Ocean Race Atlantic: Blade vs. Bustle – a top Atlantic showdown on the cards

As of today, there are just 40 days to go until the premiere of the Ocean Race Atlantic. That leaves little time to fine-tune a new IMOCA, make its maiden transatlantic crossing to New York from the second week of August, and carry out final race preparations in the Big Apple. Both Team DMG Mori and Team Malizia face the challenges this entails, as their new IMOCAs will not arrive until the 5th and launched on 6 July are.

Ocean Race Atlantic: one race, many firsts

Since then, the teams have been working non-stop towards the regatta debut of the two new boats in the Ocean Race Atlantic. They differ so much from one another that Boris Herrmann said: “You could even mistake them for boats from two different classes.” Instead of the ‘DMG Mori Global One’ bustle, which its designer Guillaume Verdier brought over from the America’s Cup to the IMOCA class, and the laterally positioned ballast tanks, “Malizia 4” – designed by Antoine Koch – is fitted with a “Blade” under the hull and ballast tanks at the bow and stern.

The Japanese Imoca is wider and designed for a more upright sailing position. The The design process for “Malizia 4”, on the other hand, was guided by the key objective of creating a super all-rounder, which combines the best of its predecessor, the high-wind powerboat ‘Malizia 3’, and the Vendée Globe winner ‘Macif’, which is both a strong starter and fast in light winds.

The new “Malizia 4” foils in Monaco red were also adapted to this hybrid design for the Ocean Race Atlantic leg. Team Malizia’s Technical Director, Pierre-François “Pifou” Dargnies, said: “The foils were developed with a clear objective: to match the downwind performance of the ‘Malizia – Seaexplorer’ in stronger winds, whilst at the same time being able to keep up with boats such as the ‘Macif’ on flat water and in light winds.”

Two teams, two approaches to offshore success

Dargnies also summed up the conclusion as follows: “The foils manufactured by C3 Technologies represent a compromise in terms of their shape between our previous C-shaped foils and flatter designs, which perform better close to the wind and during transitions.”

Although the foils from “DMG Mori Global One” Although they had not yet been installed, it was clear from the outset that these two IMOCA yachts follow two very different philosophies. The Imoca class itself described the contrast between the ‘DMG Mori Global One’ and the ‘Malizia 4’ as ‘revolution versus evolution’. This makes it all the more exciting to see how these two new racing yachts will fare against each other in their first head-to-head comparison.

It is clear to everyone involved that neither of the two new and sensational IMOCs will be able to reach their full potential so early on. “There are so many variables with a boat like this that you can’t expect to reach its full potential in the first year. It’s a process that we hope to drive forward quickly as part of the Ocean Race Atlantic,” said Boris Herrmann.

Setting off on the Ocean Race Atlantic in a spectacular boat

A total of six very different teams have entered the Ocean Race Atlantic. However, the sailing world is particularly keen to see the showdown between the two newcomers: Boris Herrmann’s “Malizia 4” and Kojiro Shiraishi’s “DMG Mori Global One”. Team Malizia’s initial experiences since the launch have been consistently positive. Boris Herrmann said: “We knew after the first five minutes of sailing that this was something spectacular. The boat is incredible!”

"I said that we’d soon find out whether this boat was a success. I think it is." Pierre-François “Pifou” Dargnies

Despite their delight at the promising initial results and findings following two years of hard work by more than 120 people, Team Malizia and the skipper remained cautious for the time being. Boris Herrmann said: “Time will tell. We can’t expect everything to go smoothly straight away in the first two transatlantic races. But let’s see…”

At the same time, Boris Herrmann made no secret of his surprise at Verdier’s radical design, and he too will be watching with keen interest to see how the concept is put into practice on the water and during the first regattas. Even Guillaume Verdier himself had said of his “DMG Mori Global One” design: “It’s exciting. A bit daunting, but very exciting.”

Team DMG Mori are also off to an aggressive start in the Ocean Race Atlantic

Samantha Davies, who – like Boris Herrmann’s former navigator Nico Lunven and the Japanese sailor Arisa Moriya – is part of Kojiro Shiraishi’s crew for the Ocean Race Atlantic, said of the Japanese IMOCA: “We can see the progress that’s been made in hull design.” It’s different from every other Imoca out there. "I think we’ll be in top form when we line up at the start of the Ocean Race Atlantic."

That is also the aim of Boris Herrmann, Julien Villion, Justine Mettraux and Cole Brauer, who christened “Malizia 4” in Lorient on 18 July. In the Ocean Race Atlantic, we may start to see an early indication of how the new boats measure up against one another. According to everyone involved, both should be faster than the previous generation. Nevertheless, the competition, with their tried-and-tested and, in some cases, more extensively overhauled boats, will put them under pressure.

One person who excels at this, even with limited resources, is the Frenchman Paul Meilhat, who, together with Mariana Lobato, is currently running the United by the Ocean campaign and unveiled her refurbished Ocean Race Europe winner (formerly “Biotherm”) Francesca Clapcich also aims to demonstrate her strength with “11th Hour Racing” (formerly “Malizia – Seaexplorer”, 2022). Alongside Will Harris, who is also competing in the Ocean Race Atlantic with the Italian-American, she had already shone last year in the Transat Café L’or, finishing second. But the newcomers weren’t in the mix back then.

A new beginning for Switzerland, a fast boat and a likeable underdog

Equally ambitious in the race is Oliver Heer and his Swiss team, Embrace the Challenge and the former “TeamWork – Team Snef” (2018), Justine Mettraux, the most successful woman in the solo round-the-world race at the last Vendée Globe having finished eighth. As an outsider, the likeable veteran Conrad Colman and his team will be competing in the new Transat aboard the “MSIG Europe” (2007), which gets underway on 1 September in New York.

There was plenty of good cheer at Team Malizia’s christening and anniversary party on 18 July in Lorient. The Malizia clip captures the atmosphere that has been keeping the team going during these weeks leading up to their departure for the transfer to New York and their first race start in the Ocean Race Atlantic:

The trailer for the new Ocean Race Atlantic, which starts on 1 September: