It’s official: four giant trimarans will participate in the Nice UltiMed next April.
Alongside Thomas Coville (Sodebo Ultim’), Armel Le Cléac’h (Banque Populaire IX), and Francis Joyon (IDEC SPORT), Yves Le Blévec and ACTUAL will line up for the first major Mediterranean event aboard the maxi-multihull Actual-Grand Large Emotion.
The countdown has begun: just 5 weeks left before we can admire the giants of the seas for this big Mediterranean premiere.
Let’s recall that Yves Le Blévec capsized off Cape Horn last December while he was the first sailor in history to attempt the feat of sailing around the world in a multihull against the prevailing winds. This capsizing in one of the planet’s most hostile regions resulted in the loss of his boat, so Yves’s participation seemed compromised.
A real race against time began: the Team Actual, supported by the Class Ultim 32/23 (formerly Collectif Ultim), put all their energy into finding a solution to be on the starting line of the Nice UltiMed in a few weeks. The owners of the Class, very supportive in this endeavor, worked hand in hand to enable Actual to participate in this major premiere.
Thanks to this solidarity and unwavering support, Yves Le Blévec will be at the start of the Nice UltiMed, aboard the former Gitana 11, extended in 2010 to 80 feet. Yves’s usual crew members and other sailors from Grand Large Emotion will complete the crew: Jean-Baptiste Le Vaillant, Loïc Lingois, Antoine Rabaste, Julien Jeudy, Karine Fauconnier, or Eric Defert (alternating).
This 80-foot trimaran with an impressive track record has been helmed by very great sailors: Loïck Peyron, Lionel Lemonchois (winner of the Route du Rhum in 2006), Yann Guichard (4th in the Route du Rhum in 2010), and Sébastien Josse. The boat was sold in 2015 to the Grand Large Emotion team, of which Karine Fauconnier, a multihull specialist, is a part for the 2018 season.
