Please select your home edition
Edition
Lloyd Stevenson - Equilibrium 728x90px TOP

The Ocean Race Leg 1 Day 4 - IMOCAs set torrid pace in the Atlantic

by The Ocean Race 18 Jan 08:15 PST 18 January 2023

The Swiss-flagged Holcim-PRB team remains at the head of the IMOCA fleet on Wednesday as all five boats are setting a blistering pace directly towards Cabo Verde.

The leading teams are putting up close to 500-mile days with Holcim-PRB now just 992 miles from the finishing line at Cabo Verde.

See the drone footage of Holcim-PRB here:

Now free of the constraints of the Mediterranean, the teams are set up for some fast sailing across the wind. IMOCAs are designed to excel in these conditions and the miles to the finish line are melting away.

Get on board 11th Hour Racing Team here:

Kevin Escoffier's Holcim-PRB are holding off 11th Hour Racing Team for the lead, while Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia is positioned furthest east and closest to the direct route rhumb line.

"I think we've seen 33.7 knots of boat speed this morning," said Will Harris on board Team Malizia. "We're going fast... We're enjoying some straight line sailing after all the tacking getting to Gibraltar. Looking forward to getting to Cabo Verde in a few days."

See on board Team Malizia here:

In fact, the ETA for the IMOCA fleet is overnight (GMT) on Friday, with France's Biotherm and GUYOT envirionnement Team Europe some 100 miles behind the leaders.

Watch a sail repair on board GUYOT environnement - Team Europe:

Follow the tracker at www.theoceanrace.com to see the latest.

Go to Content From the Boats to see the latest video and photos

VO65

In The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint, WindWhisper Racing Team, Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team and Team JAJO are fighting for the lead and keeping pace with the fourth and fifth placed IMOCA boats.

Here, life on board is under 'firehose' conditions with water constantly pouring over the deck and into the sailors in the cockpit.

"Everything I brought is either wet, or more wet," said Cecilia Zorzi (ITA) from on board the fourth-placed Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova. "Nothing is dry but we are still having fun and Cabo Verde is getting closer and closer."

See life on board the Austrian - Genova boat here:

Still in the Mediterranean, Viva Mexico resumed racing on Wednesday morning with a different mainsail after damaging their original beyond repair. They are just over 550 miles behind the rest of the fleet.

The VO65s are currently expected to arrive in Cabo Verde over the course of the day on Saturday (GMT).

Rankings at 1500 GMT - 18 January 2023

IMOCA

1. Team Holcim-PRB, 992.5 miles to finish
2. 11th Hour Racing Team, 17.8 miles to leader
3. Team Malizia, 75.6 miles to leader
4. Biotherm, 107.0 miles to leader
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, 139.7 miles to leader

VO65

1. WindWhisper Racing, 1100.4 miles to finish
2. Mirpuri Foundation Race Team, 22.6 miles to leader
3. Team JAJO, 31.2 miles to leader
4. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 66.0 miles to leader
5. Ambersail 2, 107.1 miles to leader
6. Viva Mexico, resumed racing, 574.4 miles to leader

Related Articles

The start of The Ocean Race generated €71.6M
Over 1,200 full-time jobs created in Spain The start of The Ocean Race created over 1,200 full-time jobs in Spain and attracted more than 300,000 visitors during the opening period of Ocean Live Park in Alicante Puerto de Salida. Posted on 30 Mar
The Ocean Race launch Metaverse experience
An experience to engage fans and businesses in a new way The Ocean Race launched a metaverse experience pilot today with Virtual Regatta and Accenture to engage fans and businesses in a new way with the world-renowned, global yacht race. Posted on 28 Mar
The Ocean Race Leg 3 Day 21
All lined up with one way to go On Saturday it seemed as if the race couldn't get any closer. By Sunday morning UTC that was proved wrong. Today, all four teams are lined up on a 13 mile line. Posted on 19 Mar
The Ocean Race Leg 3 Day 19
Coming together in the not-so-Furious 50s As forecast, lighter than usual conditions just ahead of the fleet have provided an effective re-start of leg 3, just after the four IMOCAs reached the halfway point of the longest stage in the history of the race. Posted on 17 Mar
The Ocean Race Leg 3 Day 18
Steady progress towards Cape Horn Team Holcim PRB retains its lead on Thursday, as the fleet compresses to within 100 miles. As per the forecast yesterday, the leader is slowing slightly and the trailing boats are nibbling into the lead Posted on 16 Mar
The Ocean Race Leg 3 Day 8
All four race boats are in the Roaring 40s, with speeds to match Team Holcim-PRB continues to hold a 500-plus mile lead on leg 3 of The Ocean Race, but the pursuing pack of three is making small gains by pushing forward at record-breaking pace. Posted on 5 Mar
GUYOT environnement Team Europe: No time to lose
Four days of crew tension after delamination of a hull bottom panel GUYOT environnement - Team Europe has reached Cape Town and brought the yacht safely back to port after the suspension of the third leg of The Ocean Race. Posted on 5 Mar
GUYOT environnement Team Europe prepare for repair
Cautiously sailing back towards Cape Town 600 nautical miles after the start of the third leg of The Ocean Race, skipper Benjamin Dutreux's crew found that part of the hull had become unstable and delaminated. Posted on 3 Mar
The Ocean Race Leg 3 Day 5
Team Holcim-PRB escapes to the east, repairs underway on Team Malizia's mast In this edition of The Ocean Race, Kevin Escoffier's Team Holcim-PRB has selected Sia's "Unstoppable" as its team song for dockout and stage ceremonies, and early into Leg 3 it has never seemed more appropriate. Posted on 2 Mar
Wild start to Leg 3 from Cape Town
The Ocean Race starts in up to 25 knots, and two teams suspend It was an extraordinary 'stop-go' type of start to Leg 3 of The Ocean Race in Table Bay as the five-boat IMOCA fleet set out on their 12,750 nautical mile adventure towards Itajaí in Brazil. Posted on 26 Feb
Selden 2020 - FOOTERSailGP_Technologies_Metal_1456x180 BOTTOMArmstrong-Suptonic-728x90-2 BOTTOM