MADRID, 2 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
German Boris Herrmann’s ‘Team Malizia’ has conquered the third stage of The Ocean Race, around the world under sail, after reaching the finish line located in front of the Ocean Live Park in Itajaí (Brazil) as the first.
At 7:20:28 Spanish peninsular time, the boat made its finish line on the 35th day of the competition, after sailing 14,714 nautical miles, an intense and closely fought stage. Thus, she adds five points for the victory.
“We are still with full energy. The competition has been very close and that keeps you motivated. This is a victory for the whole team and I am very proud of what we have achieved”, indicated the skipper of ‘Team Malizia’, Boris Herrmann, upon reaching the jetty.
Within days of the Cape Town departure, the team discovered a severe break in the top of the mast and had to spend almost two full days carrying out a complicated repair at sea, with uncertain outcome. By this time ‘Team Holcim-PRB’ had slipped away from the rest of the fleet and was nearly 600 miles ahead of its rivals.
However, the improvised reinforcement they made at the top of the mast allowed the ‘Malizia’ to resume the pursuit. By the time the teams reached the stage 3 scoring gate, ‘Malizia’ had closed to within 200 miles of ‘Holcim-PRB’, moving up to second place and taking four points.
As the fleet sailed south of New Zealand and down into the southernmost part of the Pacific Ocean, the lead hovered around 10 miles for one ship or the other, trading the lead as they sailed along. of the ice exclusion zone.
During one of the worst periods of the leg, with the boat lurching in rough seas, Rosalin Kuiper was thrown from her bunk and sustained a head injury. With the goal of getting Rosie stabilized and on the mend, the ‘Malizia’ was left with a rotation for three-person guards for the remainder of the leg.
At Cape Horn, ‘Malizia’ had a narrow lead of less than 30 miles, leading the fleet around this iconic point and winning the Roaring Forties trophy in the process. The final squeeze to the north was very close; ‘Team Holcim-PRB’ and ‘Team Malizia’ sailed facing each other, climbing bow to bow the entire South American coast.
On Friday, they dealt with another strong storm, gusting to 50 knots. Boris Herrmann and his ‘Team Malizia’ maintained a 60 mile lead after ‘Holcim-PRB’ gybed overnight and sustained some damage. This was the biggest lead a team had achieved since they passed New Zealand, more than 10 days ago.
On the final day of the leg and last night at sea, ‘Team Malizia’ sailed fast and confident towards the finish line, extending their lead to over 80 miles and scoring a historic victory.