After 1,400 nautical miles of racing from Portsmouth to Cartagena in Spain, Malizia-Seaexplorer crossed the finish of Leg 2 on Saturday 23 August at 13:44 (11:44 UTC) in 5th place after 5 days 19 hours 44 minutes and 11 seconds at sea. The result secures the IMOCA a 3rd place in the provisional ranking with three legs to go on the programme.
From the English Channel to Bay of Biscay with a flyby at Matosinhos/Porto, the crew skippered by Will Harris, supported by Francesca Clapcich, Loïs Berrehar, Justine Mettraux and Flore Hartout, fought tirelessly all the way to stay in the top group.
“When we arrived at Gibraltar, hoping for stronger winds to close the gap, the breeze dropped and Allegrande MAPEI Racing caught us up,” explained Will Harris. “Then we got snagged in a fishing net just after Gibraltar. But the last 36 hours have been amazing. We crossed the Mediterranean at an average speed of 35 knots at Gibraltar to 1 or 2 knots towards the finish, trying everything possible to keep the boat moving”.
Meanwhile, the crew continue to collect oceanographic data for the scientific community with the OceanPack system. This time they also deployed an innovative, lighter and more economical drifting buoy to map surface currents in the Bay of Biscay. On the nature front, dolphins, pilot whales and other marine companions headed over to observe them, magical moments for this crew as it is all part of their mission to contribute to protecting the marine environment.
“This team has the talent, spirit and boat to fight and I’m very proud of them,” said Boris Herrmann, who will be on Malizia-Seaexplorer for the remaining legs of The Ocean Race Europe. “We are ready to come back even stronger and can’t wait to return to Monaco and Nice where we were earlier this year for the United Nations Ocean Conference and christening of our research boat, Malizia Explorer”.
Team Malizia earned crucial points and remains very much in contention for The Ocean Race Europe 2025, where anything can happen. Next leg: Cartagena to Nice, 29 to 31 August.
