"A fantastic boat!": First sailing test for "Malizia - Seaexplorer"
She not only floats, she also sails! On the evening of 30 July, Boris Herrmann's Malizia team set the second milestone in the newbuilding campaign. Eleven days after the first launch, a crew of ten sailed the new Imoca "Malizia - Seaexplorer" for the first time in Breton waters off Lorient. The colourful racing projectile impressed even in cautious test mode at a speed of 25 knots. A group of ten people, including skipper Boris Herrmann as well as designers, boat builders and team sailors, were on board for the test run. "This boat is fantastic, what a relief, simply perfect!" said a delighted Herrmann after the first test run. Click here for the first video clip of the sailing test (please click!).
18 months and 80,000 hours of work have gone into the Imoca boat, which will carry Team Malizia to new successes over the next three years. Team Malizia now only has around four weeks net sailing time to optimise the yacht, before the transatlantic classic Route du Rhum begins on 6 November. On 15 January, Team Malizia will start the 14th edition of the Ocean Race. Boris Herrmann's second solo outing in the Vendée Globe will take place on 10 November 2024. After the first round of testing, Herrmann is optimistic about the upcoming challenges and adventures: "The relief and joy of seeing the boat sail successfully is so great! Especially after so much energy was invested in the boat and some innovative but risky decisions were made in the construction of the boat." The fact that these have been confirmed as correct is "great" and allows "us to now test the possibilities of this incredible machine".
Will Harris: "Everyone's hearts are happy right now"
The initial reactions, the happy faces and the reports of the witnesses to this sailing première showed how relieved the team was about the successful and fast test run in crisp Breton winds, even with manageable sailing gear. Boris Herrmann's British co-skipper and weather expert Will Harris said after returning to La Base harbour: "Today was incredible. We set off with the intention of just seeing what the boat was like, but by the end of the day we had reached a top speed of 25 knots. Everyone was super excited. With ten people on board, it was a great feeling. We had the designers from VPLP, our project manager from Multiplast and many of the people involved in building the boat on board. Plus our sailors for the Ocean Race. It's a fantastic feeling that we've already been able to challenge the boat like this and that everything has worked out so well. There were hardly any problems on board and the boat felt really fast. Everyone's hearts are happy that everything worked so well on the first day. It's a really good day. Really cool!"
Rosalin Kuiper: "The boat was brilliant"
Co-skipper Rosalin Kuiper was also present when the new boat, on which she will compete in The Ocean Race with Team Malizia, completed its first sailing test run. The Dutchwoman has been actively involved in the build process over the past few months and said: "Today went incredibly well with top speeds of 25 knots. It was super intense, we were all super focussed. We didn't know what we were in for, but the boat was brilliant, especially the times we used the foils. There are a lot of things we still need to work on, but we are really happy and satisfied!"
