Team Guyot will be back in action when the starting gun for the sixth of seven Ocean Race stages is fired in Aarhus at 6.15 pm on the evening of 8 June. One day before the start, the "Guyot" transfer crew arrived in the Danish stage harbour with their repaired boat. On Wednesday afternoon, the coal-black yacht and its crew received a rapturous welcome from the other teams and Ocean Race fans as they entered the harbour in Aarhus. The boat passed its first test well after setting sail from Kiel the previous evening.
Slump at the start of stage six?
In Aarhus, everything is now focussed on the upcoming sprint to The Hague and the fly-by in Kiel. At 800 nautical miles, the shortest leg of the 14th Ocean Race will test the circumnavigators in the Baltic and North Sea. Current forecasts point to a calm first night.
Team Malizia's co-skipper Will Harris said: "The leg is very short, every mile is important. We are in for a complicated start and a complex leg with fairly light winds on the first night. We will have to deal with current and lots of transitions. It will be about who is the most active and who can manage the transitions best."
Our message to the public at the fly-by in Kiel: "You will experience great sights, but stay out of the water" (Regatta Director Phil Lawrence)
One day after the starting signal, the eagerly awaited fly-by will take place in Kiel. Here, the Imoca yachts will round an Ocean Race turning mark directly in front of the Ocean Live Park on the Kiellinie on Friday afternoon between 3.30 and 4.30 pm. The operation on the fjord is considered to be extremely challenging. Tens of thousands of fans are expected on land and an armada of spectator boats on the water. Around 50 boats from the water police and the organisers will be deployed to protect the Ocean Race yachts and the spectator fleet.
The fairway will be closed on Friday afternoon between Kiel Lighthouse and the turning mark from 3pm to 5pm and reserved for racing yachts. Ocean Race Race Director Phil Lawrence said: "Our message to the spectators is: You're going to see some great sights, but stay out of the fairway."
I hope that there can be a real stopover in Germany in the future" (Boris Herrmann)
Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia, in which Dutch rider Rosalin Kuiper celebrated her 28th birthday shortly before returning to her home country on Wednesday, is looking forward to the "home leg" with great anticipation. Boris Herrmann said: "Coming to Germany is something very special for our team. I don't think there is a sporting advantage, but there is a great incentive from the German fans, and that is something that gives me a lot of energy. I hope that there can be a real stopover in Germany in the future."
Boris Herrmann's team is trailing 11th Hour Racing (28 points) and Team Holcim - the second team - ahead of the final two European stages. PRB (27 points) in third place in the Ocean Race standings with 24 points. Due to the small, albeit fine, fleet, it will be difficult, though not impossible, for the German yacht and its crew to get back into the fight for overall victory.
It is an advantage to sail through our living room" (Robert Stanjek)
The fact that Team Guyot is back in the race would have a positive effect for Team Malizia if "Malizia - Seaexplorer" and "Guyot" can finish in front. "That would be good, but 'Guyot' can stay nicely behind us," said Malizia's co-skipper Will Harris with a smile. Berlin-based "Guyot" skipper Robert Stanjek, who knows the waters of Kiel well as a former Olympic sailor and keelboat sailor, said ahead of his team's comeback: "We were also very busy in these waters with our ORC project. It's an advantage to sail through our living room."
At the same time, Robert Stanjek pointed out the challenges ahead after his team's resurrection: "For us, the starting line of stage six is the goal for now. We have to make sure that everything works technically. We are sailing with a new mast and a new rig. There will still be a few things to calibrate, but we are well positioned for that." Robert Stanjek has few worries about the new sail wardrobe for "Guyot": "This is Ben's replacement set from the Route du Rhum. The sails are absolutely perfect."
We see our shared crew experience as an advantage over other teams" (Will Harris)
Will Harris, who is the navigator for Team Malizia on leg six, describes just how challenging the leg ahead could be: "I've been thinking a lot about this leg. It will certainly be tough and involve a lot of sailing on smooth water in the Baltic and North Sea because of the offshore winds. We have a strong hull shape for it and have learnt a lot about our boat."
In comparison to the competition, Harris said before the final two European legs: "We see the shared crew experience in our team as an advantage compared to the many Figaro sailors on other boats."
Rosie Kuiper celebrates her 28th birthday in Aarhus
Dutch rider Rosalin Kuiper starts the sixth stage, which takes the field to her home country of Holland, with added motivation. "I'm super excited that we're heading for the Netherlands. It's been a dream come true for me over the last few months. I've sailed around the world with this team. Now I'm looking forward to seeing the Netherlands, my family and friends."
Before that lies the reunion of the German Ocean Race sailors with their families, friends and fans at the Kiel fly-by, even if the boats only "fly past" here. "I'm very excited to see what will happen in Kiel," said Robert Stanjek, who reached Aarhus by land with Annie Lush on Wednesday morning. "Of course, I have a faint idea of what's going to happen. I reckon it's going to be pretty crowded. We've worked hard to get the Ocean Race brand to Kiel. Now we're looking forward to actually being able to round this buoy."
A challenging operation for race director Phil Lawrence and his team
Race director Phil Lawrence has given himself, his experienced team and the fleet a target time of 16:00 for rounding the Kiel turning mark close to the shore. He knows that racing can never be planned one hundred per cent precisely depending on the wind conditions, but can at least influence the time of sailing into the fairway slightly if necessary with an additional retractable "loop" in front of Kiel Lighthouse. The challenging "fly-by Kiel" operation can then begin.
Happy birthday, Rosie Kuiper! The Dutchwoman celebrates her 28th birthday today, 7 June. The clip shows Team Malizia's "Superwoman" talking to Niall Myant-Best about teamwork:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
