"On us!" says Boris Herrmann spontaneously and with a smile when asked which boat they should bet on for the longest and most difficult leg. There are good reasons for this refreshing self-confidence: Stronger winds are expected over long stretches for the upcoming 12,750 nautical mile queen stage. These are the chocolate conditions for Team Malizia's "warhorse" under the German flag. After two legs, it has been impressively proven what Boris Herrmann and his team-mates had hoped for from their new build "Malizia - Seaexplorer": The boat is a rocket in stronger winds.
School grade 1 to 2 for "Malizia - Seaexplorer"
Boris Herrmann himself formulates his realisation before leg three in school grades: "The boat's performance is good overall. And very good downwind in waves and more than 20 knots of wind." This corresponds to the description of an Imoca, which is what you want for the third of seven legs when it serves up the classic Southern Ocean conditions.
Particularly attractive: in the non-stop endurance test along the three legendary capes - the South African Cape of Good Hope, the Australian Cape Leeuwin and Cape Horn - double points are up for grabs. The first packets of points are distributed in the order in which the boats pass the 143rd degree of longitude east. The second packet of points will be awarded according to the positions in the Brazilian finish before Itajaí. The stage is therefore worth as much for the positions in the rankings as the two previous stages combined. It has the potential to change the pecking order in the Ocean Race.
Robert Stanjek: "Team Malizia rides a blistering boot in the wind"
Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia, who are currently in fourth place, are not alone in their current infectious optimism. The competition also favours the German boat for leg three. "Biotherm" sailor Sam Davies said: "Team Malizia looks very good with more wind." Robert Stanjek, co-skipper of Guyot Environnement - Team Europe, said: "I think Boris' boat will perform extremely well on the next leg. They sail a blistering boot in the wind."
Like the boats of its competitors, "Malizia - Seaexplorer" is currently being prepared in Cape Town for the demanding and brutal Southern Ocean leg. "To put it bluntly, the current work in Cape Town is like a four-month refit that is completed in four days," says Boris Herrmann. "Everything is dismantled once: Mast out, rudder out, foils out and service. Everything is dismantled: Electric motors, parts, blocks." This includes intensive reinforcement of the foils, which had suffered superficial damage on the second leg.
Boris Herrmann: "We can offer Team Holcim-Beating PRB on the southern leg"
"Our boat will be 100 per cent fit for leg three," announces Boris Herrmann, who is back in his role as skipper after recovering from a foot injury. He is convinced that his team will be able to beat the previous leaders Holcim - can successfully challenge PRB. The man from Hamburg says: "We can beat Team Holcim - PRB on the southern stage." Which would also be a satisfaction in view of the last missed podium place on stage two ...
Just a storm in a teacup: the fuss surrounding the foil replacement in the US team 11th Hour Racing
In the meantime, the brief foil excitement in Cape Town surrounding a technical manoeuvre by Charlie Enright's US team 11th Hour Racing has died down again. The Race Committee has authorised the team to replace and use the old, heavy foils as requested.
"After examining the foils and considering the technical reports submitted by the team and discussions with the constructors, the Race Committee has concluded that the damage to the 11th Hour Racing Team foils could not be repaired in time for the start of the third leg. The request to replace the foils has been approved," said Race Director Phil Lawrence.
On 16 February, the 11th Hour Racing Team submitted an application to the Race Committee for permission to use the replacement foils for the third stage. The Race Committee then reviewed the technical reports submitted with the application. In principle, the Ocean Race rules (Notice of Race 6.4) stipulate that teams may only use one set of foils in the Ocean Race. However, a team can request permission to replace a foil that has suffered "serious damage" that cannot be repaired before the start of a leg. The explanation from Team 11th Hour Racing can be found here.
Boris Herrmann: "Of course 11th Hour Racing must be allowed to use the other foils!"
Initial excited comments that the application could be rejected and the Ocean Race fleet possibly decimated to four boats quickly proved to be unfounded. Even the competition, which is quite vocal in disputes, agreed that there was no reason to reject the application.
Boris Herrmann immediately commented on the case to YACHT online: "Yes, of course 11th Hour must be allowed to use these other foils! What kind of race would it be with four boats? The rule was made once so that someone wouldn't arrive America's Cup-style and build new foils for every leg. Or different ones on the right and left with a view to the weather statistics. It's understandable that they wanted to put a stop to this in advance. Of course, this has no relevance to the current case. The old foils from 11th Hour Racing are great, so they won't be a disadvantage for the team."
