It was almost a start-to-finish victory for Charlie Dalin's Vendée Globe dominator "Macif - Santé Prévoyance" in the Course des Caps. After the start on 29 June, several teams initially took turns vying for the lead, which "Malizia - Seaexplorer" also held for a short time. But with the Fastnet passage, the blue and yellow 2022 Imoca queen prevailed and pulled away. The triumph of the Dalin rocket, designed by Guillaume Verdier, was once again clear in the race for the British Isles, even if the crew was completely different.
Course of the Cap: around the British Isles in six days
Perhaps Thomas Ruyant and his team could have put up more of a fight against the perennial favourite "Macif - Santé Prévoyance". Up to north of the Orkney Islands, "Vulnerable" had come within eight nautical miles of the leader. But then damage to the masthead forced the hunters to abandon the race. Skipper Sam Goodchild, Guillaume Combescure, Charlotte Yven and Boris Herrmann's future Ocean Race Europe colleague and boatbuilding partner Loïs Berrhar then drove "Macif - Santé Prévoyance" to an irresistible victory in the Course des Caps.
It only took them 6 days, 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete their masterpiece. The success of the "Association Petits Princes - Queguiner" showed just how good this boat is. Élodie Bonafous brought her apparently equally "massive" sister ship of Dalin's 2022 design to the finish of the race to and from Boulogne-sur-Mer and around the British Isles two and a half hours later in second place.
Three quarters of an hour later, Boris Herrmann's former navigator Nico Lunven and his crew on "Holcim-PRB" secured third place on the podium. A further hour and a half later, Will Harris, Francesca Clapcich, Cole Brauer and Julien Villion brought "Malizia - Seaexplorer" to the finish of the premiere of the Course des Caps. The Malizians managed to keep Jérémie Beyou's "Charal" at bay over the last few nautical miles. Click here for the tracker and the results.
Intense and unforgettable: the course of the cap
Skipper Will Harris reported: "It was an incredible and intense race. We spent some unforgettable days together on the boat. The competition was tough from the start. 'Charal' was only ten miles behind us at the finish. The leg around Scotland was particularly challenging, with some heavy storms that put us all to the test. Each day brought its own conditions, from light winds at the start to moderate breezes west of Ireland and strong winds near Scotland and the finish line."
I'm incredibly proud of this team." Will Harris
Will Harris continued after the mission in his control room: "This race pushed us to our limits and really put us to the test, especially as we had to deal with considerable challenges on board. But the crew worked brilliantly together. It wasn't just great preparation on land and a well-functioning boat; this first race was a hard-fought, memorable battle that we'll be talking about for a long time."
Team Malizia's on-board reporter Flore Hartout was picked up directly by a doctor. She had injured her ribs and knees during a nosedive of "Malizia - Seaexplorer" during the course of the cap, had to spend the rest of the race in the navigation seat and fight her pain with painkillers. When the boat also suddenly suffered broken "ribs" - three broken battens in the upper part of the mainsail - Team Malizia had their hands full.
Course of the cap: broken ribs, broken slats
"We had to take the main down and cut some of our spare battens to repair it," said Will Harris. However, the crew managed to do this very quickly and without losing too many miles. "That was definitely a challenge," said Harris. We were quite surprised to have discovered the damage at all. We have no idea how it happened, but we were able to complete the repair successfully and even film a bit."
The last 100 nautical miles of the race were once again a challenging zigzag sprint. With no fewer than 13 turning manoeuvres, the crew's stamina and concentration were required. On course for the finish, Will Harris and his crew heard that the bowsprit on "Holcim-PRB" had broken, but they were unable to come close to third place on the podium.
The fighting performance of the Malizians, who crossed the finish line at 20:04 local time, was achieved in unpredictable winds, strong currents and despite a number of challenges on board. The team's performance gave a foretaste of the possibilities in the Ocean Race Europe, which starts off Kiel on 10 August. The two top boats in the Cap's course will not be competing in the European race.
Admiral's Cup and Ocean Race Europe ahead
In the absence of "Biotherm", which did not take part in the course of the Cap but in the shorter Gotland Runt, which was held at the same time and has already arrived in Kiel, "Malizia - Seaexplorer" was the second best of the future Ocean Race Europe Imocas. It should be borne in mind that "Vulnerable" was also strong until her retirement. She is to start the race for Europe as "Allagrande Mapei" with her new skipper Ambrogio Beccaria, her then former skipper Thomas Ruyant and crew.
The Imocas completed a good 2000 nautical miles over ground in this first edition of the Course des Caps. Late in the evening, the fastest Vendée Globe skipper Justine Mettraux and her team on "Teamwork - Team Snef" and Samantha Davies' crew on "Initiatives - Cœur" crossed the finish line. "4CAD - La Mie Câline" with Arnaud Boissières, Benjamin Dutreux and their crew are not expected to arrive in Boulogne-sur-Mer until Sunday. Szabolcs Weöres and the "New Europe" crew will be travelling much longer.
For the Malizia crew, on the other hand, things will soon be moving on. From 17 July 2025, Boris Herrmann will be back in the ring with Will Harris, Cole Brauer and Oakley Marsh on board the Carkeek 40 "Jolt 6" under the command of Pierre Casiraghi for the team from Monaco in the Admiral's Cup with Fastnet Final. Less than two weeks later, the starting signal will be given for the Ocean Race Europe, to which the Course des Caps was a beautiful and very varied overture.
The pictures of the finish and reception scenes of the Imocas in Boulogne-sur-Mer:
