Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia

 

Winner of the IMOCA 2018/2020 championship and having secured fifth place in his first Vendée Globe, Boris Herrmann, alongside Pierre Casiraghi founder of Team Malizia and Vice-President of the Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM), has decided to continue the IMOCA adventure. First German to complete the non-stop round the world without assistance race, the YCM member enjoyed excellent press coverage, not just in Germany but in over 70 other countries. It is this high profile he wants to put to work to promote performance in sport, oceanography and education, three themes close to his heart which he shares with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and YCM, two institutions presided by HSH Prince Albert II who is once again right behind him.

 

Team Malizia expands to meet new challenges

With 18 races in 15 countries, including the legendary Ocean Race 2022/23 (formerly Volvo Ocean Race), Team Malizia has an ambitious program planned for the next five years.

To achieve it, Boris and his team are again calling on French design team VPLP and the Mulitplast yard in France to build the new 60-footer. Their goal is to design a boat that handles the waves better and maintains faster average speeds, while setting even higher standards on robustness and reliability. The project is already in the design phase. Team Malizia has recruited French offshore specialists to strengthen the team, and is working closely with members of German companies, Greenboats and Schütz Composites.

A five-strong crew will sail round the world for nine months in a race to promote protecting the environment, with 10 stopovers.

Boris said “I remember in 2001 witnessing Illbruck winning the Volvo Ocean Race and imaging myself competing in this prestigious event! Now we have that chance to sail around the world as a team! We will use it as a test, development and training ground for the Vendee Globe 2024 and to further inspire children, collect valuable ocean-data and promote ambitious climate action.”

 

 

A team united around ‘A Race We Must Win’

Under the Yacht Club de Monaco burgee, Hapag-Lloyd, Zurich, Schütz Composites, MSC, EFG and Kuehne+Nagel have confirmed their intention to support Team Malizia, united behind a common mission, to support the United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDGs) and its motto ‘A Race We Must Win’. Initiated by Team Malizia for the last Vendée Globe, ‘A Race We Must Win’ is about promoting climate change action (SDG 13) and the pivotal role of the oceans, as one of the most pressing challenges of our times.

“We are all together in one boat in a race against time to find solutions for the climate crisis. Therefore, we want to highlight some of the industry-solutions our partners work on, to help inspire a common vision and advocate for ever more ambitious action,” explains Boris Herrmann. “One of the key solutions in our eyes is the advancement of new fuels on the basis of renewable energies. This topic concerns our partners from the logistics, yachting, shipping, finance and the insurance industry alike. We think that those large corporations we partner with are key players in this urgently needed transformation.“

Team Manager Holly Cova explains: “Our aim is to become a global sustainability platform which creates touch-points and events along our race stopovers around the world for businesses to exchange on sustainability whilst creating opportunities to interact with local schools, scientists and the general public. We will share this story, the emotions and the unfiltered raw content as we did during the past Vendee Globe with a focus on positive impact.”

 

The Malizia Ocean Challenge

The team will continue its Malizia Ocean Challenge program. It is focussed round ocean science and education and remains a key project of Team Malizia which is supported by all of our partners. Team Malizia’s scientist Toste Tanhua from Geomar, Kiel highlights: “The ocean CO2 data collected during the Vendee Globe has proven incredibly valuable. It allows the global science community to better understand the oceans’ role in climate change and the alarming rise in ocean CO2 concentration.”

On the educational side, Team Malizia’s full time ocean educator, Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann commented “through the adventure of sailing we found a way to motivate and sensitise kids to learn more about the ocean and climate, we are proud to have reached 45,000 children around the world. We have expanded the ocean education book to include climate crisis solutions and it is now free to download in 10 languages. Thanks to our partners we are now able to grow this activity even further with a stronger team of full-time teachers and new networks.”

 

They said:

Yacht Club de Monaco – Bernard d’Alessandri, General Secretary: “We are delighted to continue the adventure with Boris who has shown unwavering commitment and determination. He is a wonderful ambassador to promote our values, especially to our members and young sailors who follow his progress with enthusiasm.”