Trimaran Ultim 32/23 VPLP-Bañuls, winner of the Jules Verne Trophy 2026
Sodebo Ultim 3 is a racing trimaran of the Ultim 32/23 (32 m long, 23 m wide), designed for solo and crewed round-the-world sailing. Launched on March 18, 2019, it is operated by Team Sodebo (Lorient) with Thomas Coville at the helm.
Design: VPLP Design with Renaud Bañuls
The boat is signed by VPLP Design and Renaud Bañuls, with contributions from Martin Fischer (foils), GSEA Design (structures), and North Sails (aerodynamics). Nearly 55,000 hours of design and 110,000 hours of construction were required.
Construction: six shipyards
- Multiplast (Vannes) — central hull, floats, cockpit
- CDK Technologies (Port-la-Forêt) — bow arms
- Persico Marine (Italy) — stern arms and foils
- Lorima (Lorient) — 34 m mast and boom
- Gepetto (Lorient) — daggerboard
- Éole Composites (Treffléan) — rudders
Technical specifications
- Length × width: 32 m × 23 m
- Mast: 34 m (air draft 36 m)
- Sail area: mainsail 277 m², nearly 700 m² downwind
- Foils: total height 4 m (2.5 m below hull)
- Construction: carbon/foam sandwich
- Target speed: 45–50 knots
Boat achievements
- Jules Verne Trophy 2026 — winner crewed (Coville + 6) in 40 days 10 hours 45 minutes 50 seconds, absolute round-the-world crewed record, +12 hours 44 minutes ahead of the previous record (IDEC Sport, 2017).
- Arkéa Ultim Challenge–Brest 2024 — 2nd place with Thomas Coville (solo round-the-world of the Ultim class).
- Route du Rhum 2022 — 3rd in Ultim class with Thomas Coville.
- Rolex Fastnet Race 2019 — 3rd place, 58 seconds behind the first two (Edmond de Rothschild and Macif).
