Team Holcim – PRB with Susann Beucke from Kiel won the second stage of the Ocean Race from Cape Verde to Cape Town. Boris Herrmann’s team Malizia lost the doldrums at the Cape and missed the podium.
In the early morning of the final day, the Malizia had regained the lead on the second leg of the circumnavigation. At the end of the battle of nerves, however, it was not enough for the boat flying the German flag to place on the podium.
As in the first round, the Swiss team Holcim – PRB with experienced skipper Kevin Escoffier (France) and Olympic silver medalist Beucke from Kiel secured victory on the stage to Cape Town on Sunday.
Ocean Race high-flyer Beucke overjoyed
The 31-year-old, who was not present on the first section, was the only German at her ocean race premiere to arrive in port as the winner after 17 days, 19 hours and 9 seconds. As she walked in, the high-flyer from the North German Regatta Club wiped tears of happiness from her face. Behind Team Holcim, the French Biotherm and the US team 11th Hour Racing crossed the finish line.
The hoped-for wind does not materialize for Malizia
A different, south-eastern and coastal course did not ultimately pay off for the Malizia team. When the hoped-for wind failed to materialize for the German boat as it approached the port of destination on Sunday morning, the advantage it had gained over the competition further north melted away. The Malizia doesn’t really like weak winds. But the deliberately robust new building also showed what it was made of on the 4,600 nautical miles from Cape Verde to Cape Town under different conditions. Just like the young British skipper Will Harris, who stood in for Herrmann, who had an injured foot, on the second of a total of seven stages.
Harris and company go “all in”
The Malizia reached Cape Town in the afternoon after 17 days, 21 hours, 6 minutes and 49 seconds as the fourth boat. “The result was a bit of a matter of luck. In the end, it wasn’t the 6,500 racing miles that counted, but the last 100. We tried another option, wanted to reach for the stars instead of nothing, but unfortunately it didn’t pay off in the end,” Harris summed up .
The impressive catch-up race of Guyot Environnement – Team Europe with the Berlin skipper Robert Stanjek was no longer enough to avoid last place. After already being more than 500 nautical miles behind, Guyot had come up strong again with the last less than 25 nautical miles behind the Malizia.
Queen’s stage starts in two weeks
The third leg will start in two weeks (February 26). The destination is Itajai in Brazil – at 12,750 nautical miles it is the king’s stage of this ocean race edition. Boris Herrmann then wants to get back on board. In total, the five crews of the Imoca yachts have to cover 60,000 kilometers around the world over a period of six months.
Ocean Race: The Stages
1st stage: Alicante – Cape Verde
Start: January 15; Arrival: January 21st
1,900 nautical miles
2nd stage: Cape Verde – Cape Town/South Africa
Start: January 25th. Expected arrival: February 12th
4,600 nautical miles
3rd stage: Cape Town – Itajai/Brazil
Start: February 26; Expected arrival: April 1st
12,750 nautical miles
4th stage: Itajai/Brazil – Newport/USA
Launch: April 23; Expected arrival: May 10th
5,550 nautical miles
5th stage: Newport/USA – Aarhus/Denmark
Start: May 21; Expected arrival: May 30th
3,500 nautical miles
6th stage: Aarhus/Denmark – Fly-By Kiel – The Hague/Netherlands
Start: June 8; Kiel (no stop) June 9; Expected arrival: June 11th
800 nautical miles
7th stage: The Hague/Netherlands – Genoa/Italy
Start: June 15; Expected finish: July 1st
2,200 nautical miles
This topic in the program:
sports club | 02/12/2023 | 10:50 p.m
