The Ocean Race Europe: Mirpuri Foundation finishes first - see live coverage
by The Ocean Race 16 Jun 2021 15:56 PDT
17 June 2021
The VOR 65, Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team has won Leg 3 of The Ocean Race Europe
Skippered by Yann Richomme she finished at 2252hrs UTC on Wednesday, June 16.
Of the 12 boat fleet sailing in two divisions, all the VOR65's are expected to head off the five-strong IMOCA60 fleet which is led by Offshore Team Germany, which is 60nm from the finish. Second on the water is 11th Hour Racing team over 100nm to sail, making a speed through the water of 10kts, but only a couple of kts towards the finish, as her course is not directly towards Genoa.
Next to finish is expected to be AkzoNobel Ocean Racing, with Sailing Poland in third place on the water, and Team Childhood 1 fourth.. The VOR65's are making a steady 6kts in light winds
There is a final Coastal Race to be sailed before the Final outcome of the series, a prelude to next years resumed edition of The Ocean Race, is known. The Coastal Race starts on Saturday off Genoa, Italy.
Going into the Final offshore leg Mirpuri topped the leaderboard for the event, and this points margin should increase with the Leg 3 result.
Live coverage is being shown of the race below, which we expect will switch in and out as boats reach the finish line. The video coverage is reverting to video from earlier events, in between covering the live finish at Genoa.
Running Log of the closing stage of Leg 3 of The Ocean Race Europe
1400 CEST -- The growing time gap between the first two IMOCA finishes reflects how impressive Offshore Team Germany performed on this leg. LinkedOut and 11th Hour Racing are very close and pressing each other forward. But they still have nearly 8-9 miles to run to the finish. Best guess ETA is neary 1515 CEST.
1140 CEST -- A fantastic win for Offshore Team Germany to vault them to the top of the IMOCA leaderboard with just the Genoa Coastal Race to go.
1040 CEST -- The German team is making steady progress towards the finish line - with a noon ETA the most likely.
1020 CEST -- Offshore Team Germany is likely to be the first to finish in the IMOCA fleet, and they are just 8 miles from the finish. At their current speed, the best ETA is for noon CEST.
1000 CEST -- The Austrian team have finished. Results and leaderboard are updated and available here - https://www.theoceanrace.com/en/europe/scoreboard
0910 CEST -- The Austrian Ocean Race Project was steaming towards the finish line at nearly 5 knots... but then, with just one mile to go, the wind disappeared. They sit approximately off the line, nearly becalmed. They could finish in a few minutes if they get a puff. Or be drifting near the line for quite some time. Frustrating times.
0700 CEST -- Viva Mexico is across and AmberSail on final approach. That will just leave The Austrian Ocean Race Project to close out the VO65 fleet. Meanwhile Offshore Team Germany is still four to five hours away, leading the IMOCAs towards the finish.
0730 CEST -- AmberSail has finished in sixth place, leaving the Austrian Ocean Race Project to complete the VO65 Leg 3 results.
0625 CEST -- Team Childhood across the finishing line with the sunrise for a mid-fleet, fourth-place finish in Leg 3.
0500 CEST -- Now it is indeed Bouwe Bekking and Sailing Poland finishing in third place. This keeps them in the mix for Saturday with the Coastal Race, as they'll be within three points of first place on the leaderboard, and have the possibility of overall victory. So while this was a disappointing finish for Bekking, it was important to secure a podium place.
0330 CEST -- Sailing Poland is on track to finish in third place, BUT... they are moving extremely slowly and conditions are not expected to improve. It could be a couple of hours yet...
0315 CEST -- And it is Chris Nicholson's AkzoNobel Racing Team. finally, easing across the finishing line for a fabulous second place on Leg 3.
0200 CEST -- The wind has really started to ease near to the shoreline making the finish line seem like it's far away for AkzoNobel Ocean Race. In reality, they are only about 3.5 miles off. But it could take them nearly an hour to get there.
0100 CEST -- AkzoNobel Ocean Racing will likely be the next to finish and just like the Mirpuri boat in front of them, they've made some late moves by sailing further offshore, nearly along the track of the boat in front. A nice move by skipper Chris Nicholson and navigator Will Harris.
0055 CEST -- And they've done it!! A famous win in Leg 3 of The Ocean Race Europe for Mipuri Foundation Racing Team and skipper Yoann Richomme. This will keep them at the top of the leaderboard heading into the coastal race on Saturday.
0045 CEST -- Just a couple of miles to the finish line now, probably one more tack.
0030 CEST -- This lead was engineered in the final hours, with a bold tack offshore, where the team picked up more breeze to race past Sailing Poland, who had led for most of the leg. A brilliant, late, move to get into the winning position.
0020 CEST -- Mirpuri Foundation Race Team is well positioned to finish off a remarkable come from behind win for Leg 3.