Arkéa Ultim Challenge: conditions around Cape Horn force Charles Caudrelier to take a break

Charles Caudrelier will give up a little of his lead at the top of the Arkéa Ultim Challenge. At the helm of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild, the sailor made the decision on Thursday evening to put his race on hold “for a still determined period,” his team informed his team in a press release. In question, the weather conditions expected this weekend around Cape Horn, which turn out to be “absolutely incompatible with the passage of the famous rock”.

A very large low pressure system will sweep across this area located in Tierra del Fuego, at the southern end of Latin America, making all navigation perilous. Strong winds - 50 to 70 knots in gusts - and very heavy seas are expected according to the forecast.

“We waited patiently, to put all the chances on our side, and hoped as the days went by that the general situation would improve. But, on the contrary, it has deteriorated significantly. It was absolutely not possible to head towards the Horn with such a weather scenario. It was an ambush that would have closed in on us with no possible escape since in the South we are limited by the Antarctic Exclusion Zone,” confides Erwan Israel of the Edmond de Rothschild weather team.

The waiting time is not yet clearly defined and depends entirely on the evolution of conditions approaching Cape Horn, but “it is already clear that it will be counted in tens of hours”, specifies the press release. For Charles Caudrelier, it is an opportunity to rest, but also to carry out “some work and checks requested by his technical team”.

Also read Sailing: Caudrelier’s pursuers face the storm

“I knew this race was going to be an adventure and that’s confirmed,” declared the sailor. Cape Horn won't let us pass just yet! There is a huge depression that will present itself before us and with my routers we have chosen to be patient. We have a good lead and we will try to maintain it as much as possible. He affirms that this is the first time that he finds himself in such a situation in the race and expresses his frustration, but prefers to “put it into perspective in relation to [his] comrades behind.” And to conclude: “I have a boat and a man in great shape. I keep smiling and I remain positive even if I will surely be chomping at the bit to see the miles decrease. A week in advance was perhaps a lot and yet that's what awaited me there, but Cape Horn, more than a day in advance, is the dream of any world tourer and I think that I I'll have more than that."