It’s not often you get a first in sailing these days, but the Arkea Ultim Challenge – Brest 2023 is set to deliver just that. On 7 January 2024, the Ultim class – the largest, fastest ocean-racing multihulls – will race solo and unassisted around the globe.
Dubbed the ‘giants of the seas’, these super sleek trimarans measure 32m x 23m and are fitted with huge foils, enabling them to fully fly over the waves. As well as foils on the two outer floats, there is also a central adjustable foil known as the ‘skate wing’ (the angle of attack can be adjusted to create a pull-down effect rather than generating lift, for increased stability), plus foil-rudders on all three hulls.
Towering 32m masts support sail areas that can surpass 700m2 (downwind). Average speeds are around 35kts, top speeds are pushing towards 50kts.
Around 200m2 of trampolines, 5km of ropes… the stats continue to astound. The crossbeams are shaped for maximum aero efficiencies, looking much like aircraft wings, and arranged either in a H or X structure in an architectural play-off that comes down to rigidity vs weight.
Multihulls of such giant proportions have previously carried sailors around the globe – but the list of soloists is insanely short: Since Francis Joyon became the first to complete a solo non-stop multihull circumnavigation in 2004 (taking 72d, 22h, 54m), only Ellen MacArthur, Thomas Coville, and, most recently,) of 42d, 16h, 40m; this is in fact the second fastest outright circumnavigation time (to Francis Joyon’s crewed , the current Jules Verne Trophy holder, with a time of 40h 23d 30m).
