The two Ultim foiling trimarans which had set off on a Jules Verne Trophy around the world non-stop record attempt have both aborted their current circumnavigation.

Francois Gabart‘s SVR-Lazartigue was first to end its record bid. At 0110 (UTC) this morning, Tuesday, December 3 the crew reported that they felt an impact while sailing in 25-30 knots of wind, around 500 miles from the Azores. The impact was described as a shock from an ‘OANI’, or an unidentified animal or object – the marine equivalent of a UFO.

The crew discovered that the trimaran’s starboard foil was damaged and made the decision to turn around, heading back to the team’s home port of Concarneau, Brittany, as soon as possible. The Ultim is expected to reach port between Friday 8 and Sunday 8 December.

After three days of racing, the SVR-Lazartigue crew were at best 145 minutes behind Francis Joyon on IDEC Sport‘s record time from 2017. On day three the crew also hit a sustained speed of 49.9 knots.

SVR-Lazartigue was one of two foiling Ultims bidding for a Jules Verne Trophy record in 2024.

Sodebo abandons Jules Verne attempt

Second to abandon their attempt was Thomas Coville’s Sodebo Ultim 3 The team reported that this afternoon, while making progress in the trade winds towards the Equator, the Sodebo Ultim 3 sustained damage to the central rudder.

The team statement explained: “Following an initial inspection, the crew noted the total loss of the central rudder flush with the bottom of the hull. Investigations are underway to determine whether the breakage of the central rudder stock was due to a mechanical problem or an impact.”

Hanging on for the ride: the crew of Sodebo during the Trophee Jules Verne attempt. Photo:
Vincent Curutchet/Team Sodebo

The crew has also turned back to its team base in Lorient to make repairs. The Sodebo team confirmed that the boat has no water ingress or collateral damage and the sailors can return by their own means.

While both Ultims had initially set off within 12 hours of each other in what initially looked set to be a compelling head-to-head battle around the world, the notoriously vulnerable trimarans also both succumbed to foil damage within the same day.

The question for both teams will be whether they can return to port, then get the complex trimarans back up to optimum record-breaking condition, in time to take advantage of any future weather scenarios that could offer a fast Atlantic southbound passage.

Tom Laperche steering, jet fighter-style, on SVR-Lazartigue. Photo: Guillaume Gatefait

SVR-Lazartigue reported that: ‘The team was hard at work exploring the different options including using their spare foil to go back to the Jules Verne Trophy as soon as a favorable weather window presents itself.

Heading for home

The Sodebo tracker dashboard includes a fascinating live chat function showing communication between the race crew, and the technical and routing teams ashore.

At 1513 today the boat reported: ‘Problem with the CC rudder.’

The technical crew can remotely monitor onboard telemetry, load cells etc, and observed that the boat had ‘probably lost all the saffron (foil)’.

Half an hour later, the routing cell posted: ‘Ok guys, we’re coming back home, damn it. Phil, can you work on a safe route home? Thanks, sorry.’

The router added: ‘It’s hard for everyone, it [the challenge] was good.’

Sodebo skipper Thomas Coville. Photo: Vincent Curutchet/Team Sodebo

The technical team then added some advice to the team: ‘You can open the whale hatch, check that there is no water first before a wave rises on the deck. Depending on what we see, we will probably have to open the inspection hatch to visually inspect the rest of the stock to be sure that it has not come loose from the lower bearing (risk of reaching the aft bulkhead).

“Carefully inspect the torque tube and the entire chain connecting the rudders and the steering system.

“We can see on the telemetry that the clutch release worked [the Ultims have various ‘shock-absorber’ systems built in to protect the boat in the event of an impact] but a good check of the entire system is necessary.”