At La Base in Lorient, the programme continues at a brisk pace for “Malizia 4”. After the mast was raised just a few hours after the launch After the boat had been in the water on Monday afternoon, the static load tests were carried out that evening. Then, on Tuesday morning, came the exciting moments of the the 90-degree heel tests required in the Imoca class.
90-degree list test: the crane faltered briefly, but the “Malizia 4” did not
“You’ll never see them again!” announced co-skipper Will Harris, sounding both hopeful and confident. Capsizing is to be reserved for official requirements and is, of course, not on the cards for the upcoming races. After the crane initially played up a bit, the procedure went off without a hitch. Under the direction of technical director Pierre-François “Pifou” Dargnies, “Malizia 4” performed exactly as planned and withstood the test perfectly.
Once that was clear, the mood in the Team Malizia crew shifted from tense and focused to light-hearted and cheerful. Boris Herrmann’s racing team also used the scheduled event for a photo session and a bit of fun on the sidelines. Boris Herrmann himself balanced his way along the mast, which was lying at a 90-degree angle, whilst inspecting it. Co-skipper Cole Brauer followed suit.
Finally, the sailors gathered on the towering side of the hull for some rather unusual team photos, before Will Harris and Cole Brauer plunged from the top into the harbour basin at La Base in Lorient, as if from a five-metre springboard. Whilst the boat lay heavily heeled in the harbour, a question of great importance to Boris Herrmann and his team was written in large white letters on both sides of the underside of the hull: “What’s under your boat – Was ist unter deinem Boot?”
A message from Malizia: “What’s under your boat?”
The skipper explained why this message is so important to Team Malizia after completing the 90-degree heeling test: “In 2024, we were in New York. Cornelius Eich (Ed.: Head of the Partnership and Sustainability Programme at Team Malizia) had organised a conference at the German House at the UN, which focused on ocean conservation.”
Sharing the stage with the Malicians at that conference was Sylvia Alice Earle, the leading US oceanographer and environmental campaigner for the protection of the oceans. “She asked me whether I actually ever think about what’s beneath the boat,” Boris Herrmann recalls very vividly. “That’s where the saying comes from. Sylvia Earle is a sort of David Attenborough of the seas.” That question and its many answers will continue to guide Team Malizia now and in the future.
Boris Herrmann’s book *Die Welt unter meinem Boot* (The World Beneath My Boat), published in October 2025, also explores this question in depth and offers fascinating answers. With the question inscribed on the hull of the new “Malizia 4”, Herrmann aims to continue inspiring people to engage with their surroundings and the oceans. However, he and the crew are currently fully focused on the new “Malizia 4”. An initial sea trial is already planned for Wednesday, or Thursday at the latest.
After the launch: little time, many challenges
The time available for testing and preparing for the rapidly approaching challenges is tight. The first transatlantic crossing to New York is scheduled for early August, where on 1 September the inaugural Ocean Race Atlantic begins. Once the team race is over, from 1 November his first solo race, the legendary Route du Rhum with the new Imoca, skippered by Boris Herrmann. If everything goes to plan, “Malizia 4” will have crossed the Atlantic three times within around four and a half months.
“Born on 6 July” – the Malizia film marking the launch:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
