The Ocean Race: IMOCAs set blistering pace in the Atlantic

The Swiss-flagged Holcim-PRB team remains at the head of the IMOCA fleet on Wednesday (18 January) as all five boats continue to set a blistering pace directly towards Cape Verde.

The leading teams are putting up close to 500-mile days, with Holcim-PRB now just 992 miles from the first-leg finishing line at Cape Verde.

The Ocean Race set off from Alicante, Spain, on Sunday (15 January 2023) — headed for the ultimate finish in Genova, Italy in July.

During that time, the fleet will cover 32,000 nautical miles and stop in eight countries including an epic 12,750 nautical mile Southern Ocean leg from Cape Town, South Africa to Itajai, Brazil which will take a month.

Now free of the constraints of the Mediterranean, the teams are set up for some fast sailing across the wind. IMOCAs are designed to excel in these conditions and the miles to the finish line are melting away.

Kevin Escoffier’s Holcim-PRB are holding off 11th Hour Racing Team for the lead, while Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia is positioned furthest east and closest to the direct route rhumb line.

“I think we’ve seen 33.7 knots of boat speed this morning,” said Will Harris on board Team Malizia. “We’re going fast… We’re enjoying some straight line sailing after all the tacking getting to Gibraltar. Looking forward to getting to Cabo Verde in a few days.”

In fact, the ETA for the IMOCA fleet is overnight (GMT) on Friday, with France’s Biotherm and GUYOT environnement Team Europe some 100 miles behind the leaders.

VO65

In The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint, WindWhisper Racing Team, Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team and Team JAJO are fighting for the lead and keeping pace with the fourth and fifth-placed IMOCA boats.

Here, life on board is under ‘firehose’ conditions with water constantly pouring over the deck and onto the sailors in the cockpit.

“Everything I brought is either wet, or more wet,” said Cecilia Zorzi (ITA) from on board the fourth-placed Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova. “Nothing is dry but we are still having fun and Cabo Verde is getting closer and closer.”

Still in the Mediterranean, Viva Mexico resumed racing on Wednesday morning with a different mainsail after damaging their original beyond repair. They are just over 550 miles behind the rest of the fleet.

The VO65s are currently expected to arrive in Cabo Verde over the course of the day on Saturday (21 January 2023).

50 Years of B&G and The Ocean Race

For the 50th anniversary of the world’s toughest round-the-world crewed sailing race, B&G is back at the start line as the Official Technical Supplier for the 14th edition.

Dating back to 1973, B&G has been the electronics of choice for every winner of this legendary test of adventure, teamwork, determination, and technology. For the Ocean Race 2023, two of the leading contenders in the IMOCA 60 class of boats – 11th Hour Racing Team and Team Malizia – are equipped with the latest B&G electronics, navigation systems and data processors.

Aside from the IMOCA class, B&G is also supplying on-board electronics for the VO65 one-design class of boats used in the last two editions of the race and set to compete in the new The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup featuring legs from Alicante to Cabo Verde this month and then Aarhus, Denmark to Genova, Italy with a stopover in The Hague, Holland. The team which accumulates the best score across three different legs will win the Sprint Cup trophy.

“The Ocean Race is the toughest test in offshore team sailing in the world and for that we need the best electronics on board,” said Neil Cox, technical director for The Ocean Race. “50 years of partnership is rare in the sports world and being on-board every race winner since the beginning is a mark of perfection that B&G can really celebrate in this anniversary year.”