The trouble with round numbers is they always feel a bit artificial, especially when we’re talking about limits. Sailing’s so-called ‘sound barrier’ at 50 knots is a perfect example. Surely…
Ultime
The smartest boat ever built? 500 sensors, custom autopilots, and the future of foiling
Lorient is the Hollywood of ocean racing. Like the movie factory of Los Angeles, the Brittany port is a seemingly single-purpose town that draws dreamers. And just as Hollywood is…
Around the world record broken: Sodebo takes Jules Verne Trophy in 40d 10h 45m
Thomas Coville’s Sodebo team crossed the virtual finish line between Ushant and Lizard Point this morning at 0746 (French time), after 40 days, 10 hours, and 45 minutes at sea,…
Will the Jules Verne record be broken? Final 1,000 miles for Sodebo – but brutal Biscay conditions expected
Thomas Coville and his crew on the Sodebo Ultim 3 trimaran are less than 1,000 miles from crossing the finish line of the Jules Verne Trophy, and are currently more…
Have you ever seen rudders like that before? Radical top-secret Gitana 18 Ultim unveiled
When the Rothschilds and Gitana team unveil a new boat, they do it properly – and last night the huge team base in Lorient, France, became the theatrical backdrop to…
Three 50ft trimarans capsize in first night of Transat race: all skippers rescued
The Transat Café L’Or – formerly known as the Transat Jacques Vabre – has got off to a dramatic start with three Ocean Fifty trimarans capsizing in the first night…
Inside a Foiling Giant: An Onboard Tour of Ultime Banque Populaire XI
Banque Populaire XI isn’t just any boat; it’s a floating testament to the bleeding edge of sailing technology, designed for record-breaking speeds and gruelling ocean races. Sam Goodchild, fresh from…
Peter Burling goes offshore: America’s Cup helmsman will race on foiling Ultim trimaran
When it was announced that three-times Kiwi America’s Cup helmsman Peter Burling had not re-signed with Emirates Team New Zealand, a lot of people wondered what he was going to…
Foil damage halts Jules Verne record attempts: both Gabart and Coville’s crews turn for home
The two Ultim foiling trimarans which had set off on a Jules Verne Trophy around the world non-stop record attempt have both aborted their current circumnavigation. Francois Gabart‘s SVR-Lazartigue was first to…
Head-to-head Jules Verne attempts: two Ultim trimarans set off to try and break 40 days around the world
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,…
Charles Caudrelier: the first man to foil a giant multihull around the world
It would be a scene worthy of the most outrageous Hollywood action movie: a man, alone on an enormous flying trimaran, is hurtling across the ocean’s remotest reaches, when he…
‘The latest offshore racers take off like a scatty race horse’ – Matt Sheahan
Among the elite band of rock star offshore racing sailors that do a solo lap of the planet there’s one basic yet counterintuitive rule they swear by: ‘To go fast…
Caudrelier wins first ever solo round the world race in foiling Ultim
Solo skipper Charles Caudrelier has won the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest, the first ever solo around the world race in multihulls, on the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild giant foiling trimaran.…
50-knot winds and 9m seas delay round the world race winners
Charles Caudrelier, skipper of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild trimaran and Arkea Ultim Challenge leader has paused his race in the Azores after a severe weather forecast for “impassable” conditions…
Fifteen round Cape Horn in a week! Round the world racers stream out of Southern Ocean
Armel Le Cléac’h’s 100ft foiling trimaran Maxi Banque Populaire XI became the 15th boat to pass Cape Horn in a week, when he rounded at 05:01:50hrs UTC this morning, Sunday…
North Atlantic in six days solo: Arkea Ultim Challenge leaders cross the Equator
Less than a week after setting out from the start in Brest, the leading Ultim trimarans in the Arkea Ultim Challenge have crossed the Equator. First to enter the Southern…
Six solo skippers ready to race 100ft foiling multihulls around the world
There are very few ‘firsts’ left in the world of sailing, but one such remaining barrier could be smashed when the Arkea Ultim Challenge Brest sets off from north-west France…
Le Cléac’h and Josse win the 2023 Transat Jacques Vabre
French duo Armel Le Cléac’h and Sébastien Josse sailing Maxi Banque Populaire XI have won the Transat Jacques Vabre 2023, crossing the finish line at 18:19hrs local time (22:19hrs UTC)…
Transat Jacques Vabre: Sunday start a possibility for IMOCAs
The start of the Transat Jacques Vabre in Sunday 29 October 2023, only three of the scheduled four fleets got underway, due to a severe forecast in the Atlantic. Now,…
‘Boat breaking’ depression disrupts Transat Jacques Vabre start
Yesterday’s scheduled start for the Transat Jacques Vabre – the double-handed race across the Atlantic from Le Havre to Martinique – partially got away on Sunday 29 October, but the…