Full fleet for The Ocean Race Europe

Portsmouth, UK (August 17, 2025) – With Team Holcim-PRB and Allagrande Mapei Racing completing their repairs from Leg 1, the second leg of The Ocean Race Europe 2025 got underway with all seven IMOCAs lining up off Cowes for the 1,400 nautical mile course to Cartagena, Spain, with a brief fly-by stopover in Matosinhos-Porto midweek.

The first target was the scoring gate at The Needles, with points up for grabs before the long run past Brittany and into the Bay of Biscay. Conditions were perfect at the start – downwind sailing in 10-14 knots of wind, with a favorable tidal current pushing the fleet down the Solent.

Yoann Richomme and his Paprec Arkéa crew led the fleet across the historic Royal Yacht Squadron starting line – the same starting line used for the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race (the precursor to The Ocean Race).

But by the time the fleet reached the scoring gate, it was once again skipper Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm who collected the maximum two points on offer, followed in short order by Paprec Arkéa picking up the single – the same duo who cashed in at the Leg 1 scoring gate in Kiel.

That leaves Biotherm with an impressive and unblemished scoring record having earned the maximum available points on the leaderboard to date in The Ocean Race Europe.

Team Holcim PRB was third to cross the gate, followed by Team Malizia and Canada Ocean Racing – Be Water Positive. Allagrande Mapei Racing was sixth with Team AMAALA seventh, but only the top two teams earn points at the gate.

For Team Holcim-PRB, just returning to the start would have felt like a victory in itself. “It’s amazing we’re back in the race,” said Alan Roberts. “We’re not just back, we’re a boat that’s at 100%, even more ambitious and motivated than before to get out there and perform.”

The week-long repair effort has drawn the crew closer together. “Adversity either splits or unites you,” Roberts explained. “In this case it’s united us. When we go offshore, we’re in a really focused, nothing-else-matters mindset, and that’s what this has been for the shore crew. They’ve been running shifts all through the night – they’ve thrived on it.”

Alongside them, Allagrande Mapei Racing arrived in Portsmouth less than a day before the start, but skipper Ambrogio Beccaria was unfazed. “We are full on to start this second leg,” he said, adding that the expected breeze during the first night is just what they want. “Our boat is especially made for strong winds, so we love to see these conditions.”

For Biotherm, fresh off maximum points in Leg 1, the challenge now is to reset and defend their lead. “It’s true that we started well, but we’re putting that behind us,” said skipper Meilhat. “It’s better to get points in advance, but this leg will be really hard with different conditions. First we’ll focus on the scoring gate, and then it’s a long, long race.”

Meilhat expects an explosive opening: “It’s going to be really fast until Ouessant. It’s important to start well, but I don’t think the race will be decided there. We’ll see with the other boats, but we’ve made progress with Biotherm already – the boat isn’t made for[these conditions necessarily, but I think we can do it.”

Team Malizia, who snatched second place in Portsmouth after their Dover gamble, are relishing the prospect of a high-speed night. “It’s going to be full-on,” said co-skipper Will Harris. “We’ve got the scoring gate off the start, then high speeds and high wind – but we really love that onboard Malizia. Those are our conditions, so we’ve got to make the most of it.”

Malizia also bring fresh energy with a rotated crew. Harris takes over the skipper’s role from Boris Herrmann, joined by Loïs Berrehar and Francesca Clapcich, the latter a winner of The Ocean Race 2023 with 11th Hour Racing. “We’ve got some real good experience and new fresh faces,” Harris said. “It’s going to be a great team, so hopefully that will get us a good result for this next leg.”

Paprec Arkéa skipper Yoann Richomme is anticipating the stage to be ‘beautiful’ in its opening miles. “A spinnaker start down the Solent, then a fast run down the Channel – that’s what I like for my boat,” he said.

But he also warned of a tricky, tactical stage to come. “The first transition is at the tip of Brittany, near Ouessant. Looking at it now, the transitions are pretty straightforward, but there could always be a surprise. It’s a lot of downwind, which will be a nice change after the last leg. I’m looking forward to this one.”

Holcim’s Roberts agreed that Leg 2 may be the most complex of the race. “This leg is going to be awesome, probably the most interesting tactically because we’re going from Channel sailing to the Bay of Biscay, down into the Portuguese trades, round into the Gibraltar Straits, with a lovely little finish in the Med.”

For teams further down the leaderboard, the goal is to keep pace. Pip Hare of Canada Ocean Racing – Be Water Positive laid out a simple mission: “Boat speed. We want to hang on to the pack, make good changes, push for as much speed as possible. We don’t want to lose even 0.1 of a knot. That’ll be the most important thing.”

Leaderboard (provisional):
1. Biotherm — 11 points
2. Paprec Arkéa — 7 points
3. Team Malizia — 6 points
4. Canada Ocean Race – Be Water Positive — 4 points
5. Team AMAALA — 3 points
6. Allagrande MAPEI Racing – 0 points*
6. Team Holcim PRB — 0 points*

* A protest hearing after leg 2 will determine fault after their collision during the first leg.

The fleet is expected in Porto by August 20 for the short fly-by, before resuming racing immediately towards Cartagena.

Race details – Tracker – YouTube

Details: https://www.theoceanrace.com/en/

The entrants feature a team of five, representing at least two nationalities, with at least one female crew member, bringing together solo round‑the‑world veterans, rising offshore talent, and onboard reporters to share the experience.

The 5-leg race started August 10 from Kiel, Germany with the 850-nautical mile opening Leg to Portsmouth, England. Leg 2 sees the fleet race 1,400 nautical miles to Caragena, Spain – via a fly-by in Matosinhos / Porto in Portugal. The 650-nautical mile third Leg through the Mediterranean finishes in Nice, France, before the fleet sets off on the planned-to-be 600-nautical mile fourth Leg to Genova, Italy. The approximately 1,000-nautical mile fifth and final Leg takes the crews into the Adriatic to the Race finish in Boka Bay in Montenegro.

Entry list:
Team Malizia (GER) – Boris Herrmann (GER)
Team Holcim – PRB (SUI) – Rosalin Kuiper (NED)
Team Paprec Arkéa (FRA) – Yoann Richomme (FRA)
Canada Ocean Racing – Be Water Positive (CAN) – Scott Shawyer (CAN)
Allagrande Mapei Racing (ITA) – Ambrogio Beccaria (ITA)
Biotherm (FRA) – Paul Meilhat (FRA)
Team AMAALA (SUI/KSA) – Alan Roura (SUI)

Race facts:
• Distance: 4,500 nautical miles across five Legs.
• Yacht-Type: High-speed IMOCA 60s, capable of reaching 25+ knots.
• Crews: 4 sailors per boat, representing at least two nationalities and with at least one female crew member. And 1 onboard reporter.
• Nations represented: Germany, Switzerland, France, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, Great Britain, United States of America, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Brazil, Portugal.
• Historic firsts: First time racing into the Adriatic Sea and Montenegro finish.
• Tracking: Live GPS race tracker powered by ‘PredictWind’, with weather overlays and real-time routing.

The Ocean Race will begin again in 2027 using the IMOCA class boat, with two earlier events providing training and exposure to prospective teams. In 2025, The Ocean Race Europe will start on August 10 from Kiel, Germany and take a route south around the Iberian Peninsula and into the Mediterranean Sea. In 2026, The Ocean Race Atlantic will start in New York, USA and finish in Barcelona, Spain.