Racing 250 nautical miles ENE of Salvador de Bahia, Brazil, this evening, Tom Laperche leads the Ultim Challenge race by 54 miles from Charles Caudrelier. SVR Lazartigue was the first to cross the Equator into the Southern Hemisphere Saturday 13th evening, at 18:43:43hrs UTC. His elapsed time since last Sunday’s start line is 6d 6h 13m, and since the WSSRC record line at Ushant is 6d 5h 35m 56s.
Second to cross last night at 20:11:54hrs – so, 1h 28m 21s later – was Charles Caudrelier (Maxi Edmond de Rothschild). Caudrelier’s elapsed times are 6d 7h 41m since the start line and 6d 7h 2m 54s since the WSSRC line.
On his 2017 record breaking circumnavigation Francois Gabart’s passage time to the Equator was 5d 20h 45m, the fastest solo time remains Thomas Coville’s 5d 17h 11m and the best ever is that of Spindrift 2 at 4d 20h 07m
Recife stopover planned for the Maxi Banque Populaire XI
Armel Le Cléac'h and the Maxi Banque Populaire XI are heading to the Brazilian port of Recife to the repair the pulpit on the main hull and to replace the tack line fitting for the gennaker after damage incurred during a problem with the J0 sail which the French skipper spoke of during a Ultim Challenge live broadcast yesterday. The pulpit maintains the safety of the skipper when he is working at the front of the boat.
With Le Cléac’h due in the Southern Ocean in a few days time his team say it it is imperative that this part of the boat is functional for the rest of the race. And during the pit stop, members of Team Banque Populaire report they will take the opportunity to also resolve a problem discovered on the hydraulics of the foil system. The boat is expected to arrive in Recife between tonight and tomorrow morning (French time) and it will be met with members of the technical team. It will stop for at least 24 hours as required by the rules of the race governing a stopover.
Ronan Lucas, Director of the Banque Populaire Team said: “With Armel we made the decision to stop, following the incident that occurred after the storm which deprived us of a large gennaker and, what's more, tore the pulpit off the boat. It is unthinkable to go into the Southern Ocean without this important safety feature for when the skipper is maneuvering at the front of the boat. And while he is heading towards Recife, Armel reported a problem with the foil up/down system which prevents him from using it and which reinforces the decision to make a stopover even with incurring a 24-hour penalty. We are all a little disappointed by this incident even though we did not experience a single incident during the Transat Jacques Vabre. This course is long and the whole team will do its utmost to get Armel and the Maxi Banque Populaire XI back into the race as quickly as possible.”
Racing since Sunday, January 7 at 1:30 p.m. on this first edition of the Ultim Challenge, Armel Le Cléac'h held fourth place before making the decision to make a stopover. The skipper of the Maxi Banque Populaire XI crossed the equator this Sunday morning and is currently heading towards the Brazilian coast. He is the first sailor on this race to choose to make a stopover.
