Ultim Challenge solo round-the-world race leader Charles Caudrelier sailed into the Pacific Ocean last night after setting a new solo record time for the passage of the Indian Ocean between Cape Agulhas in South Africa and the longitude of Tasmania.
On the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild Caudrelier passed Cape South East, the Tasmanian longitude at 00:03:10hrs UTC this Sunday morning. With a passage time of 8d 8h 20' and 36', the 49-year-old French skipper broke Thomas Coville’s 2016 record by 3hrs 57 minutes. Caudrelier’s average speed in the Indian Ocean has been a remarkable 30.7kts.
The absolute record for the Indian Ocean is held by Francis Joyon at exactly seven days. Joyon sailed IDEC Sport with a crew of six and, unrestricted by any ice limits such as the AEZ imposed on this course, sailed very much further south and therefore covered a shorter distance. At the time, December 2015, Joyon smashed the newly set record of Spindrift 2 by nearly 33 hours.
And, also subject to approval by the WSSRC, Charles Caudrelier has already set one transoceanic record on this race. On Thursday, January 25, the skipper of the Gitana Team also set a new best solo reference time between Ushant and Cape Leeuwin. He improved on the time established by François Gabart in 2017 by 1d 8h, 25' 55''.
Caudrelier is making a steady 32 knots this morning in the Pacific and sees his lead grow to nearly 1900 miles over second-placed Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim 3), who is about 300 miles from Cape Leeuwin. Coville remains slowed to around 16kts this morning as Armel Le Cléac'h (Banque Populaire XI) continues to close miles on second place.
Yesterday at 1504hrs UTC Anthony Marchand returned through the reference gate to complete his technical stopover and resume racing. His technical team members took full advantage of the 24 hours minimum stopping time and removed Actual Ultim 3’s damaged port foil, but also repaired anything else that needed attention “The objective was to leave while respecting the minimum stopover time imposed by the race regulations, and we achieved,” enthused Marchand from the race course. “The guys worked tirelessly from the moment the boat arrived. Everything happened extremely quickly but everything is now back in working order. The boat is not leaving at 100% of its potential but it is leaving strong, which is essential for me before starting the crossing of the Indian and Pacific Oceans.”
He crossed paths with Adagio which was on its way in to Cape Town. Since Éric Péron said he would make a stopover, his technical team has been hard at work. Coach Elliott Le Dem headed to South Africa on Friday; the same day, the part to be replaced in the rudder system was delivered after machining. Next day boat captain Loïc Le Mignon left Brest for Cape Town, the part in his suitcase. And yesterday, Éric Péron reached Cape Town, which he will have the right to leave from 1757hrs. this Sunday, in accordance with the 24 hour minimum, which he and his team fully expect to have adhered to.
