Team Malizia fly high in leg 3 of The Ocean Race

The race to the scoring gate was a fiercely competitive battle between Team Malizia and the 11th Hour Racing Team, however in the end, Team Malizia had the edge as their boat, Malizia – Seaexplorer was designed specifically for the conditions they were experiencing. You can see just how close the race to the line was in this video:

Boris Herrmann said afterwards “I am so happy we have crossed this line in 2nd place. We pushed really hard and this marker meant a lot to us as a team," said skipper Boris Herrmann. "For the last 48 hours I was really focused on getting the boat over the line in one piece. The sea state was quite difficult to navigate safely and there is always a balance between pushing and preserving the boat. I think we found that balance and the boat sails amazingly well in these conditions”.

After a weekend of sailing at speed, when all 4 boats in the fleet broke the 24-hour distance records for The Ocean Race and the IMOCA class of boat, it was back to the daily grind on Monday, when the teams had to assess levels of wear and tear. For Team Malizia, this necessitated another complicated repair job at sea, with the support of their tech team on the ground.

As leg 3 progresses, despite all the challenges faced, it’s clear Team Malizia haven’t lost sight of the great adventure they are on. They continue to display the sort of attributes we have come to associate with sailing, showing great team spirit and resilience, as well as reacting with agility to the constantly changing environment around them. In this ‘best of…’ video released by the team you can follow the emotional highs and lows of their leg 3 journey so far.

It’s worth just taking a moment to appreciate the work of Team Malizia’s on board reporter, Antoine Auriol, who is responsible for capturing all the incredible content and images and bringing us closer to the action. Here is another brilliant example of his work, some epic drone shots!

Team Malizia’s aim is to compete at the highest level in the toughest races, whilst using their platform in sport to inspire action and change by creating awareness and highlighting solutions to the climate crisis. Their scientific mission, A Race We Must Win, is an integral part of their journey, and as well as installing a fully automated mini-laboratory on board Malizia – Seaexplorer to gather valuable data as they circumnavigate the globe, they also deploy scientific instruments during the race, which will stay active for at least 2 years.

The fleet have now passed Cape Leeuwin at the most southerly point of Australia, the 2nd of the 3 great Capes in leg 3. As they continue to skirt the ice exclusion zone with eyes on the Pacific Ocean, the second half of the leg should see the fleet compress further, and with Cape Horn nearly two weeks away there is plenty of exciting racing still to come.

For further information head to Team Malizia's website and social media channels (YouTube, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram) or go to The Ocean Race website.