO                                  16

6 Argo                                          9

7 SVR Lazartigue                        7

8 Zoulou                                      7 

9 Limosa                                     5

Franck Cammas

Tom Laperche 

François Gabart

Francis Joyon

Yves Le Blévec

Anthony Marchand

Sam Goodchild

Eric Péron

Thomas Coville

Gwénolé Gahinet

Jean Luc Nélias

Armel Le Cléac'h

Sébastien Josse

Charles Caudrelier

Romain Pilliard

Archives Ultimes News années 2020 à 2022

Archives Ultimes News années 2016 à 2019

Archives Ultimes News années 2014 à 2015

Ultimes évènements passés

Route du Rhum 2014

Jacques Vabre 2015

The Transat 2016

The Bridge 2017

Jacques Vabre 2017

Nice UltiMed 2018

Route du Rhum 2018

Brest Atlantiques 2019

Jacques Vabre 2021

Finistère Atlantique 2022

Route du Rhum 2022

Jacques Vabre 2023

ARKEA Ultim' Challenge Brest 2024 :

Préparation d'avant course

La descente de l'Atlantique Nord

La descente de l'Atlantique Sud

L'océan Indien

Le Pacifique

La remontée de l'Atlantique Sud

La remontée de l'Atlantique Nord

Finistère Atlantique 2024

Record de Thomas Coville sur Sodebo Ultim'

Record de François Gabart sur Macif

Trophée Jules Verne 2015-2016

Tentative 2017 Spindrit 2

Tentative  d'IDEC Sport

Tentative Spindift 2 2019 

Tentative Gitana 17 2020

Tentative Sodebo Ultim' 5 2020 

Tentative Sails of Change 2021

Tentative Gitana 17 2023

Tentative Sodebo Ultim' 3 et SVR Lazartigue 2024

ITW Sam Goodchild

De Formule TAG à Energy Observer

Macif la construction

Trophée Jules Verne Spindrift 2 2019

Tour du Monde à l'envers 2017 Actual Ultim'

IDEC Asian Tour

Tour du Monde à l'envers Use it Again

Septembre 2025

Juillet 2025, octobre 2024, novembre 2019, septembre 2024, octobre 2024, une retrospective de cette belle année 2024, les 24h ultim : une 4e édition annoncée à lorient en septembre 2024, la ffvoile et aso renouvellent leur accord pour l’organisation du tour voile, une saison 3 intense avant une saison 4 prometteuse, le tour voile : cap sur une nouvelle édition, gestion de projet, lire le manifesto, emmanuel bachellerie.

Ultim Sailing Heron Building 66 avenue du Maine 75014 Paris

Mathieu Sarrot

Ultim Sailing a acquis, au printemps 2021, l’un des 7 Ultims que compte la planète. D’une longueur de 31 mètres de long, de 21 mètres de large et d’un mât de 35 mètres de haut, le trimaran est proposé à la location annuelle pour pouvoir participer aux grands événements nautiques tout en permettant à ses parties prenantes (collaborateurs, clients, partenaires, prospects) de vivre des expériences uniques.

Dans le prolongement de cette acquisition, Ultim Sailing propose aux marins, en recherche de sponsors et de partenaires, d’examiner toute problématique relative au montage d’un projet ; de la ClasseMini aux Ultim.

Les deux dirigeants d’Ultim Sailing ont, à eux deux, 33 années d’expérience dans le domaine de la course au large. Passionnés par ce sport et ses théâtres naturels, ils ont à cœur de passer de l’idée au projet.

Parce que les collectivités, les partenaires privés, les équipes et leurs sponsors ont, tous, des problématiques différentes et complexes à enchevêtrer…

Parce que les media ont une appétence pour le « live »…

Parce que le grand public rêve d’aventures…

Parce que nous aimons ces machines et les marins qui vont dessus.

Pour toutes ces raisons, il nous est apparu utile de proposer de partager nos réflexions et de les mettre en œuvre ; quand tel territoire veut faire savoir la protection de son littoral, son engagement dans le maritime, l’accompagnement de ses filières industrielles ou quand telle marque veut raconter des histoires alternatives qui emmènent la totalité de ses publics.

Qu’il s’agisse de « Brest Atlantiques » en 2019, le « Trophée BPGO » ou « Finistère Atlantique » cette année… chaque projet a eu ou aura sa singularité. C’est une promesse que nous nous faisons et partageons à nos interlocuteurs.

La course au large n’est pas un sport comme les autres.

Il est à ciel ouvert, à contrario d’une enceinte fermée. Il ne bénéficie pas de droits TV. Il est fait de ce bois singulier qu’ont celles et ceux qui partent en mer ; taiseux, durs au mal et amis de l’inconnu, de l’incertitude.

Que vous soyez collectivité ou marque commerciale, nous vous accompagnerons dans les questionnements et réponses à apporter aux interrogations qui seront les vôtres au moment de vous engager. Parce qu’une fois qu’on a goûté au sel de la course au large, difficile de s’en éloigner.

Que diriez-vous d’un homme qui place haut Victor Hugo, Raymond Aron et… Loïck Peyron ? Et qui, facteur aggravant, lit un roman ou un essai politique par semaine et, par-dessus le marché, poste trois commentaires argumentés sur les réseaux sociaux en lien avec l’actualité ? Allez, soyez franc(s) : feriez-vous confiance à un social-démocrate, européen, libéral et pire, sorti des écoles parisiennes ? Et qui, de fait, n’est ni Léonard, ni Trégorois, ni encore moins Bigouden. N’était-il tout simplement pas étrange de voir un Versaillais, alors âgé de 42 ans, prendre en 2014, la barre d’une classe naissante de trimarans géants, celle de la Classe Ultime, et la soutenir pendant sept ans, souvent face à des vents contraires ? Emmanuel Bachellerie, s’il est un homme de communication – selon la formule fourre-tout – parle moins qu’il n’écoute. Ce qu’on cherche dans une organisation, qu’elle soit sportive, humanitaire, politique, internationale, ce n’est pas une technicité – elle sera nécessairement au rendez-vous – ni des phrases toute faites ; non, ce qu’on cherche, c’est un homme qui sache parler aux hommes et aux femmes qui vont, soit modifier l’Histoire, ou alors plus modestement comme ici fabriquer des histoires. Mathieu Sarrot et Emmanuel Bachellerie ne sont précisément pas des hommes de mer, mais connaissent intimement celles et ceux qui vont sur l’eau. Ils ne navigueront pas. Ce n’est pas leur travail. En revanche, ils écrivent une nouvelle page pour que ceux qui savent naviguer à armes égales puissent le faire. Et nous, éventuellement voyager.

Jean-Louis Le Touzet, 22 avril 2022

Organisateur de courses au large, Mathieu Sarrot compose des histoires de mer et de marins depuis le quai. Les portées qu’il dessine en clé de sol ont vocation à voir s’ébattre les notes des marins, à accueillir leurs cadences. En 25 ans de métier, le Parisien nourri au bon vent de Saint-Malo a déjà veillé sur la bonne tenue de plus de 45 courses au large. La vocation n’est pourtant pas aisée lorsque, aux départs et leur cortège d’angoisses, on préfère le verre partagé avec le dernier. En quatre Routes du Rhum, huit Solitaires du Figaro, autant de Transats AG2R La Mondiale et de Transat jacques Vabre, cinq Trophées BPE, trois Courses de l’Europe et une myriade de galops de figaristes, le compositeur a connu bien des bonheurs.

Pour se mettre en phase avec l’exercice de la navigation, Mathieu Sarrot a donné à sa trajectoire la géométrie d’un passage de front : du droit d’abord, puis un bord de recalage par une école de communication, pour parfaire sa définition de l’allure à donner à une course. Ses rencontres avec Pierre Bojic, Éric Tabarly, Gérard Petipas ou Jean Maurel ont nourri son désir perpétuel de laisser cours aux histoires vraies, à l’authentique. Le lien profond qu’il a développé depuis 1994 avec la communauté des gens qui naviguent le rend légitime dans sa volonté de dessiner ses courses avec les marins. Avec Ultim Sailing, la structure qu’il anime avec Emmanuel Bachellerie, Mathieu Sarrot met à l’épreuve sa conviction que les courses au large peuvent s’inscrire en conformité avec l’époque, en développant un modèle plus frugal, plus agile et, il l’espère, plus vertueux.

Frédéric Pelatan, 22 avril 2022

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Ultim Foiling Trimarans Schedule and Behind the Scenes

Discussion in ' Multihulls ' started by Doug Lord , Apr 5, 2019 .

Doug Lord Flight Ready

From Tip and Shaft Newsletter today: ULTIM 32/23 CLASS: WHAT LIES BEHIND THEIR SCHEDULE On Tuesday in Paris, the Ultim 32/23 class unveiled its calendar for the next five years. They will be competing in two round the world races, including the Brest Oceans as the climax at the end of 2023, several transatlantic races , a race around Europe and this autumn, a double-handed 14,000 mile race across the North and South Atlantic. Tip & Shaft analyses what lies behind these events. After the accidents in the Route du Rhum , which led to the postponement of the Lorient-Bermuda Race and the Brest Oceans, the solo round the world race initially scheduled for late 2019, and then t he refusal of the Transat Jacques Vabre to allow the maxi trimarans to compete, the Ultim 32/23 class had to respond. After the problems they encountered during the winter of 2018, they are bouncing back with a new, ambitious 5-year programme . "It took a long time," admitted Patricia Brochard, the class president. The programme was supposed to have been announced two months ago, but it took a while for Banque Populaire to sign up again , and to analyse together the accidents in the Route du Rhum, while consulting towns and partners about the right choice of dates. It would seem that the reaction from Brest was the deciding factor : "They could have forced us to organise the solo round the world race in 2021,” explained Thomas Coville, whose Sodebo Ultim 3 has just sailed for the first time. “But they were exemplary. The possibility of postponing the race until 2023 meant that the situation became much clearer.” See Brest Atlantiques and Brest Oceans News here: Ultims Brest Oceans Race https://www.boatdesign.net/threads/ultims-brest-oceans-race.61545/ 2020: The Transat… or maybe not. The legendary race is on the calendar for the Ultims next year, which has annoyed its organiser, OC Sport Pen Duick. Contacted on Thursday, Hervé Favre , CEO told Tip & Shaft: " No agreement has so far been signed . Talks are ongoing, but the Notice of Race won’t be published until the end of May and nothing is certain. It looks like this announcement is an attempt to force us to allow them to race . The same goes for the next Route du Rhum." However, 2022 is still some way off and a lot could happen before then. No round the world race until 2021 … with six boats competing. Until the second half of 2021, the boats will remain in the Atlantic with a short incursion into the Mediterranean for the Round Europe Race, called The Arch , which is being organised by Damien Grimont (who was behind The Bridge). The start of the crewed round the world race at the end of 2021 will also start in the Mediterranean . The town for the start has officially not yet been announced, but everyone knows that the application from ASO and the City of Nice – who organised the Nice UltiMed in 2018 – is likely to be chosen. The timing means that Armel Le Cléac’h’s new Banque Populaire and François Gabart’s new trimaran will therefore be able to compete, so there should be at least six boats for this crewed race, as the former Macif will officially be up for sale this summer and will be available in 2020 after The Transat, and the delivery trip home, which Gabart is to attempt in record mode.  

Nice day for a walk in La Trinite-sur-Mer: posted in sa-no credit....  

Ultimes threaten Rolex Fastnet Race record destruction Unless there is a flat calm, it is very likely that the outright record will fall in this August's edition of the Royal Ocean Racing Club's premium event, the Rolex Fastnet Race. For leading the charge in the world's biggest offshore yacht race, with a fleet of 300-350 competing, will be the world's fastest offshore boats - the Ultimes. In the last windy Rolex Fastnet Race in 2011, the Loick Peyron-skippered Banque Populaire V blasted around the 608 mile course in 1 day, 8 hours and 48 minutes. But for the mighty 131ft (40m) long trimaran (later re-christened Spindrift 2) her average speed, a mere 18.53 knots, was like she was towing buckets. Two years earlier she had managed the 2880 mile west to east Atlantic crossing, averaging 32.94 knots. Today, while her transatlantic record may remain tough to beat, Banque Populaire V is old technology. Modern day Ultime trimarans at 100ft long may be shorter but, mostly thanks to their new foiling technology, are substantially faster. And this year's Rolex Fastnet Race will feature at least three of them. Francois Gabart: MACIF, all 30 x 21m of her, can fly in around 13 knots of wind but optimum conditions are 15-18 knots - more than this and the sea state becomes too lumpy. In her sweet spot MACIF has already touched 49.4 knots (in the Route du Rhum, singlehanded under autopilot) although he admits this is not the goal. "Our target is to average more than 40 knots." A 40 knots Rolex Fastnet Race would take just over 15 hours! Franck Cammas-Charles Caudrelier co-skipper set-up on board the rebuilt Edmond de Rothschild, following its bow breakage in last autumn's Route du Rhum. The latest Ultime, Thomas Coville's Sodebo Ultim 3. Coville is remarkable for having competing in almost every major sailing event from the America's Cup and Whitbread/Volvo Ocean Race (winning with Groupama 4) to the Mini, IMOCA 60, ORMA 60 and for more than a decade in giant multihulls, on which in 2016 he set a new solo round the world record (later broken by Gabart). www.rolexfastnetrace.com  

Sodebo Ultim 3 Foiling Trimaran

Arkea Ultim challenge : the race around the world, in solo !

Ultims are back in 2021, ultims are back, for the dhream cup july 19, brest atlantiques 2019 - ultims, ultims in next fastnet race 3rd august, ultim: actual leader, banque populaire xi- new ultim for 2020-21 by vplp, ultims brest oceans race, transat jacques vabre: no ultims-"the question did not arise".

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24H Ultim: small gaps between the Ultim trimarans on the eve of the Transat Jacques Vabre

The second edition of the 24H Ultim took place this last weekend of September 2023, the final rehearsal before the Transat Jacques Vabre. On Saturday, September 30, the four giant trimarans entered managed to complete 44 runs, despite conditions that were hardly conducive to competition: 5 to 13 knots of wind. As for the 350-mile offshore race, which got underway the following day, the level of competition was particularly high, with very small gaps.

Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and Banque Populaire XI tied on runs

The 1-mile line was anchored across the Groix inlets, between the Pointe du Talut and the Groix coast. The start of the runs was given in a 12-13 knot north-westerly flow. Maxi Edmond de Rothschild started with a starboard tack under full mainsail and J2, clocking 30.7 knots in 1.57 min. SVR-Lazartigue, with the same results, finished tied, proving the homogeneity of the field.

Despite a lighter wind of 6.5 knots at the start of the second session, the four protagonists continued to play the game. On the 3rd lap of the 3rd session, it was difficult to separate the fleet, even Actual, more at ease in light airs. Banque Populaire XI and Maxi Edmond de Rothschild had the same number of best sprints: five out of their respective 12.

A long-awaited victory for Banque Populaire XI

On Saturday, October 1, SVR-Lazartigue, Banque Populaire XI, Actual and Maxi Edmond de Rothschild set off on a 340-mile offshore course. Armel le Cléac'h and Sébastien Josse won the race, crossing the finish line at 9 hours 13 minutes and 32 seconds on Sunday morning, after 21 hours 13 minutes and 32 seconds of racing. The level of competition was high, however, as evidenced by the small gaps between them, promising a Transat Jacques Vabre of fierce competition. Just three minutes and 20 seconds after the winners, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild crossed the finish line. SVR-Lazartigue followed 11 minutes and 31 seconds later.

This podium finish and the small gaps between them confirm the close performances of these Ultims. On the course and at the buoys, each of them passing first at one of the marks.

Armel le Cléac'h explains: "It was intense from start to finish. We knew, given the conditions, that there would be a lot of maneuvering and quite a few sail changes. But very quickly we found ourselves with all three boats in contact, and that lasted right to the end. One go, it's one; one go, it's the other. Gitana had to pass the first mark in the lead, then SVR, and we had to pass the last. It was the right one, because after that we were able to keep the advantage. They kept coming back right to the end. We couldn't give up, and every manoeuvre counted. It's a great satisfaction for the team, it's been a long time since we won a race. It bodes well for the rest of the season."