The Grit and Glory of Ocean Race 22/23

The 2023 Ocean Race has been an unforgettable spectacle for sailing enthusiasts all around the world. This year’s edition of the race has been particularly notable for its new class of IMOCA yachts and the challenging super-long leg between Cape Town and Itajai, Brazil. With records being broken left and right, the 2023 Ocean Race has set a new benchmark for sailing excellence.

Setting sail from Alicante Puerto De Salida, and visiting 9 international cities, the 32000-mile Ocean Race consists of 6 legs including - 

• Leg 1 - a 1,900 nautical mile sprint from Alicante to Cabo Verde.
• Leg 2 - takes the fleet across equator and south to Cape Town.
• Leg 3 - a 12,750 nautical mile, one-month marathon to Itajaí, Brazi, the longest racing distance in the event’s 50-year history.
• Leg 4 - the race heads north, across the equator, and up to Newport, Rhode Island, on the east coast of the United States.
• Leg 5 - a transatlantic leg to Aarhus, Denmark, followed by a Fly-By of Kiel, Germany and a stop in The Netherlands.
• Leg 6 - the final offshore leg to Genova, Italy.

The IMOCA yachts were one of the major talking points of this year’s Ocean Race. These cutting-edge racing yachts are a true marvel of engineering, pushing the limits of what is possible in terms of speed and agility on the open ocean. With a sleek, futuristic design and innovative features, these boats have truly taken the sport of sailing to the next level. 

One of the standout moments of this year’s race was the super-long leg between Cape Town and Itajai, Brazil. This endurance-testing stretch is the longest single leg in the history of the race, and is a true test of the sailors’ ability and skill. Across this leg, yachts battle it out in some of the tough conditions. Team Malizia and Team Holcim-PRB are currently racing neck and neck in first place with the 11th-hour sailing team behind in 3rd.

After passing the notorious headland, Tom Laperche on Kevin Escoffier’s Holcim-PRB stated -“It’s great to have rounded Cape Horn,” he said. “It’s a great experience. After a long time sailing in the South Sea, it was a first for me.

Despite racing more over thousands of miles, neither team has managed to find a winning advantage as they push hard toward a Sunday arrival in Itajaí, with both yachts determined to make it to the finish line first. 11th-Hour Racing Team and Biotherm are battling it out for 3rd place, with race projections estimating that the teams will arrive at their destination just 5 minutes apart. Currently, the 11th-hour team has edged into a 60-mile lead, but it won’t be enough to relax just yet with Biotherm driving hard to make up the distance. 

The new IMOCA yachts and the super-long leg were not the only highlights of this year’s race. A number of records were broken, as teams have pushed themselves and their boats to the limit. 

• 11th Hour Racing Team has beaten its own race record for a 24-hour run, posting up 544.63 nautical miles.
• Four boats posted more than 572 miles in a 24-hour period.
• UTC Team Holcim-PRB posted what appears to be the new standard at 588.71 miles

The race has not been without its casualties, GUYOT Environnement, team Europe’s sleek black IMOCA has arrived in the Brazilian city of Itajaí after a two-week, 4,000-mile delivery trip across the South Atlantic Ocean from Cape Town. The European team led by Benjamin Dutreux and Robert Stanjek was forced out of the third leg of the race after discovering delamination to the bottom of the yacht’s hull. Now the required repairs have been made to the hull, the team is committed to resuming the race and competing in the 4th leg to Rhode Island, USA.

As the 3rd leg of the Ocean Race draws to its conclusion all eyes will be on Malizia and Holcim-PRB as the tension mounts and the striking vessels sail within plan view of each other. With a narrow lead that keeps switching back and forth, both teams are unwilling to yield their position. Malizia was hoping to gain the advantage after the Cape with strong conditions that favored the boat, but Holcim-PRB responded and at times the yachts have been just a few hundred meters apart. This is short-handed racing at very close quarters, rarely seen on these kind of boats, and it leaves little room for error. It will take every ounce of energy and determination on board these boats to find and maintain the strength needed to make significant gains. Endurance and skill will be pushed to the limit as both teams desperately struggle to hold on until the finish line. 

Latest reports estimate that the leading pair will arrive in Itajaí, Brazil on April 2nd at sunrise.