Bright blue and green are the winning colours this Sunday in Cape Town. The Swiss team Holcim - PRB has also won the second Ocean Race leg after its opening success. Skipper Kevin Escoffier, Tom Laperche, Sam Goodchild and Susann Beucke from Strande near Kiel completed the leg from Cape Verde to Cape Town in 17 days, 19 hours and 9 seconds over more than 6,000 sailed miles. Sanni Beucke wiped tears of happiness from her face as she sailed into the South African harbour. For the 31-year-old from the Norddeutscher Regatta Verein, it was a golden première.
In a duel with 11th Hour Racing: "Biotherm" makes the race for second place
Second and third place went to Paul Meilhat's French team Biotherm ahead of Charlie Enright's US team 11th Hour Racing after a thrilling duel on the eventful "Super Sunday". "Biotherm" crossed the finish line just 16 minutes and 45 seconds after Team Holcim - PRB. The American boat finished the Atlantic race a further 8 minutes and 46 seconds later.
The loser of the exciting final phase of leg two of the Ocean Race was Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia. On Sunday morning, 29-year-old skipper Will Harris, navigator Nico Lunven, Rosalin Kuiper and Yann Eliès initially fought their way back into the lead they had lost overnight. At times, the Imoca sailing under the German flag was considerably faster than the competition. The fans on the screens and the team in Cape Town were hopeful. But the separation from the field and the south-easterly position closer to the coast brutally dashed Team Malizia's hopes of victory and a podium finish at the end of the stage.
Strong final spurt by Team Guyot
When the hoped-for wind failed to materialise for the German boat on the approach to the stage harbour on Sunday morning, the competition in the north pushed past. "Malizia - Seaexplorer" finished fourth on Sunday afternoon, missing out on the podium places, but was nevertheless greeted enthusiastically by its supporters. The finish time of the "Malizians": 17 days, 21 hours, 6 minutes and 49 seconds.
Afterwards, the last of the Guyot Environnement - Team Europe with Berlin skipper Robert Stanjek were expected in Cape Town. At around 5 p.m. German time, the black and green boat still had just under 15 nautical miles to go to the finish. After trailing the leaders by more than 500 nautical miles at one point, the Franco-German team had made a strong comeback in the stage finale, trailing Team Malizia by less than 25 nautical miles. But then "Malizia - Seaexplorer" sailed to the finish at top speeds of around 23 knots.
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Tatjana Pokorny
Sports reporter
