All five VO65s left The Hague in full racing trim on Thursday afternoon (15 June), heading into Stage 3 of the VO65 Sprint Cup. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the IMOCA fleet, where a dramatic collision has left just three boats still on the course and racing towards Genoa.

One boat has retired from the leg after assuming responsibility for the accident, while the race-leading 11th Hour Racing Team is dockside in The Hague after working through the night to determine the extent of the damage, begin repairs and assess options for a return.

The incident itself was the type of accident that regrettably happens on rare occasions in racing. But it is a shock to see it here, in conditions of daylight and good visibility and on an uncrowded race course.

After 11th Hour Racing Team tacked on the layline for the next turning mark and established itself as the stand on ‘right of way’ boat, the crew on GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, required to give way in this situation, apparently didn’t see the other boat until it was too late. The resulting collision caused enough damage to send both boats back to port.

“I was helming and I just saw their boat appear suddenly and it was too late,” lamented Ben Dutreux, the skipper of the GUYOT boat. “The contact was unavoidable [at that point]. I take full responsibility. It is our fault.”

In acknowledging fault, GUYOT environnement - Team Europe has retired from Leg 7 of the race, a disappointing turn of events for a team that had proved resilient in coming back from an earlier dismasting.

For 11th Hour Racing Team, the damage from the collision is a big X factor the team now has to deal with. With his team currently at the head of the leaderboard and riding a wave of three consecutive leg victories, skipper Charlie Enright had been looking forward to a hard-fought race into Genoa that, given the right result, would see them winning The Ocean Race by beating their nearest competitor, Team Holcim-PRB, on the water. Now, through no fault of their own, the story takes a different turn.

“The most important thing is that everyone on their boat and on our boat is okay,” Enright said on the dock, not long after the collision. “Where we go from here is uncertain at this stage. It’s life, it’s racing. There is nothing we would have done differently and accidents happen.

“This race has a way of testing people in different ways, physically and mentally, and this is a test for our team. But there is no team I would rather be on, that I would rather have with me. If anyone can figure this out, it is us, I genuinely believe that; we will just have to see what that process looks like as we get more information.”

In a team statement on Friday (16 June), Enright confirmed the bad news — the team has withdrawn from Leg 7.

“We are working around the clock to repair the boat as quickly as possible, and our intent is to sail to Genova to rejoin the fleet and complete this lap around our blue planet,” he said. “Everyone is obviously devastated — no one wants to finish a race like this — but spirits are high within the team, and everyone is focused on finishing this incredible race on a high note.”

The team has also officially filed a Request for Redress. Retiring from the leg and filing for redress gives the team the best chance, within the rules of the event, to secure the points it needs to win the overall race.

VO65 Sprint Cup Stage 3 start day onboard Austrian Ocean Racing - Team Genova | Credit: Stefan Leitner/Austrian Ocean Racing - Team Genova/The Ocean Race

While this incident overshadowed the Leg 7 start, there are still three boats racing towards Genova in the IMOCA class, including Team Holcim-PRB who showed an impressive burst of speed off the starting line to build a lead over 11th Hour Racing Team and GUYOT envrionnement before the fateful collision.

Skipper Benjamin Schwartz pushed his boat and crew hard and they would go on to lead Team Malizia and Biotherm out of The Hague starting area towards the North Sea. As the three boats worked through the exclusion zones and into the English Channel, racing remained extremely close. As of Friday afternoon UTC (16 June) the trio are within eight nautical miles on the race tracker leaderboard, with Team Holcim-PRB holding a modest advantage.

Earlier on Thursday, it was the VO65 fleet with the first start of the day, their racing getting underway just after 1300 local time, under mostly sunny skies and in a nine-12 knot northerly breeze.

After pleasing the home fans with a win in the In-Port Race, the local heroes on the Dutch-flagged Team JAJO once again led the way on Thursday, making an early pass on the first downwind leg and extending away to lead the fleet through the departure gate and away from The Hague.

“This has been super nice,” said Team JAJO skipper Jelmer van Beek from on board as the boat passed through the final starting gate. “It’s great to have so many people out on the water supporting us. It keeps amazing me. And we’re in first place so a good start for us on the race to Genova.”

Just behind JAJO was WindWhisper Racing Team, the overall leader in the VO65 flee, the team JAJO has to beat to Genoa to have a chance at the title — and as of Friday afternoon, the team in the lead as the front-runners approach the Channel Islands. Austrian Ocean Racing/Genova, Mirpuri-Trifork Racing and Viva Mexico were all lined up behind the leaders as they sailed downwind from The Hague and they remain in contention, with only 20 miles separating the fleet.

