MATTHEW SHEAHAN

HURTLING AROUND THE OCEANS ALONE IN GARGANTUAN MULTIHULLS CAPABLE OF HUGE SPEEDS AND UNTHINKABLE CAPSIZES - REQUIRES A MENTAL LEAP

The Ultim trimarans are extraordinary machines. Each with a footprint more than six times bigger than a typical UK detached house they are, quite simply, vast. Admittedly, most of an Ultim’s area is unusable – being

either trampoline netting between the hulls, or plain fresh air. And when it comes to comparing living space the tables are turned, most bathrooms being bigger than the trimarans’ habitable accommodation. But the fact remains that these boats are giants.

By the time you are reading this the six competitors in the Arkea Ultim Challenge (arkeaultimchallengebrest. com), the first ever solo fleet race around the world for big multihulls, should be approaching half way.

In the days leading up to the start you could feel the tension on the dockside in Brest. The howling gales that swept through the week before the start closed the visitor centre. Even when conditions eased, the white caps just outside the breakwater, horizontal rain and the noise of the wind were apt reminders as to what lay ahead.