ULTIM: The giants race north
The two fastest trimarans on Earth are hammering through the Doldrums for a second time, neck-and-neck in a battle that could decide the Transat Café L’OR 2025. SVR Lazartigue still leads, but Sodebo Ultim 3 has cut its deficit by more than half in 24 hours, sailing at over 30 knots and threading the squalls with ruthless precision.
“We haven’t been holding back since the start,” co-skipper Benjamin Schwartz said in the morning check-in. “Every gybe is on the edge. You delay easing the mainsail because the moment you do, it’s five minutes grinding to get it back.”
The Intertropical Convergence Zone is proving kinder than on the outward leg, letting both trimarans hold steady at 25 knots. By tonight, they’ll re-enter the northern hemisphere with less than 1 000 miles to run before Fort-de-France. Actual Ultim 4 remains the day’s distance champion, clocking 705 miles on a straight course — but the duel ahead looks set for a Thursday finish.
Ocean Fifty: heartbreak for Edenred 5
It takes very little to break a multihull pushed this hard. Edenred 5, the red rocket that had led much of the leg, suffered a major failure overnight when her carbon spinnaker pole tore free, damaging the rudder link bar. “We cut it away and sleeved a repair using the seaweed pole,” skipper Emmanuel Le Roch reported. “We’re back on the J0, but gutted — that’s racing.”
The loss of the big gennaker robs Edenred 5 of her downwind power, and Viabilis Océans immediately seized the lead. Baptiste Hulin and Thomas Rouxel are now running three knots faster and 16 miles ahead of Wewise, with 1 000 miles to go.
Their comeback has been extraordinary — from an early Channel pit-stop to the top of the table in under ten days. But as the race video noted today, “Five boats can still win. The race is wide open.”
IMOCA: precision at 25 knots
Downwind, the IMOCAs are now faster than the Ocean Fiftys. Charal covered more than 600 miles in the last 24 hours, yet skipper Jérémie Beyou’s lead over Macif Santé Prévoyance is only 30 miles — about an hour at these speeds.
“It’s stressful but we’re going fast, so we just hang on,” Beyou told race control. With Morgan Lagravière, he’s alternating two-hour watches, fighting fatigue while refining every sail angle.
Team Snef–TeamWork has slipped slightly with suspected technical niggles, while 11th Hour Racing (Francesca Clapcich and Will Harris) and Allagrande Mapei (Ambrogio Beccaria and Thomas Ruyant) both profit from the steadier trade winds. The top four are now within 100 miles, compressed by shifting breezes north of the Cape Verdes.
Kiwi Conrad Colman: steady under the trades
New Zealander Conrad Colman, sailing with Mathieu Blanchard aboard MSIG Europe, continues to gain ground. Over the past two days he’s improved his position by 120 nautical miles, holding pace with older foilers despite being on a lighter, earlier-generation hull.
The pair have now “touched the Alizés” — the steady trade winds that will carry them towards Martinique. Colman’s updates hint at a methodical rhythm rather than brute speed, focused on finishing strongly and preserving gear for the final push.
Class 40: two roads to Martinique
Halfway between Spain and the Azores, the Class 40s are wrestling with their first major front. The fleet split overnight — a bold northern group sailing the shorter, rougher route, and a southern pack betting on lighter downwind trades.
“It’s the choice between daring and self-preservation,” said one skipper in today’s update. Corentin Douguet and Axel Tréhin on SNSM Faites un Don lead the northerners, with Legallais and VSF Sports close behind. South, Seafrigo–Sogestran and Solano are banking on calmer seas.
The northerners faced 40-knot gusts and heavy lightning last night, while the southerners enjoyed a steadier 12–15 knots. By tomorrow, the weather will reveal which gamble pays off.
Final approach: tension builds
After approaching two weeks at sea, the Transat Café L’OR 2025 is boiling down to fine margins and frayed nerves. The ULTIM leaders could see landfall in under 48 hours, while the Ocean Fiftys and IMOCAs fight on toward a Friday arrival. The Class 40s, battered but unbroken, still have another week of ocean left.
Every class has its own storyline: mechanical heartbreak, tactical genius, or sheer human endurance. For Conrad Colman — the only Kiwi in the race — it’s all three. From the cold of the Bay of Biscay to the warmth of the Caribbean trades, he’s proving again why New Zealand sailors are never far from the front of the pack.