Rankings at 1700 UTC, 16 June

IMOCA:

1. Team Holcim-PRB, 1,935.9 miles to finish
2. Biotherm, 2.6 miles to leader

3. Team Malizia, 7.5 miles to finish

VO65
:

1. WindWhisper Racing, 1,902 miles to finish
2. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, 1.6 miles to leader
3. Team JAJO, 9.1 miles to leader
4. Viva México, 13.1 miles to leader
5. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 20.4 miles to leader

Follow both fleets’ progress via the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

Meanwhile, sailors in both fleets in The Ocean Race 2022-23 are preparing for a challenging Leg 7 towards the Grand Finale in Genoa, Italy.

For the IMOCA fleet that has raced around the world, this ultimate leg of the race is decisive — the winner will be crowned in Genoa.

Skipper Charlie Enright and his 11th Hour Racing Team have put themselves in a strong position with three consecutive leg wins to build a two-point lead over Team Holcim-PRB.

As the American team also holds the advantage in the tie-breaking In-Port Race Series, the only way for skipper Benjamin Schwartz’s Holcim-PRB team to overcome the deficit is to finish three points clear ahead on this final stage.

“It’s not only up to us to win this leg, we have to finish in front of 11th Hour Racing Team, either in first or second, and then they have to be fourth or fifth — those are the only only options,” Schwartz said at the skippers’ press conference on Wednesday (14 June). “So we’re going to try to win this leg, and then we’ll need a bit of help from the other teams if we are going to win The Ocean Race.”

For Enright, the task is clear: “We’ve sailed a lot of miles around the world already, but there’s 2,000 very, very, very complex miles left to go,” he said. “We’ve just had our weather briefing and this is shaping up to be like an extended version of the last leg, which was the most complex one that we’ve done to date.

“It’s tricky and the points are close. We’ll still try to sail aggressively, but also stay humble. We recognise where we are, what the situation is, so we’re looking forward to the next leg, and I’m sure it’s gonna come right down to the end, because it always seems to do that.”

Things are slightly easier at the head of the VO65 Sprint fleet, where Poland’s WindWhisper Racing Team has won the opening two stages of the competition. However, by earning second- and third-place finishes, Team JAJO remains within striking distance.

“I think it’s not going to be over until we cross the finish line in Genova,” was the cautious take from Pablo Arrarte, the WindWhisper skipper. “Anything can happen — you can break the boat or you can have other issues. So we’ll approach this stage the same way as the others. We will do our best, sail the boat as fast as possible, and we will work very hard until the finish.”

Gerwin Jansen is leading Austrian Ocean Racing - powered by Team Genova on a race to the team’s home port, so motivation is high.

“Obviously, there’s quite a lot of pressure on us because we’re sailing to our home port, and expectations are high in Genova, but we like the challenge,” Jansen said. “It’s a very long, complicated leg, so I think the key is to stay fresh, and then the plan is to keep close through Gibraltar and then overtake all of them in the Mediterranean.”

Sailors in both fleets spoke about the complexity of the race to the Grand Finale in Genoa. The start will take the teams into a North Sea crowded with shipping, wind farms and challenging currents, before the Bay of Biscay and race to Gibraltar offers a more traditional ‘offshore’ style of racing.

But then comes the Mediterranean and the final third of the leg racing through early summer conditions on a body of water that can throw any and all kinds of weather at the fleet.

With all this, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic push to the Grand Finale in Genoa with the results open in both the VO65 and IMOCA fleets.

Racing starts on Thursday afternoon 15 June at 13:10 local time (CEST) for the VO65 class and at 18:15 for the IMOCA fleet.

The result was in doubt until the final moments of Leg 6 of The Ocean Race 2022-23, with 11th Hour Racing Team along with Team Holcim-PRB and Team Malizia racing within shouting distance of each other during most of Sunday morning (11 June).

The final approach to The Hague required one short upwind section where the boats were criss-crossing within metres with each tack. But skipper Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team held their nerve and made the final turn south with a small lead they would manage to hold through the IMOCA finishing line.

