Guirec Soudée crossed the finish line aboard Liamm on Monday at 12.31pm local time (5.31pm Paris time), completing his first transatlantic race in the Ultim class.
It marked his Route du Rhum debut in the giant trimarans, and he made the most of it, battling gusts of up to 50 knots to complete the Route du Rhum, Destination Guadeloupe in 8 days, 4 hours and 29 minutes. The result stands provisionally, pending the jury's final ruling.
Soudée crossed the line at Pointe-à-Pitre in a race time of 8 days, 4 hours, 29 minutes and 42 seconds, finishing 1 day, 15 hours, 2 minutes and 2 seconds behind the winner. He covered 4,150.85 nautical miles at an average speed of 21.12 knots, well ahead of the 17.96 knot pace required on the great-circle route.
Speaking at the dock, Soudée was full of praise for his veteran trimaran.
"It was a first in Ultim and I had a great time. I really loved pushing my boat to the maximum of what I could do. It's an old boat but it's still fast and tough... It showed it still had something left in the tank! Honestly, I didn't think it would go this well. I was really giving it everything! I had up to 50 knots of wind, which was pretty new for me, but I loved it."
He also compared the Ultim class to his past campaigns in IMOCAs.
"When I think back to my IMOCA years, which were really great, we're still so much better off on multihulls, it's so much more enjoyable in every way! I'm happy to arrive but there's a slight frustration thinking it's already over."
Asked what lies ahead, Soudée pointed straight to his next goal.
"The next step is the Arkéa Ultim Challenge Brest. I'm ready even if there are a few bits and pieces to sort out on the boat. But seeing the fully flying boats, I think that must be pretty nice... I'm not ruling anything out!"
The Arkéa Ultim Challenge Brest takes place in January 2028.
