Gitana : écurie de course au large fondée par le Baron Benjamin de Rothschild

Friday 01 July 2022

Rendez-vous at 11:00 UTC in the bay of Port la Forêt

In a few hours’ time, four Ultims will come together offshore of Concarneau, Brittany, for the 2022 season’s event opener: the Finistère Atlantique Challenge Action Enfance. On the programme for the giants and their crews is a long 3,163-mile circuit of the North Atlantic with nearly a week of top-flight ocean racing expected. The perfect racecourse for the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and her rivals - Banque Populaire, Sodebo, Actual which will lead the fleet down towards Madeira, the Canaries and the Azores, before heading back up towards the Glénan archipelago, where the finish of this first edition will be decided. For this return to the racetrack, Charles Caudrelier will be accompanied by his trusty crew: Franck Cammas, Morgan Lagravière, David Boileau, Erwan Israël and Yann Riou.

In a year where the main meeting of the season is undoubtedly the singlehanded Route du Rhum, a crewed race might not seem like the ideal training exercise, but for Charles it’s a very valuable tool: “We’re eager to do battle and get out on the racetrack. That is what’s driving us here and it will enable us to see where we’re at in relation to our rivals, even though the Finistère Atlantique format is naturally very different to that of the Route du Rhum, which is the main objective for all the team this year. Kicking off the season with a crewed race is an advantage and it’s the perfect way to get back in the saddle. It’s in crewed configuration that we really push our machines hard and trimming and performance have to be really honed. At the end of the race, the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild will be tweaked to perfection for the rest of the season.”

According to the latest weather forecast, the Finistère Atlantique - Challenge Action Enfance fleet should set sail from the bay of Port la Forêt in very mild to very calm conditions: at midday 8 - 10 knots of SW’ly wind are expected to accompany the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild and her rivals as they head offshore.

The Finistère Atlantique Challenge Action Enfance

3,163-mile course across the North Atlantic
Concarneau, the Glénan archipelago, Madeira, Lanzarote (Canaries), Santa Maria (Azores), Concarneau

Crew on the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild

Charles Caudrelier, skipper
Franck Cammas, helm, navigator
Morgan Lagravière, helm, trimmer
David Boileau, trimmer, bowman
Erwan Israël, helm, trimmer
Yann Riou, media crew, helm

The entries

Maxi Edmond de Rothschild
Banque Populaire XI
Sodebo Ultim 3
Actual Leader