“They crossed ahead of us, we were actually behind with about 25-30 miles to go,” Enright said in disbelief at the intensity of the racing. “But a big thanks to everyone on board just never giving up the fight and digging in and always believing…

“Even when the other guys kept coming into us from behind, I think we just thought we were not gonna let them win that way. But what an unbelievable race all of these teams sailed — Holcim-PRB, Malizia, Biotherm, GUYOT. This was a tough, treacherous race course. Everybody deserves congratulations for their finish here in The Hague.”

Just 12 minutes behind, Team Holcim-PRB crossed the finishing line after fending off a late charge from Team Malizia who crossed just over a minute later. The top three boats in the fleet were within 15 minutes.

“This was a very intense leg,” said Team Holcim-PRB skipper Benjamin Schwartz. “We pushed as hard as we could and now we have to focus on the final leg into Genova.”

Team Malizia crossing the finish line in The Hague with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of The Netherlands onboard | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

The results leave the Holcim-PRB team trailing 11th Hour Racing Team by two points on the overall leaderboard. Malizia is a further four points behind.

“Mixed feelings for us on this leg,” said Malizia’s Will Harris. “Obviously happy to have been able to catch up so much in the last part of the leg, but we would have liked to grab at least one more point.”

The reception in The Hague was overwhelming for Team Malizia’s Dutch crew member Rosalin Kuiper, who has grown into a star here over the course of the race.

“This has been such a special day to be here with all of this support from friends and family,” she said. “I’ve devoted a third of my life to professional sailing and being able to share this with all the people who have supported me is amazing.”

Moments after the Malizian boat crossed the finishing line, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of The Netherlands climbed on board to welcome Rosalin and the Malizia crew.

Not far behind the leading trio, Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm secured a fourth-place finish over Benjamin Dutreux and his team on GUYOT evironnement - Team Europe, who returned to for the race to The Hague following a dismasting on Leg 4.

WindWhisper Racing Team arrives first in The Hague at 11:23:33 UTC for a race time of two days, 21 hours, 13 minutes and 33 seconds | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

In the VO65 Sprint Cup, WindWhisper Racing Team stretched their lead at the top of the table as the fleet returned for the one design class’ second stage.

It’s two wins in a row for the team, after a victory in stage one from Alicante to Cabo Verde in January.

“Of course it’s important to get the win and with Team JAJO in third place, this gives us a little bit of breathing space heading into the final race to Genoa,” said skipper Pablo Arrarte.

“It was a very challenging leg — we had everything you would expect in a long race packed into three days. I’m proud of the team and happy with the result.”

The Mirpuri-Trifork Racing Team took a well-earned second place over the local heroes on Team JAJO, with Austrian Ocean Racing-Team Genova ahead of Viva Mexico.

“It’s good to be home,” said Team JAJO skipper Jelmer van Beek. “It has been a short and hectic three-day race. Awesome to arrive for this home crowd and to be cheered on by all the boats out on the water and all the fans in the harbour. We even had some spectator boats already following us from IJmuiden which was really magnificent. Now it’s time for some beers, food from my mom and a short sleep!”

WindWhisper Racing Team has now opened up a three-point margin on the VO65 Sprint leaderboard, but the standings behind are very close and the Grand Finale leg into Genoa will be decisive.

IMOCA Scoreboard after Leg 6:

1. 11th Hour Racing Team – 33 points
2. Team Holcim-PRB – 31 points
3. Team Malizia – 27 points
4. Biotherm – 19 points
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe – 2 points

VO65 Scoreboard after Stage 2:

1. WindWhisper Racing Team – 12 points
2. Team JAJO – 9 points
3. Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova – 7 points
4. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team – 5 points
5. Viva México – 4 points
6. Ambersail 2 – 3 points

The flying, foiling IMOCA fleet racing in The Ocean Race and the one-designs competing in the VO65 Sprint both left Aarhus on Thursday (8 June), their race starts separated by two hours.

And while the IMOCAs turned south to race into the Kiel Fjord in front of tens of thousands of fans on Friday, the VO65s pushed north to a turning mark off the coast of Norway.

But today (Saturday 10 June) the two fleets are coming together again, off the west coast of Denmark, as the 65s pass a turning mark and the IMOCAs push south down the Danish coast.

After their different routes, both fleets are making fast miles towards The Hague with an expected arrival on Sunday afternoon.

“We’re just at the top of Denmark trying to squeeze by a little Traffic Separation Scheme,” said Charlie Enright — skipper of 11th Hour Racing Team, the leading boat in the IMOCA fleet — appearing visibly fatigued on Saturday morning.

