The team was taking a gamble after fewer than 10,000 miles sailed, a large part of them with only one of the two foils installed during the race, and few solo repetitions for Caudrelier. His big brother, named Gitana 17, had ushered in the era of ocean flying in multihulls in 2017, before virtually crushing everything in racing for years.
Skipper Charles Caudrelier, 52, is abandoning the Route du Rhum 2026 after a serious foil failure discovered Tuesday. He was then in the leading quartet at the helm of a new Ultim.
The sailor has decided to return to Lorient (Morbihan), his home port, which he should reach over the weekend. The team says the damage is irreparable alone at sea or during a stopover on the course.
The retirement prematurely ends his participation, even though he was among the favorites in the leading quartet before the failure was discovered.
The skipper therefore remains committed to the development of the trimaran, despite withdrawing from the race.
In the opinion of all the sailors interviewed by AFP in recent times, making such a cutting-edge machine 100% reliable takes well more than a year.