SVR's time has come A perfect combination

This time SVR Lazartigue took the lead on the first morning of the race when Banque Populaire XI had to pitstop into Lorient to fix a rudder which was damaged in a manoeuvre. Laperche and Cammas were never passed since then, even during a painfully slow Doldrums passage. 

Shared pathways 

His natural talent,  his composure in the face of the elements, his ability to single-handedly sail a three-hulled behemoth, his obvious talent, there’s definitely a touch of Cammas in Laperche. Until this year the two sailors had never been partners. “We almost sailed together in 2015: a sponsor had offered me the chance to round Cape Horn with a young sailor,” Franck recalls. Tom was part of the selection process but ultimately wasn’t chosen. “They didn’t select him because he was too strong; they wanted someone more of an amateur,” smiled Cammas who went on to sail the sport catamaran round Cape Horn. 

It was a little over a year ago, Tom approached Franck. “I wanted him to join us to benefit from his knowledge, his experience, and to continue developing the boat.” Cammas acknowledges the challenge was “hard to refuse.” 

No duel

Sadly the highly anticipated duel with Banque Populaire on this race never really happened. Le Cléac'h and Josse were armed with new foils, Anthony Marchand was sailing the former Gitana 17 (now Actual Ultim 4) with Julien Villion, a skipper renowned for his routing skill. And there was the experience of Thomas Coville, sailing with Benjamin Schwartz on Sodebo Ultim 3.  

In the English Channel on a blustery first night the duel between SVR-Lazartigue and Maxi Banque Populaire XI is lit. But it doesn't last. On the very first night Banque Populaire XI have to turn east towards Lorient, the port rudder damaged due to a maneuvering error. Even if their repair took less than five hours their rivals, led by SVR Lazartigue have already covered a significant portion of the Bay of Biscay.

An exceptional performance

At this point, Sodebo Ultim 3 and Actual Ultim 4 are really keeping pace with SVR-Lazartigue. Coville and Schwartz manage to take the lead in the race on Monday in the early afternoon. But it doesn't last. SVR take the advantage at the La Coruña TSS (Traffic Separation Scheme) to extend their lead. Sodebo Ultim 3 remained in contention along the coast of Portugal before gradually fell behind. Maxi Banque Populaire XI briefly closed to within just 180 miles of the race leader (Wednesday the 29th), but they lost many miles during their Doldrums crossing.

SVR-Lazartigue gaining ground everywhere: off the African coast and then rounding the Cape Verde archipelago to the northwest, while its two rivals (Sodebo Ultim 3 and Actual Ultim 4) opted for the east then south route.

Cammas’ five victories on the Coffee Route

Franck Cammas extends his record to five victories on the Coffee Route after winning in 2001, 2003 and 2007.  And his most recent victory as co-skipper was in 2021 with Charles Caudrelier on the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild. He is one of France’s most outstanding skippers winning the solo Route du Rhum on the maxi trimaran 32m Groupama 3 in 2010 after winning the Trophée Jules Verne fully crewed on Groupama 3 for setting a round the world record at 48 days 7 hours. He led the Groupama team to win the 2011-2012 Volvo Ocean Race.