Planet Sail: Inside the latest generation IMOCA60 - Malizia

Lorient (FRA) - Malizia - Seaexplorer, IMOCA 60 - The Ocean Race © Antoine Auriol | Team Malizia

Fully crewed IMOCA 60s are new territory for many of us.

In fact, outside of Europe a lot of people have never even seen one in the "flesh".

The Ocean Race which starts from Alicante later this week will feature five IMOCA60's the new fully crewed version of the popular short-handed class.

Life in the cockpit of Malizia-Seaexplorer - you can control everything and check the charts from one place - photo © Team Malizia

PlanetSail's Matt Sheahan had a conducted tour of the latest IMOCA60, designed for a full racing crew.

While some of the five teams have had the luxury of testing, training and generally getting their heads around how things work with five aboard a boat originally designed for one, most haven't.

One of the latest generation of IMOCA60s is Boris Herrmann's Malizi, which is energy self-sufficient.

Life in the cockpit of Malizia-Seaexplorer. You can control everything and check the charts from one place - photo © Yann Riou - polaRSE / Malizia

Shortly after the boat had been launched, crew member Will Harris gave Matt the full tour. It was fascinating and highlighted just how different the new boats are to sail.

Plus, Will also explained some of the thinking behind Malizia’s extraordinary hull shape.

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