First with the end in sight, then racing to victory: Boris Herrmann "wanted to win no stage as badly" as the historically longest race leg from Cape Town over 14,714 nautical miles along the three capes to Itajaí in Brazil. The work is done after three quarters of a lap around the southern hemisphere. After a brilliant comeback, Team Malizia's victory story on the royal stage is ready to be filmed - including a happy ending. And we filmed it. More precisely, our video producer Nils Günter. He has conjured up a video stage summary that you MUST see!
The crew suffers its most serious setback at the end of the first of five brutal weeks at sea. A 20-centimetre-long vertical crack in the mast could mean the end of the stage. The Code Zero had previously crashed into the water - a halyard lock had broken. As a result, the halyard sawed its way down through the carbon fibre at the mast exit. "We even considered giving up at the beginning," Boris Herrmann recalls the low point of the stage.
Instead, the crew embarks on an incredible repair marathon. With the support of the technicians on land, the sailors make the seemingly impossible possible. With plenty of carbon fibre fabrics and an enormous amount of courage, Will Harris and Rosalin Kuiper manage the repair in several hours of work at a dizzying height of 28 metres.
One week after the starting signal, Team Malizia is back in the race with a repaired rig and a renewed belief in its own strength.
But the leader "Holcim - PRB" is now more than 600 nautical miles behind. A hopeless endeavour? No! Another week later, Kevin Escoffier and his team are the first to pass the points gate south-west of Tasmania, but they are followed by Team Malizia. The gap is now only 135 nautical miles. And the mast is holding. Boris Herrmann rejoices: "We can go full throttle again."
Tears of joy run down Rosalin Kuiper's face at the halfway stage. The Dutchwoman, who so often carries the whole crew along with her dynamism, explains at the halfway point: "This second place is a great achievement. It's so emotional to see that this boat really was made for the Southern Ocean."
She, of all people, has to take the next low blow. On course for Cape Horn, the boat is hit by a huge wave. Rosie is catapulted out of her bunk while asleep. She suffers a concussion, bruises and a laceration above her right eyebrow. An additional leeward sail is fitted to prevent such accidents in future. Rosie Kuiper can hardly comply with the doctor's orders to rest. The boat pounds into the waves like there's no tomorrow.
Team Malizia's coronation takes place at the Ocean Race summit: The boat flying the German flag leads the field at Cape Horn. "That was the best moment of the leg," says Boris Herrmann. The pictures of the Hoorn Passage show an exuberant team that has worked hard and rewarded itself.
After the Southern Ocean farewell and the stormy left turn behind Cape Horn, "Malizia - Seaexplorer" and "Holcim - PRB" race up the Atlantic along the South American coast. For days, they wrestle within sight of each other for the lead. Never has it been clearer than in this thriller final how much wind and, above all, waves decide the weal and woe of the top teams. "It's a match race that's all about speed," says Boris Herrmann about the duel with Kevin Escoffier. His previously unbeaten team is able to regain the lead twice. This always happens when none of the small but violent lows from the coast sweep over the duo. "Malizia - Seaexplorer", on the other hand, works more effectively in the predominantly chaotic waves and winds of up to 55 knots. As planned.
When the autopilot on the "Holcim - PRB", which was just behind, bucked on the day before the showdown and the mainsail was damaged in a crash gybe, the duel between the giants was decided. In her favoured conditions, "Malizia - Seaexplorer" hurtles confidently towards the finish line. The battle with the alternator, the carbon-fibre-black smeared face of "MacGyver" Will Harris, the black eye of Rosie Kuiper, the battered brain of navigator Nico Lunven, the lack of sleep and other stresses and strains of the five-week test are all forgotten.
Team Malizia crosses the finish line outside Itajaí in the early morning of 2 April. The long-awaited triumph on Boris Herrmann's declared favourite stage is perfect after 34 days, 17 hours, 10 minutes and 28 seconds. The team is honoured not only with the stage trophy, but also with the Roaring Fourties Trophy for the fastest passage from the Cape of Good Hope to Cape Horn.
"Winning this stage was a dream come true. I'm so proud of the whole team," said Boris Herrmann after his sixth Cape Horn passage. His team's damage list bears witness to the hardships they have been through: the Code Zero is completely torn, but can be repaired on land. The fractional code zero and the mainsail show cracks. The alternator suspension on the engine was defective, but could be repaired with on-board equipment. Two weeks later, the alternator itself broke down and had to be replaced. The port cylinder for adjusting the foil and a somewhat more trivial problem was a worn mainsheet.
More important to Boris Herrmann, however, is the success of the design concept that he helped to shape. "Malizia - Seaexplorer" fulfils what he promised himself: "I built my boat for the Southern Ocean. It may be a little heavier, but it's like a tank. I'm happy with the boat, I wouldn't swap it for any other."
Herrmann answers the question of whether the light wind weaknesses can be remedied in two ways: "The difference is not so much in strong or light winds, but in waves or smooth seas. Without waves, the others are slightly faster. So it's more a question of how it works out on the final stages. You can't change much."
Herrmann's robust ship, which was only 258 days old when he won Itajaí, was initially considered too heavy by observers. The leg victory silenced the critics. Looking ahead to his second start in the 2024/25 solo circumnavigation, Herrmann is certain: "Malizia is the perfect boat for the Vendée Globe."
But first they have to master the next four of the seven Ocean Race stages. In the overall standings, Team Malizia has moved up to second place with 14 points behind Team Holcim - PRB (19 points). Dominator Kevin Escoffier, who was narrowly beaten on stage three, took the setback in his stride. "We started this leg with the aim of getting the crew and the boat to Itajaí in good condition. We achieved that. To get nine out of ten possible points is very good and puts us in a good position for the rest."
The 11th Hour Racing and Biotherm teams were still some 600 and almost 800 nautical miles behind when Team Malizia crossed the finish line. The US crew had to deal with a crack in the rudder and a mainsail repair.
Team Biotherm collided with an "UFO" (unknown floating object) in the final. Skipper Paul Meilhat and his crew limped towards the finish with severe damage to the port foil and foil box.
A full 60 per cent of the points in the 14th Ocean Race are still up for grabs. A team can still win a maximum of 25 points, including the double-counted transatlantic passage from Newport to Århus in Denmark, before the final in Genoa at the end of June. "We want to challenge Holcim in the battle for the top position," announced Malizia's co-skipper Will Harris. The Briton will take on the role of skipper on leg four from Itajaí to Newport, a distance of 5,500 nautical miles. The starting signal will be given on 23 April. Boris Herrmann is taking a break as planned and is spending a few weeks with his family in Hamburg. The new King of Cape Horn will then rejoin his team in Newport for leg five in May.
