Rosalin Kuiper racing to The Hague in The Ocean Race: “I want to arrive first in my home country”
by Team Malizia 7 Jun 2023 15:18 AEST
8 June 2023
Malizia Seaexplorer racing - The Ocean Race © Sailing Energy / The Ocean Race
This Thursday 8 June at 18:15pm local time, Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia will set sail for Leg 6 of The Ocean Race in a 800 nautical mile journey from Aarhus, Denmark to The Hague, The Netherlands. Excitingly, this leg will take them on a flyby in the sailing city of Kiel, Germany which should see crowds welcoming the German flagged boat on 9th June 2023 at around 15:00 CEST.
Boris Herrmann commented on the Kiel flyby, "Coming to Germany is something very special for our team. I don't think there is a sporting advantage but there is a big boost from those German fans and that is something that gives me a lot of energy. I am really looking forward to seeing all the people there and I hope in the future there can be a real stopover in Germany!"
Boris Herrmann is not the only team member sailing home on this leg, co-skipper Rosalin Kuiper will be sailing into the Netherlands to finish off this leg 6 when they arrive in The Hague on 11th June 2023 (predicted). Rosalin commented: "I am very excited to sail to the Hague and I am so proud to sail into my home country. I have dedicated one third of my life to sailing professionally and I am so excited to show The Hague this team, the boat and what a passion for sailing and the ocean means. Of course I would like to arrive first in my home country and we will do everything in our power to achieve that. I am excited to sail with new member Axelle and I am sure we will push hard but maintain the Malizian spirit of also having a great time doing it!"
Axelle Pillain joins Team Malizia for Leg 6 of the Ocean Race, however, she has been onboard with the team for over a year now. She excitedly commented "I am so happy to sail on this leg, it is really a dream come true and a moment I have imagined for a long time! I have been in charge of data and analytics for Team Malizia and I have also been following the performance side of all the legs of The Ocean Race. I feel very ready for this leg but we have to be careful too, there will be a lot of tactics and manoeuvres in this leg. I don't think we will have much rest and we will have to be very active to keep ahead,"
Will Harris commented, "This will be the first time we have a 50/50 sailing crew on board and I am looking forward to racing with Axelle for the first time. This will be her first leg in the Ocean Race, but she has sailed almost every day on the boat outside of racing and I can really feel her energy and motivation to do this race. She will bring a lot of experience in the technical and data side and this is really a great asset."
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: Hapag-Lloyd, Schütz, the Yacht Club de Monaco, EFG International, Zurich Group Germany, Kuehne+Nagel, and MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company. 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.