Ocean Race Europe: "Paprec Arkéa" in front, "Malizia" within striking distance
Tatjana Pokorny
· 11.09.2025
It took what felt like an eternity for the four leading boats to reach the latest waypoint on Wednesday. Only after rounding the small island of Ustica, just eight square kilometres northwest of Sicily, were the leaders able to turn south. "Paprec Arkéa" held an eight-nautical-mile lead over "Biotherm" on Thursday morning, although the latter was travelling a little faster in places.
No Dolce Vita in the Ocean Race Europe
The duo in front were followed within striking distance by the Italian "Allagrande Mapei" and the "Malizia - Seaexplorer", which was still leading the previous day. This top group was expected at the halfway point of the fifth, final and longest leg of the Ocean Race Europe in less than five days' time in the finishing harbour of Boka Bay in Montenegro. However, the crews still have nothing to look forward to until then.
The changeable weather conditions, doldrums, storms, thunderstorms, winds that drop and then pick up again are putting the sailors on board the Imocas to the test. "Allagrande Mapei" skipper Ambrogio Beccaria summarised the latest Mediterranean scenarios on Thursday morning and said: "It's very complicated ... Let's just say it was very stormy."
The big lull in the early stages was forgotten. The Milan native continued and said: "Everyone had different winds. It's a bit like an up and down; the storms bring the wind with them and you have to constantly adapt." The crews on "Paprec Arkéa" and "Biotherm" were the most successful at doing this recently. the classification in the Ocean Race Europe in reverse order.
Rediscovering the fun of the Ocean Race Europe
"It's true that the first two were able to pull away a little," admitted Ambrogio Beccaria. "We had expected a wind shift, but it never really materialised, so we suffered a little from the situation." In the meantime, "Holcim-PRB" has also rounded the waypoint north-west of Sicily and reduced the gap to the leaders to a good 50 nautical miles. Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive are significantly further behind, with a final gap of 172 nautical miles to "Paprec Arkéa" and Team Amaala with a gap of 330 nautical miles.
Those at the back of the field are also happy to finally be sailing in fresh winds. "These are the fastest hours we've had since the start," said a delighted Sébastien Marsset. "It feels good and it's exciting to get the boat moving again, to find the speed, the planing and the fun."
The Canadian team, which was slowed down for a long time by squalls and calm conditions that caused the gap to swell further, is now hoping to get out of the north of Sicily quickly. "The idea is to leave the area around Ustica quickly before the calm sets in again," said Marsset, hoping not to fall into another doldrums trap. Click here for the tracker and an overview of the teams' current positions.
Herrmann takes stock at the halfway point of stage five
Urgency is also expressed in Ambrogio Beccaria's voice when he last spoke about the challenges this Thursday: "It's difficult to get a clear picture of what lies ahead. But the storms will not go away! We know that we have to be as agile as possible and limit possible setbacks."
Boris Herrmann had already taken stock of the halfway stage on Wednesday. The "Malizia - Seaexplorer" skipper said: "We really had all kinds of weather conditions on this leg, from very light winds to really strong storms from behind. Sometimes the wind was so strong that we even lost control once and shot into the wind. But so far everything is going well."
With his team still in the lead on Wednesday, Boris Herrmann had said: "It will really be decided between the four of us at the top who ends up on the podium." The fact that "Malizia - Seaexplorer" experienced a sunny spell on Wednesday didn't stop Boris Herrmann, Will Harris, Francesca Clapcich and Cole Brauer in their battle for long.
Ocean Race Europe: first the Adriatic, then Boka Bay
According to Herrmann, he "doesn't know the Adriatic Sea very well", which the leading team of four will soon reach. His outlook: "I expect capricious winds, as is often the case everywhere in the Mediterranean, especially in the eastern Mediterranean. That's why it's so valuable to have our local expert and heroine Frankie on board. She knows the Adriatic very well."
The Adriatic Sea is the finishing motorway in the Ocean Race Europe 2025, which could easily become an obstacle course. It will take the fleet to the final port of Boka Bay, where the fifth leg will come to an end at the beginning of the week, before the last coastal race with a full leg's worth of points takes place on 20 September. Only then will the winners be celebrated in Montenegro on 21 September.
"We have a number of friends and guests who have announced that they are coming to visit. They are curious about this new harbour in Ocean Race Europe. And so are we! Until then, as always: it's not over until it's over," said Boris Herrmann.
