Ocean Race Atlantic: Final sprint in the Transat – “DMG Mori” in the lead, “Malizia 4” racing ahead

On Wednesday morning, the leading boats still had a good 500 nautical miles to sail to the finish line of the first Ocean Race Atlantic. It is the seventh day of racing since the start off New York on 2 September. Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia was battling it out in a four-way sprint for a place on the podium.

Ocean Race Atlantic Final: ‘DMG Mori Global One’ in the lead, ‘Malizia 4’ at high speed

Their 110-nautical-mile deficit The Malicians had almost completely wiped them out over the past few days. Late on Tuesday evening, they had fought their way to within eight nautical miles of the Japanese vessel ‘DMG Mori Global One’, which had previously taken the lead. On Wednesday morning, the gap behind the DMG-Mori chasing pack had initially widened slightly again, as Kojiro Shiraishi, Sam Davies, Nico Lunven and Arisa Moriya were able to put their foot down a bit harder.

Click here to access the live tracker for the Ocean Race Atlantic.

​With the high-pressure ridge having moved on, the fast-paced final phase has now begun. At first, it seemed that “DMG Mori Global One” had the advantage. The high-pressure system moved off towards the south-east more quickly than the pursuers further north would have liked. The result: Shiraishi and his crew were not slowed down any further.

The “DMG Mori Global One” crew managed to pick up speed again more quickly than their rivals further north had hoped. Most recently, the “DMG Mori Global One” – which, like “Malizia 4”, was only two months old at the time of its first race in the Ocean Race Atlantic – raced towards the Breton finish line on Wednesday morning on a more direct course. At times, they reached top speeds of 25 knots and more. And the forecasts could give the new Japanese frontrunner – who took the lead the previous evening – a further boost, as the low-pressure system approaching from behind is now expected to carry all four boats to the finish at a similar pace.

As far as speed was concerned, however, “Malizia 4” was every bit the equal of its Japanese rival in the last few hours. On the contrary: at around 9.30 am on Wednesday morning, she was racing at lightning speed with peak speeds of 30 knots, and was able to narrow the gap to “DMG Mori Global One” – which had grown to more than 30 nautical miles overnight – slightly again in the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Heading into the final stretch of the Transat at full speed

On the morning of 9 September, a good 50 nautical miles still separated the “DMG Mori Global One” and the “Malizia 4” sailing above her. Positioned between them were Francesca Clapcich’s “11th Hour Racing” and Paul Meilhat’s “United by the Ocean”. On board all three boats chasing “DMG Mori Global One”, the mood remained combative.

"We’ve got a plan for the final push and have already used up a whole roll of tape on board for minor repairs." Cole Brauer

Benjamin Ferré had already described the pattern of low-high-low quite well the day before. He is sailing on “United by the Ocean” alongside Ocean Race Europe winner Paul Meilhat, Mariana Lobato and Sara Stone. Ferré said: “The low-pressure system that had been driving us forward for a few days had gone into standby mode. It had taken a short break.” Now it’s back and setting the stage for a fast-paced finale with the potential for a nail-biting finish.

The leading quartet was last expected to cross the finish line on Thursday evening from around 5 pm. The Swiss yacht “Embrace the Challenge” and Conrad Colman’s “MSIG Europe” could reach the line by the morning of 11 September, trailing by 266 and 355 nautical miles respectively on race day seven. However, both boats remain in contention for the daily Supersprints. The most recent head-to-head was won on Tuesday evening by Oliver Heer’s crew on “Embrace the Challenge”, as they were able to sail more effectively in stronger winds than the leaders.

“Malizia 4” remains the sprint queen in the Ocean Race Atlantic

Team Malizia continues to lead the Supersprint standings with its new ‘Koch rocket’, 35 points ahead of ‘DMG Mori Global One’ (29 points), ‘11th Hour Racing’ and ‘Embrace the Challenge’ (both on 23 points). The results do not count towards the Ocean Race Atlantic standings and are determined by the boats’ current positions under varying conditions. The fact that “Malizia 4” tops this ranking, can nevertheless be regarded as an indicator of a fast boat.

Replay! The live broadcast from the start of the seventh day of racing in the Ocean Race Atlantic: