Team Malizia announces sailing crew for Leg 4 of The Ocean Race with a new addition

by Team Malizia 7 Apr 2023 00:56 PDT

Malizia - Seaexplorer, Team Malizia's race yacht © Antoine Auriol / Team Malizia

British sailor Will Harris will be Team Malizia's skipper for Leg 4 of The Ocean Race, taking over the role for the second time in the round-the-world race. New addition to the international team is French offshore sailor Christopher Pratt. He will replace Boris Herrmann who is, as planned, sitting out the race from Itajaí to Newport.

After Team Malizia's win in Leg 3 of The Ocean Race, there is an added desire to perform well in the next Leg 4 of the race. The international sailing team has climbed to second place in the overall ranking and is looking forward to pushing their Malizia - Seaexplorer in the race through the Atlantic to Newport, USA, starting on 23 April 2023.

Will Harris is taking over the role of skipper for Leg 4, for the second time in this edition of The Ocean Race - photo © Antoine Auriol / Team Malizia

The team will not have Boris Herrmann onboard - as planned from the beginning - and Will Harris will take over the skipper role. The team has also recruited Christopher Pratt (42) to join for this leg. The Frenchman comes with a wealth of experience having co-skippered Charal with Jérémie Beyou for four years, taking part in the 2019 and 2021 versions of the Transat Jacques Vabre and coming third in both races. Christopher has over 17 years of experience and also co-skippered on other well-known teams including Maître Coq and Banque Populaire, and worked closely with Vendée Globe 2018 winner Armel Le Cléac'h.

Christopher Pratt is well known to Nicolas Lunven and Will Harris, and will make a great addition to the performance elements of Team Malizia. Will Harris commented: "I am really looking forward to being skipper for the next leg, I will miss Boris and his experience but I am also excited to sail with Christopher and to have his foiling IMOCA experience within our team, he has a great reputation and we can learn a lot from each other."

New addition: Christopher Pratt is joining Team Malizia for Leg 4 of The Ocean Race - photo © Yvan Zedda / Défi Azimut

Christopher Pratt commented on joining Team Malizia: "I am really happy to join Team Malizia on the next leg of The Ocean Race. Taking part in this race is a childhood dream come true. I have been following the race very closely from the start and even more during the last leg. I am impressed by the commitment and the resilience of the crew winning the longest leg of the race. I am really looking forward to joining the team in Itajaí and I will do my best to bring my experience and enthusiasm to the crew."

"It is always a big thing to choose a sailor for the team," added Team Malizia Director Holly Cova. "You have to balance the sporting profile with the right fit and personality to be a Malizian. Chris fits both these elements and will add a lot to the team. Hopefully, he also has fun being on board and you will see him as a new face in the Malizians YouTube documentary series."

Nicolas Lunven is also confirmed for the next leg and will again be expertly navigating Malizia - Seaexplorer up through the Atlantic Ocean. Rosalin Kuiper is back home in the Netherlands and recovering well from her concussion surrounded by her friends and family. She is planned to return a week before the start and will be on the boat for Leg 4 of The Ocean Race.

The crew will therefore be made up of Will Harris (skipper), Nicolas Lunven (navigator), Rosalin Kuiper (co-skipper), Christopher Pratt (co-skipper), and Antoine Auriol (onboard reporter). No doubt Boris will be closely following the race from his home in Hamburg and will be back and ready to rejoin the team in Newport in May 2023.

Team Malizia's A Race We Must Win - Climate Action Now! mission is only possible due to the strong and long-lasting commitment from its seven main partners: Schütz, the Yacht Club de Monaco, EFG International, Zurich Group Germany, Kuehne+Nagel, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, and Hapag-Lloyd. These partners band behind Team Malizia to support its campaign, each of them working towards projects in their own field to innovate around climate solutions.