Course of the Cap: The "new girl" leads, Malizia in the top three after a foggy start

Élodie Bonafous' new Imoca only rolled out of the shipyard a few months ago. Now she is already leading her first race. Nine hours after the start of the Course des Caps, the Frenchwoman and her select crew were leading the 2000 nautical mile long-distance race to and from Boulogne-sur-Mer around the British Isles.

Course of the cap: power players instead of princes for Élodie

Elodie Bonnafous' sister ship in the mould of Charlie Dalin's Vendée Globe dominator "Macif Santé Prévoyance" bears the pretty name "Association Petits Princes - Quéguiner". The 29-year-old skipper, who was the first French woman to finish a Figaro leg on the podium, has not gathered any princes on board for the Course des Caps, but rather seasoned offshore experts: Pascal Bidégorry, Yann Eliès and Gaston Morvan are driving the Guillaume-Verdier newbuild with Élodie Bonnafous, who grew up in a sailing family in northern Finisterre.

Half a nautical mile behind the leaders, Team Malizia with skipper Will Harris was in second place late on Sunday evening. Another half a mile behind was Sam Goodchild with Guillaume Combescure, Loïs Berrehar and Charlotte Yven in the team on "Macif Santé Prévoyance". "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper Will Harris has a lap around his home country ahead of him in the course of the Cap. While team founder Boris Herrmann is not taking part this time, Harris is relying on his own skills and his team-mates Cole Brauer (USA), Francesca Clapcich (Italy/USA) and Julien Villion (France).

Flore Hartout is the onboard reporter for Team Malizia. In very light winds, Harris and his team-mates got off to a good start. It was a slow start for all eleven four-person Imoca crews and their onboard reporters, who are competing in the race officially named the Banque Populaire du Nord Boulogne-sur-Mer Cape Race. It is known as the Course des Caps for short. The starting signal was given at 14:00 local time. This new Imoca challenge is a clockwise route around the British Isles. Click here for the tracker.

The course of the cap leads around the British Isles

The regatta starts and finishes in Boulogne-sur-Mer in the north of France and presents a number of challenges, including light and fickle winds, heavy shipping traffic, strong tidal currents and 50 (!) traffic separation schemes. Originally planned to last around five to eight days, the regatta could last longer than eight days due to the very light weather conditions. Above all, it will demand patience, endurance and tactical-strategic skill from its participants.

The start was in stark contrast to the high speeds and fast foiling action normally experienced at Imoca regattas. The dozen or so Imocas did not get off to a dynamic start, but started the race extremely sluggishly in only four to five knots of wind, initially sailing through a mixture of fog and sunshine. The boats cut across the start line, making agonisingly slow progress towards the first turning mark. Team Malizia rounded it in fourth place.

Even before the start, skipper Will Harris had described the initial phase as tactically and mentally demanding and said: "As we saw in the forecast, the first 24 hours are really challenging. It's easy to get carried away emotionally in this early phase. If we make the wrong decision, the others could pull away. But we have to remember that this race is over 2,000 nautical miles long and nothing is decided at the start. One wrong or right move now doesn't mean the race is over, quite the opposite."

Course of the cap: anything can happen until the final

Boris Herrmann's trusted skipper explained: "Firstly, we have to manage both the race and ourselves. Finding our rhythm early on will be one of the biggest challenges. Once we get closer to Ireland, we can hopefully adjust to more typical ocean conditions and our regular four-hour watch system. But even at the end of the race, as we head back down the North Sea and into the Strait of Dover, anything can still happen. We could experience light winds or heavy pressure again, really need to stay focussed to hold on to the finish."

Team Malizia's experienced navigator and co-skipper Julien Villion agreed: "There could be some transitions in the first few days of the race. Even though nothing will be decisive, I think it's a course where you could almost start all over again twelve hours before the finish. We have summer conditions, so there could be very little wind in the English Channel. And like today, a lot of current - as at the start, so towards the end, after an eight-day race with fifty lead changes. This course is strategically very open, there will be gaps at some point and certainly surprises."

It's a really complete, versatile race." Julien Villion

Along the route, the fleet passes the symbolic 60th parallel north. Along the way, seven trophies are awarded to mark important passages along the route. Co-skipper Francesca Clapcich points out the special challenge for Julien Villion with a smile: "Julien won't have it easy over the next few days! I think it's our job to really stay on the ball and push the boat during our watch to get the best performance out of it."

Challenges and opportunities in the course of the cap

The Italian-American Ocean Race winner added: "There will be many challenges, but also many opportunities. Sometimes what you see as a challenge can very quickly become an opportunity if you approach it in the right way. The technical team did an excellent job preparing the boat. Ultimately, we are four sailors on board, but without the whole team behind the scenes working hard every day, none of this would be possible."

This is the first race for "Malizia - Seaexplorer" since Boris Herrmann's participation in the Vendée Globe last winter. The boat has since been converted for crewed racing - also with a view to the Ocean Race Europe starting on 10 August - with the focus of the optimisations being on the ergonomics for a team of five. Team Malizia announced: "It now has a new, flatter spinnaker, new rigging from Gleistein and a next-generation hybrid-electric propulsion and power system from Molabo and Fischer Panda, one of the first of its kind in the Imoca class."

"Malizia - Seaexplorer is sailing with the Version 3 foils that served so well in Boris Herrmann's transatlantic races to and from New York last year. Before the start of the Ocean Race Europe, the course of the Cap marks a good test for Team Malizia, is part of the season championship of the Imoca class and a qualifying race for the Vendée Globe.

Why Boris Herrmann is sitting out

Boris Herrmann has decided to skip the race around the British Isles to give the crew the opportunity to train together in real racing conditions, especially as Will Harris will be skippering a leg of the Ocean Race Europe. Having already completed the Vendée Globe earlier this year, Boris Herrmann is focussing on preparing for the upcoming European race on land.

The slow-motion start to the course of the cap in the replay - from the perspective of Team Malizia's Anbord reporter Flore Hartout: