Brest (AFP)

Four grandiose boats, an unpublished double race, an atypical course, a third man on board to tell the story, the anxiety of a catastrophe scenario for the Ultim class: these are the ingredients of Brest Atlantiques, part Tuesday from Brest for a one-month loop.

Seriously damaged during the last Route du Rhum a year ago, the Ultims, maxi-trimarans 32 m long maximum able to fly, have finally embarked on their first confrontation, between large boats of this world.

They are few in number, still in phase of clearing a navigation become flying but not yet foolproof. They took the challenge of a first race, made for them and by them, 14,000 nautical miles (about 26,000 km) on the North and South Atlantic Oceans. Or a month made of unforeseen events on the seas, from Brest to Rio (Brazil), from Rio to Cape Town (South Africa) then from Cape to Brest - an almost unknown portion - all non-stop.

"It's half a length of a world tour, that's what we do on the Jules Verne Trophy even if there, we must pass Rio and make a comeback from South Africa. It is special and innovative in sailing, there is no course like this in modern offshore racing, "says AFP Franck Cammas, partner with Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild).

- Flying machines -

In front of him, other distinguished sailors: François Gabart / Gwnénolé Gahinet (Trimaran Macif), Thomas Coville / Jean-Luc Nélias (Sodebo Ultim 3) and Yves le Blévec / Alex Pella (Actual Leader).

All have flying machines, arrived on a very small market because of their cost (between 10 and 15 million euros) these last three / four years. Gabart was the first to launch his boat in the summer of 2015. The Maxi Edmond de Rothschild followed in 2017 and the last one is that of Coville, released last March. Only Le Blévec is at the helm of a giant multihull that is 10 years old but has several records to his credit.

All of them know they are expected, with in a corner of the head breaks that could decimate a fleet already reduced to a bare minimum to make this long adventure in the seas, a flop.

"I will never hold the speech: there are 4 boats at the start, there will be 4 at the finish, we will not have any breaks, that's not true, there will be some breakage on board. Trimaran Macif, we know, "says Gabart, holder of the record of the round the world solo (42 days end of 2017).

- Risks -

"It's inherent in offshore racing, I've won a lot of races in recent years, there's almost none that I've won without breaking it, especially since it's going to last a month." I remain convinced and convinced that we can not do this kind of extraordinary boats without taking risks ".

"We want to sail on exceptional boats and push back a little what we think is possible.And when we do it, we face the damage, we just have to find the right balance, we can not afford to have a good race if there are too many retirements, "continues Gabart, who finished second in the last Route du Rhum after suffering 4 major crashes.

The skippers are eager to show that their boats can be reliable and offer a good show, thanks to the presence of a media man, who can participate in life on board but without contributing to the performance of the boat.

They also intend to lay the foundations of the race around the world alone that makes them dream so much that they plan to do in 2023 with two new boats in addition: that of Gabart, which will be sold after the release of his new machine in 2020, and that of Banque Populaire, barred by Armel Le Cléac'h, called to replace their Ultim destroyed during the Route du Rhum (expected in 2021).

© 2019 AFP