Getting offshore in The Ocean Race

(April 24, 2023; Day 2) – Following the start yesterday for The Ocean Race, it was GUYOT environnement – Team Europe sailor Annie Lush who said the opening days of leg 4 would be a “trim off” and this is how it has come to pass.

She was referring to the probability the teams would be closely lined-up, drag racing one boat next to the other. Sail trim and boat speed would be the determining factors, and that was the case as the fleet headed off on starboard tack in a northeast direction.

But once clear of an exclusion zone, the mindset shifted to an upwind leg tacking on shifts to get offshore. The East-Northeast wind is fairly light – 8 to 12 knots – and variable with squalls and rain showers. It is forecast to build slightly over the next 24 hours.

“We’ve spent these first hours of the race trying to get to the gradient wind offshore,” said 11th Hour Racing Team’s Simon Fisher last night. “It’s going to be tricky with the clouds.”

“The wind is very shifty,” said Kevin Escoffier on Team Holcim-PRB. “But we have to deal with it. Instead of going for a big bet it is better to play with the small shifts than going for a big change. When you are not sure, it is better to be safe.”

On Team Malizia, navigator Nico Lunven had a scary moment when he was hit by a jib sheet as the fleet sailed away from Itajaí last night. He suffered minor cuts and abrasions to the face. After consultation with the shore-side doctor he is reported to be fit to keep racing and has been taking on his regular duties, including doing his weather routing through the night.

The leg is expected to take up to 17 days, with an ETA around May 9th or 10th.

Leg Four Rankings at 18:00 UTC*
1. Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 4942.5 nm
2. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 4.6 nm
3. GUYOT environnement, distance to lead, 5.5 nm
4. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 9.5 nm
5. Biotherm, distance to lead, 9.8 nm
* Until the fleet uniformly aims along the course route, the ranking may be misleading.

Race details – Route – Tracker – Teams – Content from the boats – YouTube

Overall Leaderboard (after 3 of 7 legs)
1. Team Holcim-PRB — 19 points
2. Team Malizia — 14 points
3. 11th Hour Racing Team — 13 points
4. Biotherm — 10 points
5. GUYOT environnement – Team Europe — 2 points

IMOCA: Name, Design, Skipper, Launch date
• Guyot Environnement – Team Europe (VPLP Verdier); Benjamin Dutreux (FRA)/Robert Stanjek (GER); September 1, 2015
• 11th Hour Racing Team (Guillaume Verdier); Charlie Enright (USA); August 24, 2021
• Holcim-PRB (Guillaume Verdier); Kevin Escoffier (FRA); May 8, 2022
• Team Malizia (VPLP); Boris Herrmann (GER); July 19, 2022
• Biotherm (Guillaume Verdier); Paul Meilhat (FRA); August 31 2022

The Ocean Race 2022-23 Race Schedule:
Alicante, Spain – Leg 1 (1900 nm) start: January 15, 2023
Cabo Verde – ETA: January 22; Leg 2 (4600 nm) start: January 25
Cape Town, South Africa – ETA: February 9; Leg 3 (12750 nm) start: February 26
Itajaí, Brazil – ETA: April 1; Leg 4 (5500 nm) start: April 23
Newport, RI, USA – ETA: May 10; Leg 5 (3500 nm) start: May 21
Aarhus, Denmark – ETA: May 30; Leg 6 (800 nm) start: June 8
Kiel, Germany (Fly-By) – June 9
The Hague, The Netherlands – ETA: June 11; Leg 7 (2200 nm) start: June 15
Genova, Italy – The Grand Finale – ETA: June 25, 2023; Final In-Port Race: July 1, 2023

The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Round the World Race) was initially to be raced in two classes of boats: the high-performance, foiling, IMOCA 60 class and the one-design VO65 class which has been used for the last two editions of the race.

However, only the IMOCAs will be racing round the world while the VO65s will race in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint which competes in Legs 1, 6, and 7 of The Ocean Race course.

Additionally, The Ocean Race also features the In-Port Series with races at seven of the course’s stopover cities around the world which allow local fans to get up close and personal to the teams as they battle it out around a short inshore course.

Although in-port races do not count towards a team’s overall points score, they do play an important part in the overall rankings as the In-Port Race Series standings are used to break any points ties that occur during the race around the world.

The 14th edition of The Ocean Race was originally planned for 2021-22 but was postponed one year due to the pandemic, with the first leg starting on January 15, 2023.

Source: TOR