Arkéa Ultim Challenge: “We are at the limit”, Coville faces a storm in the southern seas

Wednesday morning, Charles Caudrelier continues to prance at the head of the solo round-the-world trip on flying trimarans, gradually approaching the western tip of Australia, Cape Leeuwin. Behind the leader very close to the ice areas at the extreme south of the globe, Thomas Coville has not given up on victory even if he is already relegated to 1483 miles from Edmond de Rothschild, almost two days at sea at a very fast pace.

At the helm of Sodebo, the dean of the event gave his news as he faces violent winds. “I wanted to describe to you what happens when you are in a storm. There I am in my watch seat, there is 34 knots of wind, we are moving at 36 knots,” explains the Breton who recorded his sound last night. “We play with very big phenomena which can become difficult, even dangerous. We have a door for us in the North if we ever get caught by very strong gusts. We are still at the limit. There are 33, 34, 35 nodes established. It should go up a little more but I’m not hoping for too much,” added the second in the ranking who is preparing to pass the Kerguelen Islands in the coming hours.

Third place is in the hands of Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire, at 2759, 9 miles at 10:00 a.m.) rid for the moment of the threat Anthony Marchand at the helm of Actual Ultim damaged after hitting an OFNI on Tuesday . But unlike Tom Laperche who chose to stop in Cape Town (South Africa) to repair, Marchand (3110.6 miles from the leader) continues his route. It even tipped over into the Indian Ocean. “We have passed the Cape of Good Hope,” the navigator rejoiced Tuesday evening in a video. “A bit of a special day with hammers, DIY and screwdrivers,” he admits, referring to a damaged port foil.

On land, Tom Laperche (4th at 3500.3 miles) continues to repair with his teams to be able to resume his round-the-world trip. The youngest competitor (26 years old) could find himself under threat from Éric Péron (Adagio) in the next 48 hours. The latter should in turn soon pass the southern tip of the African continent.