“We’ve got Team Holcim-PRB in sight this morning. We did a nice job stretching on them last night but they’ve come back into us. But we’re in good shape, spirits are high, even if people are tired… But I think we only have about 30 hours left so we will gut it out.”

There will be a lot of that happening. This is the shortest leg of the race and while it is too long — 800 miles, nearly three days — to stay awake, it is also too short for most of the teams to fully implement their watch systems. So there will be tired sailors arriving in The Hague on Sunday afternoon.

11th Hour Racing Team and Team Holcim-PRB, the two leaders on the overall race points table, have made a slight break from the trailing trio of Biotherm, Team Malizia and GUYOT environnement - Team Europe. A win into The Hague would give 11th Hour Racing Team a nice margin on the leaderboard heading into the last leg towards the Grand Finale in Genoa.

In the VO65 fleet it is WindWhisper Racing Team continuing to hold pole position over Team JAJO and Mirpuri/Trifork Racing, although the racing here is very close — the spread between first and fifth is less than 25 miles.

“It’s been an interesting start to the leg,” said Pablo Arrarte, the skipper on WindWhisper. “We’ve had all kinds of conditions — upwind, downwind, reaching, light wind, a lot of wind. Luckily we are leading still…”

Both fleets are expected to finish on Sunday afternoon in The Hague, with the exact ETA still uncertain as conditions near the finish are not locked in with the weather forecast yet.

But a 10-boat arrival on an extremely sunny and warm Sunday afternoon in The Hague promises to be exciting sport, and a fabulous spectacle for fans of The Ocean Race.

Rankings at 1510 UTC, 10 June

IMOCA:

1. 11th Hour Racing Team, 269.6 miles to finish
2. Team Holcim-PRB, 3.9 miles to finish
3. Biotherm, 36.5 miles to leader

4. Team Malizia, 39.3 miles to leader
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, 57.1 miles to leader

VO65
:

1. WindWhisper Racing, 266.1 miles to finish
2. Team JAJO, 4.3 miles to leader
3. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, 12.8 miles to leader
4. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 14.7 miles to leader
5. Viva México, 25.6 miles to leader

Follow both fleets’ progress via the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

The last time The Ocean Race was in Kiel was on 9 June 2002 and the German team Illbruck Challenge was being celebrated for winning the Volvo Ocean Race. In the crowd was a young German sailor beginning his career — Boris Herrmann — and the event made a lasting impressions.

“I used to live in Kiel, I finished my studies there, I sailed and trained a lot there, so I have a great connection to the city,” Herrmann said in anticipation of Friday’s (9 June) events. “I also experienced The Ocean Race myself there in 2002 with the legendary victory of the Illbruck. I was on the water and remember that day as if it was yesterday.”

Today, The Ocean Race returned to Kiel for a Friday afternoon Fly-By with the IMOCA fleet and the crowds were out in force to cheer on Herrmann, now the skipper of Team Malizia.

“Racing into the Kieler Innenförde with my team and boat, after having sailed around the world, and seeing the many fans expected there is something I am really looking forward to,” he said.

On Friday the competitive advantage went to Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team, leading the fleet into the fjord, around the turning mark and back out to sea, with a Sunday finish in The Hague the next objective. Team Holcim-PRB and Biotherm weren’t far behind.

But the love and affection from the crowd in Kiel was for the final two boats, Herrmann’s Malizia and GUYOT environnement - Team Europe with German Olympian Robert Stanjek and national champion Phillip Kasüske on board.

“Look at how many boats there are, it’s unbelievable,” Herrmann said with a big smile as his team made their way up the fjord. “This is very, very nice. This moment has been a big motivation for us the entire race.”

In the VO65 fleet, meanwhile, the racing has been fast after making the turn at the Langesund marker just off the coast of Norway. Pablo Arrarte’s WindWhisper Racing Team led the fleet around the mark and remains in a close battle with the Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team. Further back, three teams have split away, staying close to the coast, led by Team JAJO.

“It’s been tough since the start,” said Joy Fitzgerald on Team JAJO. “It was a really long first night, with a lot of manoeuvres, a lot of sail changes, and so we’re all just trying to catch up on a bit of sleep now.

“We’ve had no wind, a little wind and then we had all the wind! It was pretty wet on deck as well!”

As of 1900 UTC on Friday, the VO65 fleet is charging south towards an offshore turning mark, before heading back towards the west coast of Denmark and then being freed up to head to the finish in The Hague, with an ETA on Sunday 11 June.

Rankings at 1900 UTC, 9 June

IMOCA:

1. 11th Hour Racing Team, 588.8 miles to finish
2. Team Holcim-PRB, 12.8 miles to finish
3. Biotherm, 20.6 miles to leader

4. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, 30.3 miles to leader
5. Team Malizia, 31.1 miles to leader

 VO65
:

1. WindWhisper Racing, 428.9 miles to finish
2. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, 7.4 miles to leader
3. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 11.7 miles to leader
4. Team JAJO, 12.6 miles to leader
5. Viva México, 18.8 miles to leader

Follow both fleets’ progress via the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

The Ocean Race returned to full strength in Aarhus, Denmark on Thursday (8 June) as the VO65 fleet rejoined the race for the European legs.

On a beautiful afternoon with sunny skies, warm temperatures and light sea breeze, racing started with the stakes high for both fleets.

First off were the five VO65s returning to race in the second stage of the VO65 Sprint after a three-month sabbatical. With two legs of racing left, the VO65 leaderboard is wide open and the stage to The Hague is an important opportunity to collect points. The ETA for the finish is Sunday 11 June.

As the afternoon turned to evening it would be the IMOCA fleet on point for an 18:15 start, with the race around the world still wide-open — 11th Hour Racing Team is in pole position, but only one point clear of Team Holcim-PRB. The early evening conditions were extremely light for the IMOCA start, with a new breeze just starting to fill in as the fleet finally left Aarhus behind.

The IMOCA fleet is racing towards the Kiel Fly-By, expected to attract over 100,000 visitors and 1,000 boats to the Kiel Fjord on Friday, with an ETA of mid-afternoon on Friday (9 June) before pushing towards the finish in The Hague.

The stopover in Aarhus has been picture perfect, with the glorious late spring weather drawing big crowds down to Ocean Live Park. The local event organisers estimate between 350,000 and 400,000 fans experience The Ocean Race stopover in Aarhus, including over 7,000 school children who took part in the learning programmes on the Sustainability Island activation site.

The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint - start report

Having dominated both previous in-port races, the pressure was on Pablo Arrarte’s WindWhisper Racing Team (POL) to deliver a repeat performance for Stage 2 of the VO65 Sprint.

In contrast to the very light conditions earlier in the week when they last raced, the breeze was 10 knots across the course at start time.

At the start, WindWhisper Racing Team jumped the gun and were forced to return back to restart. Gerwin Jansen’s Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova (AUT/ITA) were penalised for an infringement at the start and had to take a penalty, sliding back behind the fleet.

This left Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team (DEN) and Team JAJO (NED) to lead the field along the first leg with Viva México (MEX) in third.

At the first mark it was Team JAJO that rounded ahead with Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team close on their stern.

After the second lap and as the fleet headed off to the northeast on the start of the offshore leg, it was Team JAJO that had not only held onto their lead but extended it to more than 400m.

Behind them the competition was close with Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team in second, Viva México in third with WindWhisper Racing Team nipping at their heels in fourth and Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova in fifth as the fleet passed through the final inshore gate.

From there it was north into the late afternoon sun.

The Ocean Race IMOCA leg 6 - start report

Two hours after the VO65s had left Aarhus the 10-knot breeze died to just two to four knots as the southeasterly sea breeze fought against the northwesterly gradient.

This was frustrating and stressful for the IMOCA fleet for their start to a leg that already promises to be extremely challenging, especially during the next 24 hours through the Fly-By in Kiel.

With such light conditions, all five teams were aiming to minimise manoeuvres which led to a slow drag race into the line, but there was plenty of excitement.

Start of Stage 2 of The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup in Aarhus on Thursday 8 June | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

At the committee boat end, Team Malizia (GER) were playing an aggressive tactical game with Team Holcim-PRB (SUI) that resulted in Holcim-PRB diving behind the German boat before pushing Malizia over the starting line early, forcing them to restart behind the fleet.

Meanwhile, it was 11th Hour Racing Team and Biotherm that made the best starts with Team Holcim PRB close behind.

By the first mark 11th Hour Racing Team had extended their lead over Biotherm with Team Holcim-PRB in third. Further back Malizia had overtaken GUYOT environnement - Team Europe.

On the third leg of this square configuration course, what wind there was swung through 40 degrees turning the reach into an upwind leg.

Halfway down this leg the breeze dropped even further, switching in direction before then dying altogether. As all five boats struggled to make any progress the stress only increased among the teams. All teams knew that in these conditions the first to get the breeze are often able to take a jump on the fleet. The waiting game was nerve-racking.

Slowly, the gradient breeze came in off the land from the northwest and when it did the leader board changed as GUYOT environnement - Team Europe overtook Team Malizia.

So, as the fleet cleared the leaving gate and headed out on the leg towards Kiel, it was 11th Hour Racing Team that led the field, Biotherm second, Team Holcim-PRB third with GUYOT fourth and Malizia just behind in fifth.

The ETA in Kiel is mid-afternoon on Friday, with a finish in The Hague expected on Sunday 11 June.

Rankings at 1825 UTC, 8 June

IMOCA:

1. Biotherm, 782.9 miles to finish
2. 11th Hour Racing Team, 0.3 miles to leader

3. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, 0.6 miles to leader
4. Team Malizia, 0.8 miles to leader
5. Team Holcim-PRB, 3 miles to finish

VO65
:

1. Team JAJO, 781.7 miles to finish
2. WindWhisper Racing, 0.1 miles to leader
3. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, 1.1 miles to leader
4. Viva México, 2.9 miles to leader
5. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 3.5 miles to leader

Follow both fleets’ progress via the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

Eleven boats are assembling in Alicante, Spain this week in final preparation for the start of The Ocean Race 2022-23.

And the activity on shore is ramping up as well, with Alicante’s Ocean Live Park opening this coming Saturday 7 January.

This is the 14th edition of the iconic around-the-world, fully crewed offshore race and will be the first to feature the high-tech, foiling, nearly flying IMOCA boats.

Organisers have also now conformed that the VO65 fleet, having previously competed in two around the world events, will not be joining their IMOCA counterparts on the full globe-spanning route and instead will be solely compete for the inaugural VO65 Sprint Cup, which features three stages of racing that match the first, sixth and seventh legs of the larger race.

For the five IMOCA crews putting the final touches together in preparation for the race start, this is a key week, leading into the In Port Race this coming Sunday 8 January before the Grand Depart for Leg One of The Ocean Race — Alicante to Cabo Verde — on 15 January.

The line-up on the start line features five strong IMOCA teams:

• 11th Hour Racing Team (USA); skipper Charlie Enright
• Team Malizia (GER); skipper Boris Herrmann
• Team Holcim-PRB (SUI); skipper Kevin Escoffier
• GUYOT environnement-Team Europe (FRA/GER); skipper Benjamin Dutreux
• Biotherm Racing (FRA); skipper Paul Meilhat

Putting the finishing touches on the Team Holcim-PRB IMOCA in Alicante | Credit: Carlota Alonso/The Ocean Race

It’s an especially busy time for the four IMOCA teams who competed in November’s Route du Rhum event. Following a delivery back to the Mediterranean in December, each of these boats have been going through a refit and upgrades to prepare for fully crewed racing, and then must undergo a measurement process.

“It has been a huge amount of work for our team,” said Holcim-PRB skipper Kevin Escoffier. “Helpfully we have people with a bit of experience with The Ocean Race, which makes it easier to get organised on the sport and technical side. I’m very proud of where we are in such a short time.

“We are looking forward to getting in the water again today and getting out sailing again. These boats are incredible and I’m looking forward to learning how far we can push the boats with a full crew. There are five great teams, five great boats and plenty of very good sailors in the fleet, so we know it will be important to start well and the learning curve will be very important to get a good result when we come to the finish in Genova.”

For 11th Hour Racing Team, the final build-up to the start has been planned well in advance, with the team arriving in Alicante just in time to ring in the New Year and now looking to put the finishing touches on preparations.

“Our team has already been through the extensive measurement process, so this last stage is a formality,” said sailor Jack Bouttell after arriving in Alicante. “The boat is sorted, the team is sorted, and we couldn't have done anything more to be ready for the start.

“In every project I have ever worked on, the magnitude doesn’t hit you until you’re in the starting port. That’s always the point when you realise what an amazing opportunity lies ahead. I think I’m in this transitional phase right now where I am excited and apprehensive, the stress of the start hasn’t quite crept up on me yet.”

Four of the IMOCA teams are now based at the marina off Ocean Live Park in Alicante with GUYOT environnement-Team Europe expected to arrive on Friday, having been given dispensation from race management to continue their boat preparations in Barcelona into this week.

11th Hour Racing Team is one of the five IMOCAs that will race around the world from 15 January | Credit: Carlota Alonso/The Ocean Race

The VO65 fleet competing in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint is now six deep with the last-minute addition of the Austrian/Italian entry last week:

• Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR); skipper António Fontes
• WindWhisper Racing Team (POL); skipper Pablo Arrarte
• Team JAJO (NED); skipper Jelmer van Beek
• Ambersail 2 (LIT); skipper Rokas Milevičius
• Viva México (MEX); skipper Erik Brockmann
• Austrian Ocean Racing - Team Genova (AUT/ITA); Gerwin Jansen

Five of the VO65s are now based in Alicante, with the Austrian/Genova team due to arrive on Tuesday following a delivery down from Genoa and Viva México moving into the port later on Monday.

The Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team was first to arrive last week, followed by WindWhisper, Team JAJO, and Ambersail 2 on Monday morning.

“It’s nice to be back and to arrive here in Alicante to see the event flourishing with a high number of entries in the race,” said Rokas Milevičius, the skipper of Ambersail 2. “This is the most exciting time for us. We’ve put in a lot of effort over the past months to finally get the Lithuanian flag on the start line.

“We’re looking at the other boats on the dock here, trying to see who has the upper hand. For us, we have a young, enthusiastic team. It’s sailing, anything can happen and I’m really looking forward to the start.”

Alicante’s Ocean Live Park will open on Saturday 7 January ahead of the In Port Race for both fleets scheduled for Sunday 8 January. The VO65 In Port Race will be first at 1400 CET followed by the IMOCA In Port Race at 1600 CET.

All of the racing from Alicante can be seen live on Warner Bros Discovery platforms, including Eurosport, as well as via theoceanrace.com. Full details for worldwide viewing options will be released later this week.

Five teams have now been confirmed for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup, the new trophy announced earlier this month.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, the cup will be awarded to the team which accumulates the best score across three different legs of the race.

The five-boat fleet of identical 65-foot high-performance ocean racing yachts — raced by a mixed gender 10-person crew which must include three female and three under-30 sailors — will join the five-boat IMOCA fleet in the opening leg from Alicante, Spain to Mindelo in the Cabo Verde archipelago, as well as Leg 6 from the Danish city Aarhus to The Hague in the Netherlands via a flyby in Germany’s Kiel.Sailing.City, and the around-the-world race’s final seventh leg from The Hague to Genoa, Italy for the grand finale.

They will also take part in their own four-heat in-port race series with inshore races held during the stopovers in Alicante, Cabo Verde, The Hague and Genoa.

This week, Ambersail 2 became the latest VO65 team to announce their place on the starting line for the new challenge. The Lithuanian-flagged team — which previously competed in The Ocean Race Europe last year — will be led on the water by skipper Rokas Milevičius.

Determined: Viva México skipper Erik Brockmann | Credit: Jen Edney/Viva México

And the Olympian is assembling a team of strong local talent including experienced helmsman and tactician Saulius Pajarskas, younger generation sailors Domantas Juškevičius and Deimantė Jarmalavičiūtė, as well as Jonas Drąsutavičius and Polish sailor Viktoras Pascalis who recently joined the team.

Viva México also returns to competitive action after the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Europe.

The team’s skipper Erik Brockmann — an accomplished Mexican yachtsman and past world champion skipper who also led the team in The Ocean Race Europe — says their taking part in the new sprint event is another significant step towards a Mexican crew racing around the world in The Ocean Race for the first time since his countryman Ramón Carlín won the first ever edition in 1973-74 aboard Sayula II.

Veteran Spanish sailor Pablo Arrarte will lead the Polish yacht WindWhisper, whose entry was also announced this week just says after the confirmation of Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team’s return for its third consecutive entry in The Ocean Race — this time with a fully Portuguese crew, racing the boat used by Dongfeng Race Team to win the 2017-18 edition and Mirpuri Foundation to clinch The Ocean Race Europe.

The team will be led by António Fontes who competed as a sailor in the 2017-18 edition of the Race and now graduates from boat captain to skipper for the three stages of The Ocean Race VO 65 Sprint.

Rounding out the Sprint Cup field is Team JAJO, which will be bolstered by the addition of legendary Dutch around-the-world racer Bouwe Bekking as watch captain.

The Biotherm IMOCA competing in last month’s Route du Rhum | Credit: Vincent Olivaud/#RDR2022

Meanwhile, the five IMOCA teams set to race around the world full-crewed for the first time in the 2022-23 edition of The Ocean Race starting in January from Alicante, Spain recently arrived in three separate ports around the Mediterranean ahead of the Alicante assembly deadline.

