After having already abandoned a first attempt to beat the record for the Jules-Verne Trophy, round the world crewed non-stop and without assistance, on December 3, 2024, Thomas Coville, skipper of the maxi-trimaran Sodebo-Ultim 3announced on Monday January 6 that it was giving up on continuing its second test, launched on December 20 from the island of Ouessant (Finistère).
Victims of damage to his central rudder – the part of the rudder which is used to steer – the Frenchman and his six crew were forced to turn around while they were heading off the Kerguelen Islands, in the south of the Indian Ocean.
“There was no shock, but we lost the rudder (…) We cannot continue in record mode and we do not think that we should enter the South Seas without a central rudder. explained Thomas Coville, in a press release published by the Sodebo team.
Heading north for a stopover
At the time of the damage, the seven men on board were sailing only a few hundred kilometers behind on the trail of Francis Joyon, holder of the Jules-Verne Trophy since 2017 (40 days, 23 hours, 30 minutes and 30 seconds); they had even passed the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) a day early.
But because of this damage to the rudder, the trimaran is no longer “ at 100% of its capacity », according to the team of Sodebo-Ultim 3. A defect which seriously hampers navigation.
“This abandonment is of course a disappointment for everyone. But he will also be a trainer and learner for the future of our team in order to meet our next challenges”puts Thomas Coville into perspective. He and his teammates (Frédéric Denis, Léonard Legrand, Pierre Leboucher, Guillaume Pirouelle, Benjamin Schwartz and Nicolas Troussel) are now heading towards Australia, for a stopover.
Thomas Coville was the last skipper in the running, after the abandonment of François Gabart and his team, on December 3, 2024, whose ship, SVR-Lazartiguehad suffered a shock.
