At the gateway to the Mediterranean
Having set sail from Concarneau on Saturday at 13:00 hours, the head of the Finistère Atlantique fleet is due to make its grand entrance into the Mediterranean by the end of play this Monday, after a little over 48 hours at sea. Perfectly poised for the attack in 2nd position, Charles Caudrelier and the crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild are currently in the wake of the Maxi Banque Populaire XI, which has managed to snatch a lead of around sixty miles on their pursuers. It’s a relatively small margin as the men of Gitana Team reach the midway point in the race this Monday afternoon and the Mediterranean section of the racetrack is sure to be action-packed for the giants of the ULTIM class.
A lively scenario for part one

The start of this Finistère Atlantique has certainly not been a tour of inspection! Indeed, the five crews competing in this 2nd edition got straight to the nub of the matter with a low-pressure front to contend with on the edge of the Bay of Biscay from the first night out on the racetrack. The machines, like the skippers, have been put through the mill from the get-go with around 35 to 40 knots of breeze and the associated 3 to 4-metre seas. A stark contrast then from conditions at the start, just a few hours earlier, which was brushed by just 5 knots of breeze.

 Charles Caudrelier reviewed this first section of what has already been a boisterous race:“We’ve been racing for 48 hours and a lot of things have been going on! Following the summery start in the bay of Concarneau, the first night with its bad weather was tough and really scooped all of us up with it. However, we’ve come out the other side well. It’s been an interesting match against our rivals. The fleet was very tightly bunched at the start in the light airs. We weren’t the fastest in these conditions but that was more down to the seaweed, which hampered our progress quite a lot at the start of the race, forcing us to go into reverse a few times to shake ourselves free of it. Afterwards, in the strong wind as we closed on the depression, we noticed that the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild was still able to demonstrate considerable potential. We performed somewhat better than our playmates. We took the pedal off the metal a little in the big seas, but that seems to have been the case for the entire fleet.” 

Offshore repairs

After putting in a gybe, two groups formed: the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and Banque Populaire are in contact with one another further offshore, whilst SVR-Lazartigue opted to favour the inside track at the TSS (traffic separation scheme prohibited to race boats, editor’s note) at Cape Finisterre. It was during this high-speed phase offshore of the Iberian coast that Charles Caudrelier’s men spotted some damage to their port rudder. Though this technical incident did not require a pit stop, it would handicap the large five-arrow maxi-trimaran for a few hours, as her skipper explained: “On rounding Cape Finisterre in the early hours of Sunday morning, after the front rolled through, we were nicely in contact with  Banque Populaire. Unfortunately, as we dropped down the coast, we lost our grip on them. We had a few technical issues with the port rudder, which prevented us from making fast headway on starboard tack. Luckily, David (Boileau, editor’s note) was able to spend all of last night resolving the matter in the light airs of a ridge of high pressure we had to pass through and the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild is now back up and running at her full potential once again.” 

Targeting Gibraltar

The Strait of Gibraltar is due to be negotiated over the coming hours for the top two boats in this Finistère Atlantique and it will be a symbolic passage for the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. Despite the fact that Gitana 17 has covered nearly 175,000 nautical miles since her launch in 2017, for the very first time she is venturing into the famous passage between Morocco and Spain, which marks the gateway into the Mediterranean. However, any celebrations will be short-lived, as the first few miles in the waters of the Alboran Sea are shaping up to be rather tactical with a fairly light breeze: “The wind is smiling on the leader for now as there is a little more power in the breeze up ahead but that could soon change. We’re going to dig deep as we’re still in the same weather system as them. The fleet may well bunch up again, especially after Gibraltar, as there’s not likely to be much air,”concluded Charles Caudrelier, delighted with the match racing and the intensity on the programme for this second section of the racetrack. It’s worth remembering of course that although the two leaders have managed to stretch away from their pursuers considerably, everyone knows that the performances of the ULTIMs, combined with the trials and tribulations of the Mediterranean weather, can rapidly reshuffle the cards.

Ranking for the Finistère Atlantique, Monday 30 September at 17:00 hours
  1. 1.Maxi Banque Populaire XI – 757 miles from the finish
  2. 2.Maxi Edmond de Rothschild – 43,4 miles behind the leader
  3. 3.Sodebo Ultim 3 – 187,6 miles back
  4. 4.SVR - Lazatigue – 220,2 miles back
  5. 5.Actual Ultim 3 – 336,9 miles back 
Course for the Finistère Atlantique 2024

1,678 miles from Concarneau to Antibes

Crew of the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild

Charles Caudrelier
Erwan Israël
Benjamin Schwartz
Julien Villon
David Boileau
Yann Riou

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