Light winds propel The Ocean Race fleet

(June 17, 2023; Day 3) – The five VO65s and three IMOCA boats racing to the Grand Finale in Genova are battling light and challenging conditions as they work to exit the English Channel and begin the next phase of the race, in more open waters.

At 1000 UTC today, the VO65 fleet was tight and compressed together, approximately 50 miles west of the leading IMOCA, Team Holcim-PRB. But with slow boat speeds in the light winds, this is all about who gets the next puff of wind or the next eddy of favorable current.

“It’s really light, it’s the first big transition of the race,” said Max Deckers on Team JAJO. “We’re expecting wind from the west at some point, but until then it’s just about using anything we get – looking for wind. that’s the main thing.”

The IMOCA teams are facing the same situation. They’ve set up slightly further east and south, Benjamin Schwartz and his crew on Team Holcim-PRB extending away from Biotherm and Team Malizia.

“We have to find a way through these light winds in the English Channel to the Bay of Biscay,” said Malizia’s Will Harris.

But it’s tough, slow sailing. To watch on board Holcim-PRB, click here.

“We are waiting for some good wind,” was the lament from Marie Riou on board Biotherm.

But the forecast doesn’t offer much respite. Light to (at best) moderate south-southwesterlies are ahead, but this would also mean upwind sailing through the Bay of Biscay, which won’t be fast in terms of making miles toward the goal.

IMOCA – Leg 7 Rankings at 14:00 UTC
1. Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 1818.6 nm
2. Biotherm, distance to lead, 25.4 nm
3. Team Malizia, distance to lead, 46.2 nm
Retired – 11th Hour Racing Team
Retired – GUYOT environnement

VO65 – Leg 7 Rankings at 14:00 UTC
1. WindWhisper Racing Team, distance to finish, 1818.5 nm
2. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, distance to lead, 12.5 nm
3. Team JAJO, distance to lead, 15.6 nm
4. Viva México, distance to lead, 18.7 nm
5. Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova, distance to lead, 19.3 nm
Retired – Ambersail 2

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

IMOCA Overall Leaderboard (after 6 of 7 legs)
1. 11th Hour Racing Team — 33 points
2. Team Holcim-PRB — 31 points
3. Team Malizia — 27 points
4. Biotherm — 19 points
5. GUYOT environnement – Team Europe — 2 points

VO65 Overall Leaderboard (after 2 of 3 legs):
1. WindWhisper Racing Team — 12 points
2. Team JAJO — 9 points
3. Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova — 7 points
4. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team — 5 points
5. Viva México — 4 points
6. Ambersail 2 — 3 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.

Held every three or four years since 1973, 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