As the Ocean Race fleet approaches a potentially stormy Cape Horn passage on the queen stage, there is also an exciting manoeuvre to report on land. Team Malizia has hired a new technical director. Pierre-François "Pifou" Dargnies is coming on board. The Frenchman previously worked for Jérémie Beyou's racing team for nine years and managed the "Charal" campaigns. The expert, who knows all the tricks of the trade, will oversee all technical aspects of the Malizia programme with a view to the future.
Pierre-François Dargnies has many years of experience in the world of offshore sailing and the associated technology. He began his career alongside Roland Jourdain, for whom he worked from 2009 as an engineer and later as head of the design department. During this time, Dargnies began his own sailing campaign as a participant in the 2013 Mini-Transat, a transatlantic race in which Malizia skipper Boris Herrmann was the youngest competitor in 2001.
From "Charal" to "Malizia - Seaexplorer": Dargnies brings a lot of experience to Team Malizia
With the combination of his technical background and racing experience, Pierre-François Dargnies joined Jérémie Beyou's Imoca team in 2014 and took over the management of the performance area in the Maitre CoQ project. Dargnies and Beyou continued their collaboration when the new partner Charal came on board in 2017. Dargnies became Technical Director of the Charal programme. The powerful and ambitious Charal team came third in the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe 2022 with a brand new boat.
Boris Herrmann and Pierre-François Dargnies met in 2010 when they were living together in France and Boris was trying to get his Imoca project off the ground. The German and the Frenchman quickly became friends and have been very close ever since. Both have a similar passion for the Imoca world and pushing the boundaries in the offshore sailing world.
Boris Herrmann: "We have been friends for many years"
Pierre-François Dargnies joins the team in the current The Ocean Race and takes over all technical aspects of team management. The common goal of Boris Herrmann and Pierre François Dargnies is to make the boat and skipper as strong as possible for the solo mission in the Vendée Globe 2024/2025.
Team Malizia founder Boris Herrmann said: "We have been friends for many years. I trust his experience and knowledge. Having such strong technical and design leadership will be a great advantage for the team and means we can really work together on the boat's performance."
"Pifou" Dargnies: "I'm thinking about how we can get a winning boat for the Vendée Globe"
Malizia's Team Director Holly Cova said: "It's great to have 'Pifou' on Team Malizia. With his strong background and excellent results with Charal, we are happy to have him with us. The preparation for the Vendée Globe will be an intense training period. I am sure that 'Pifou' can bring a lot of knowledge and experience to the team and help us to improve in the competition."
The new member of the team himself said: "I'm really looking forward to working in an international team. Boris and I have known each other for years. We exchanged ideas when we were young. It will be an exciting challenge to work with this young team. Of course, the initial focus is on the Ocean Race, but I'm already thinking ahead and considering how we can get a winning boat for the Vendée Globe 2024. The boat has proven its ability to sail fast in the Southern Ocean. And Boris has gained valuable experience with his boat in the Southern Ocean. Now it's up to the technical team to ensure reliability for this long circumnavigation."
"The Battle of Point Nemo"
In the current Ocean Race Queen's leg, the four boats were separated by just eight nautical miles on the 24th day at sea at latitude 46° south. Kevin Escoffier's Team Holcim is now back in the lead. PRB ahead of Team Malizia. The quartet is still travelling almost bow to bow towards Cape Horn. There are still around 1,800 nautical miles to go to the notorious landmark, where they will head up the Atlantic to Itajaí before turning left. The port of call is located on Brazil's east coast below São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
In the current light to medium winds of around 13 to 15 knots, the Imocas were travelling at speeds of 17 to 20 knots on Wednesday morning. Calm still prevailed before the approaching storm. Boris Herrmann described 22 March as "historic", calling it "The Battle of Point Nemo". Here, Team Malizia was just ahead.
The third storm is approaching ...
At sea, meanwhile, the crew are preparing for more severe weather. "Biotherm" skipper Paul Meilhat described what lies ahead for the fleet: "It's still the same weather situation with the high pressure area in front of us and the depression behind us. But the situation will change in the coming days when the depression catches up with us. The wind will pick up. We're expecting 30, 40 knots of wind. And a swell with waves around eight metres high. That will totally change our sailing. We've had two storms since the start. Now the third is coming off Cape Horn. We have to adjust our routings to avoid the worst."
Click here for the latest Point Nemo video from Team Malizia - Boris Herrmann comments before, Will Harris afterwards:
This summary with comments from Boris Herrmann and Kevin Escoffier from 21 March shows just how much the four-way battle is currently challenging the crews:
Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
