The ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE – Brest, which starts from Brest, France on Sunday 7 January will be the first ever solo race round the world on giant Ultim trimarans, the biggest and fastest ocean going sailboats in the world.
There are many different round the world challenges under sail – solo and crewed – but the ARKEA ULTIM CHALLENGE – Brest sees six solo skippers preparing to push the boundaries of singlehanded racing to a new extreme.
Sailing around the world by boat was initially just done on monohulls. It was Sir Robin Knox Johnston who really threw down the gauntlet when he won the Golden Globe Race in 1967, 313 days.
But not long after that came the time of the multihulls, and the solo records have increasingly become the domain of the big multis.
Non stop record
2017 – 42d 16h 40m 35 François Gabart (FRA) Macif Trimaran 100 ft, Finished 17/12 Still the second fastest outright circumnavigation time.
The Brest race village will be officially open 29 December from 10 a.m.
The afternoon will offer entertainment for all ages as all the competitors arrive and dock in the port
The strong wind and weather conditions have required the organizers, in conjunction with the teams, to slightly modify the program.
The Ultims will arrive one by one in Brest and will enter through the narrows where spectators will be able to witness their arrival.
Adagio (Éric Péron) is the first to be expected there (2:30 p.m.) followed by the Maxi Banque Populaire XI (Armel Le Cléach) and then Sodebo (Thomas Coville).
Forty-five minutes later, the skippers will arrive near the port in Brest harbour.
Boat Arrivals for start 29 Dec 2023
Adagio: 2:30 p.m. (entrance to the narrows), 3:15 p.m. (entrance to the port)
Maxi Banque Populaire XI: 3:30 p.m. (entrance to the gully), 4:15 p.m. (entrance to the port)
Maxi Edmond de Rothschild: 4:15 p.m. (entrance to the narrows), 5 p.m. (entrance to the port)
Actual Ultim 3: 5 p.m. (entrance to the narrows), 5:45 p.m. (entrance to the port)
Sodebo Ultim 3: 5:30 p.m. (entrance to the narrows), 6:15 p.m. (entrance to the port)
