The second of the five legs of the Ocean Race Europe 2025 started on Sunday evening in glorious sunshine. Seven Imoca yachts started the race to Cartagena off Cowes at 5 pm local time. On their course, they will pass Matosinhos near Porto during the fly-by. They will make a very short stopover there in the new week.
"Ocean's Seven" reunited
The first destination of the reunited "Ocean's Seven" was the scoring gate at the famous Needles, which every Fastnet sailor knows. As on leg one at the Kiel lighthouse, the first points were to be scored there before the long leg past Brittany and into the Bay of Biscay. The conditions were wonderful at the start: the race started on a downwind course with ten to 14 knots of wind and a favourable current that drove the field through the Solent.
For the opening ceremony, the organisers had chosen the historic starting line of the Royal Yacht Squadron, which was active in the 1973 Whitbread Round the World Race. It was the first team race around the world at the time, which was later renamed the Volvo Ocean Race and is now known as The Ocean Race. The fastest Sunday start was made by Yoann Richomme's crew on "Paprec Arkéa".
Maximum bonus points for "Biotherm"
However, when the fleet reached the scoring gate, it was once again skipper Paul Meilhat and his French team on "Biotherm" who scored the maximum two bonus points, just like after the start in Kiel. They were followed - also as in Kiel - by "Paprec Arkéa", which scored another point. This means that "Biotherm" has an impressive and unblemished record so far. Up to this point, her crew has scored the optimum number of points for the overall standings in the Ocean Race Europe.
They were followed by the "Holcim-PRB", so heavily repaired by Knierim Yachtbau last week, in third place at the Needles ahead of Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia and Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive. Allagrande Mapei Racing reached the Needles in sixth position. Bringing up the rear was Alan Roura's Team Amaala. However, points were only awarded to the top two boats.
"It's incredible that we're back in the race," said Alan Roberts on "Holcim-PRB", "we're not just back, we're a boat that's 100 per cent ready to go and even more ambitious and motivated than before to get back out there and perform." The week-long repair work has brought the crew very close together, as "Holcim PRB" skipper Rosalin Kuiper reported in her race blog for YACHT the morning before the start.
Ocean Race Europe: fast follow-up expected
After "Holcim-PRB", Allagrande Mapei Racing had also arrived in Portsmouth less than a day before the start, where skipper Ambrogio Beccaria had appeared quite unimpressed by his team's rollercoaster ride of crashes, repairs and comebacks over the past week. The Milan native, who lives in France, said as if it had been easy: "We are ready for the start of the second leg."
Ambrogio Beccaria was positive about the winds on the first night, saying: "Our boat is specially built for strong winds, so we love these conditions." For the "Biotherm" crew, however, the task is to defend their lead. "It's true that we got off to a good start, but that's behind us," said skipper Paul Meilhat, not wanting to bask too much in what he had already achieved.
It's better to collect points early. This stage will be very difficult with the different conditions." Paul Meilhat
Meilhat was looking forward to an explosive start phase. His prediction before the start: "It will be very fast until Ouessant. It's important to start well, but I don't think the race will be decided there. We'll see how the other boats do, but we've already made progress with Biotherm - the boat isn't necessarily built for these conditions, but I think we can do it."
Good conditions for "Malizia - Seaexplorer"
Team Malizia was also looking forward to a fast-paced night. "It's going to be full on," said Will Harris. "We will experience high speeds and strong winds after the scoring gate. That's what we love on board the 'Malizia - Seaexplorer'. These are our conditions, so we want to make the most of it."
Malizia also brings fresh energy with a rotating crew. Will Harris has taken over the skipper role for leg two from Boris Herrmann, who attended the SailGP summit in Sassnitz at the weekend. The change was planned for the long term. Also because Team Malizia wants to test different crew constellations in the Ocean Race Europe.
I can't imagine a better team for this stage." Boris Herrmann
The Team Malizia founder is convinced: "Will knows these waters perfectly, as he has just won the Admiral's Cup here. Together with Justine, Loïs and Francesca, who all know the Atlantic and Mediterranean well, I feel very confident. I'm looking forward to welcoming them to Spain - hopefully with a good result and maybe even a stage win."
Malizia with the energy of second place on stage one
On board "Malizia - Seaexplorer", Will Harris, Justine Mettraux, Francesca Clapcich and Loïs Berrehar want to add another top result to their second place on stage one. Swiss rider Justine Mettraux explained: "Although it was a tough first stage and we only had four days to recover and prepare for the next stage, I feel good."
She was still a little tired, but that's part and parcel of racing two races in a row. All in all, the best Vendée Globe skipper went into stage two with a good feeling, saying: "I feel ready. Second place on stage one definitely energises us. It was a strong start and a good confidence boost for the whole race. This result and the fight for every place motivates us all to do well on the next stage."
"Paprec Arkéa" skipper Yoann Richomme also rejoiced at the forecast for the first section of leg two, saying before the start: "A spinnaker start in the Solent, then a fast trip down the English Channel - that's exactly what I like for my boat."
Difficult leg of the Ocean Race Europe
At the same time, Richomme had warned of a difficult, tactically demanding stage before the start. "The first transition is at the top of Brittany, near Ouessant. It looks pretty easy at the moment, but there can always be surprises." Alan Roberts, who also considers the second leg to be possibly the most complex of the regatta, agreed.
Alan Roberts said: "This leg is going to be fantastic, probably the most tactically interesting as we sail from the English Channel into the Bay of Biscay, down into the Portuguese trade winds, around the Strait of Gibraltar and with a nice little finish in the Mediterranean."
For the teams further back in the field, the declared goal remains to keep up. Pip Hare from Team Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive has formulated her mission: "Boat speed! We want to stay in the group, make good changes and get as much speed out of it as possible. We don't want to lose even 0.1 knots. That's the most important thing." The live tracker for the Ocean Race Europe can be found here.
The replay of the second stage start
During the first night on Monday, the positions of the boats changed frequently at first. Around midnight, "Paprec Arkea", "Biotherm" and Allagrande Mapei Racing had pulled away from the field. Team Malizia and Team Holcim-PRB followed some 16 nautical miles behind the leaders. The Canadian and young Swiss teams were already around 30 and 36 nautical miles behind.
The start of the second leg of the Ocean Race Europe in the replay:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