Four of the five — Kevin Escoffier’s Holcim – PRB (SUI), Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm Racing (FRA), Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia (GER) and GUYOT environnement – Team Europe (FRA), co-skippered by Benjamin Dutreux and Robert Stanjek — arrived in Mediterranean waters after sailing fully crewed across the Atlantic from Guadeloupe following the finish of the solo Route du Rhum race that started in St Malo, France.

All the teams that took part in the Route du Rhum will undergo a refit period and measurement ahead of The Ocean Race rules-mandated assembly deadline of Monday 2 January, by which time all the teams must arrive in Alicante.

American entry 11th Hour Racing Team, skippered by Charlie Enright, last week docked in the nearby port of Valencia after a short passage from the team’s base in Concarneau, France via some training off the coast of Portugal. They plan to shift to Alicante after Christmas.

The first leg of the 2022-23 edition of The Ocean Race starts on 15 January 2023, just 25 days from now.

A new trophy has been announced for the VO65 one-design class in The Ocean Race 2022-23, which sets sail from Alicante in Spain next month.

Along with five confirmed IMOCA teams racing around the world, up to five VO65 teams will be on the starting line with an option to compete for the new VO65 Sprint Cup.

The new trophy has been specially created for VO65 teams and will be awarded to the team which accumulates the best score across three different legs of the race: Alicante to Cabo Verde; Aarhus in Denmark to The Hague; and The Hague to Genoa, Italy.

VO65 teams participating for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup will compete in the in-port races scheduled in those cities as well as the three stages of offshore racing from point to point.

“This new trophy will enable a new generation of sailors, along with some familiar faces, to gain some valuable experience in The Ocean Race,” said Phil Lawrence, race director of The Ocean Race.

“This format provides an opportunity to compete in The Ocean Race environment, with racing from host city to host city along with in-port competitions. The participating VO65 teams will get significant offshore racing exposure.”

The first racing for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup is the in-port race in Alicante on 8 January 2023, followed by the first offshore stage in the event from Alicante to Cabo Verde starting on 15 January.

“We are very happy that we will compete in the in-port race and then take the leg one start in Alicante on 15 January. We’re looking forward to racing three incredible Legs against some top-level competition. It promises to be an incredible battle,” said Jelmer van Beek, a 27-year-old Dutch sailor from The Hague who has been named skipper and will lead the young Team JAJO.

“For me personally it is an amazing challenge to be the skipper of Team JAJO,” he added. “I think I am one of the youngest skippers to take a start in the race. It’s a huge responsibility and above all a challenge. But one that I am ready for and really looking forward to, especially with this team.”

At sail during the Genoa coastal race in The Ocean Race Europe | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

The Dutch boat had a refit at Royal Huisman last summer and is almost race ready, with finishing touches being applied in Barcelona before the team assembles for training next Tuesday 6 December.

“It’s been such a big learning experience working on this boat to get it ready for racing,” said Mateusz Gwóźdź from the Polish team. He is once again expected to be the youngest sailor in the race, at just 17 years old, and having previously competed in The Ocean Race Europe. “I can’t wait to get the boat in the water and do more training before we head for Alicante.”

The Polish team has been preparing its new VO65 (previously AkzoNobel) from a base in Valencia, Spain and is planning to make a full team and crew announcement shortly.

Working its way back into The Ocean Race is Team Viva México, who are aiming for a Mexican comeback of sorts after the historic win of Sayula II in the first edition of the race in 1973. No Mexican-flagged team has participated in the race since then.

“In 2019 we set ourselves a goal to bring Mexico back into what we consider the greatest race around the world,” said skipper Erik Brockmann, who led the team in The Ocean Race Europe.

“Many things have changed in the past three years that we did not anticipate then, but being on the start line to race for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup is an exciting step towards bringing Mexico back into Race and a way of paying tribute to the historic win we achieved 50 years ago.”

More information about the VO65 teams racing for The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup will be made available shortly, race organisers say.

Meanwhile, the IMOCA fleet is set to lead the action in The Ocean Race with five teams - 11th Hour Racing Team, Team Malizia, GUYOT environnement-Team Europe, Biotherm Racing and Holcim PRB - featuring many of the top names in offshore sailing, racing around the world.

The IMOCA fleet will assemble in Alicante, Spain from 2 January 2023 ahead of their in-port race on 8 January. Leg One of The Ocean Race begins on 15 January.