Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia launches new race boat

The stunning new boat was rolled out of the hangar and craned into the Lorient harbour for the first time, to an audience of partners, team members and suppliers, all of whom have helped make the vision a reality. The new vessel has a distinctly different bow and hull shape and with its red 4.5m long keel and foils attached once the 18.28m long hull touched the water, the technical team installed the boat’s 27.30m long mast and its two outriggers. 

A team of over 250 people were involved in the complex construction process, which pushed the boundaries of technological innovation, structural design and engineering and logistics. Team skipper Boris Herrmann recognised the importance of working towards a common goal back in June 2021 and was determined to be ‘on time and on schedule’ from the outset, a rare feat in the sailing world. He acknowledged the broader team effort that had gone into successfully hitting the launch deadline, commenting “the team is extremely proud of having launched the boat on the foreseen date. I believe it is a first in our industry to announce a date a year before and deliver exactly on time”.

The technology and craftsmanship that went into building the boat was some of the most advanced in the industry, incorporating invaluable learnings from Boris Herrmann’s first Vendée Globe experience in 2020-21, which influenced the eventual design. Herrmann explained this further at the launch, saying “we wanted a boat that can maintain high average speeds even in rough sea conditions. Therefore, together with the architects from VPLP, we chose softer and rounder hull lines and a curved bow. We also made the boat even more solid than the previous one and completely re-designed the ergonomy and living space”.

The boat has been built with strength in mind and a solid structure to protect it in heavy Southern Ocean swells. The opportunity to sail and train on Malizia - Seaexplorer is crucial in achieving race success and her international crew will now be thoroughly put to the test in preparation for two of the most iconic ocean races in the world.

Boris Herrmann participates in the Route du Rhum in November, his first single-handed regatta since the Vendée Globe, which involves sailing across the Atlantic from Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe. After that, it’s the Ocean Race 2023, a six month ‘round the world’ team challenge starting in mid-January, from Alicante. This will assess the boat’s performance in rough conditions, which will be critical with the ultimate goal of the Vendée Globe 2024-25 fast approaching.

There are many challenges on the horizon, but what really sets Malizia - Seaexplorer apart from other IMOCA teams is their mission to raise awareness of the need for climate protection, and inspire ambitious climate action, “A Race We Must Win - Climate Action Now”.

The new boat will play a pivotal role in this mission and like its predecessor, Malizia - Seaexplorer has a mini-laboratory installed on board so they can continue to collect scarce ocean data from the remote parts of the world they visit on their journey, such as the Southern Ocean. This invaluable data is then passed back to a dedicated team of marine scientists to help them understand and monitor the health of the oceans.

The boat will be officially christened during the Malizia Ocean Festival on 06 and 07 September 2022 in her home port of Hamburg, where Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia are based. On seeing the boat touch the water for the first time, an emotional Herrmann remarked “it is incredible to see all the hard work that the team have put in over this last year paying off - so a big thank you to all of them and also to our partners for making this dream a reality. I cannot wait to get back on the water and sail on this amazing machine!”

As long term ‘Official Partners’, EFG International has supported Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia since 2016. We are proud to be a part of reaching this significant milestone and it marks a critical moment in their five-year strategy.

We will continue to bring you all the news from Team Malizia and Boris Herrmann’s exciting journey and we wish them all the very best as they embark on their series of up-and-coming challenges.

Watch the highlights from the launch ceremony here: