Six sailors set out on the 40,000-kilometer around-the-world Ultim Challenge from France on Sunday, hoping to complete one of the sport's "biggest challenges" inside 50 days.
Under bright winter sunshine in the Brittany port of Brest, the first such race on superpowerful but relatively fragile trimarans got underway.
The Edmond de Rothschild, helmed by Charles Caudrelier, was the early evening leader with an advantage of a few nautical miles.