Holcim-PRB, 2nd in The Hague after an exceptional battle with 11th Hour Racing Team

The IMOCA Holcim-PRB - The Ocean Race © Sailing Energy | The Ocean Race

The incredible Leg 6 of The Ocean Race came to a close on the beach in The Hague, Netherlands, today. After dominating the first hours of racing, Holcim-PRB had to bow to the Americans of 11th Hour Racing Team, with whom the battle was the most intense since the start of The Ocean Race.

This leg was expected to be one of the most memorable of this 2023 edition. And that's certainly how it will remain in the minds of skipper Benjamin Schwartz and his crew for a long time to come. Right up to the end of these 800 miles, they will have believed in the possibility of crossing in front of Charlie Enright and his crew one last time. The game of the accordion that punctuated the last 24 hours of the race suggested that anything was possible right up to the last mile. "After passing Kiel, the rest of the race was all 'elastic'. They're gone, we're back.... Gone/back.... Gone/back... By the north-eastern tip of Denmark, we were 4.2 miles back and had really dug in on the others behind. Unfortunately, they went back to the front. It went on like that all the way down," explained Benjamin Schwartz, greeted by a dense crowd on his arrival at the pontoon. As he stepped ashore, welcomed by the entire shore crew, the young skipper of Holcim-PRB wore a shy smile that could hardly mask his frustration... Only 12 minutes separated 11th Hour Racing Team from Holcim-PRB at the finish line. Finishing ahead of the Americans would have given the Swiss monohull the best possible option for overall victory. Charlie Enright was just one point ahead Holcim-PRB at the start in Aarhus. He now has a two-point lead... The game is tightening up. With just one leg to go, victory is far from guaranteed for Holcim-PRB

The IMOCA Holcim-PRB - The Ocean Race - photo © Sailing Energy | The Ocean Race

However, Yoann Richomme, Martin Le Pape and Abby Ehler, who were with Benjamin Schwartz on this Leg 6, want above all to remember the success of finishing so close to one of the most seasoned crews on this round-the-world race. "We're really happy to finish behind 11th Hour Racing Team, because they're so precise. On our side, we had a few small lapses which certainly cost us the victory. It's hard for me to tell what we missed, as I don't know enough about the boat. In any case, when it came to trimming, we did everything and tried everything! Inevitably, they were less hesitant than us about settings and maneuvers. But second place is good," explained Martin Le Pape, very happy to have been part in this fantastic team adventure.

Less in control of their boat and slower in the final hours of the race, probably due to a rope caught in their keel, the Holcim-PRB sailors gave their all until the end to make up for their lack of knowledge of the monohull. They had only sailed together for a few hours in Aarhus before setting off on this extremely complex race with coastal navigation and numerous exclusion zones to manage. "We had a good sail. We're missing a few details that we could have had if we were more used to sailing together. It was very close! When we crossed in front of 11th Hour Racing Team this morning, I really believed we could do it! For Abby Ehler, who spent some time at the top of the mast on the approach to The Hague, watching for the slightest puff of wind, second place remains a fine performance: "The whole leg was absolutely crazy. I mean, the fly-by in Kiel was amazing. The amount of boats that escorted us up the river was just amazing. From a sailing point of view, it's super cool to have done it. And a very tight battle with 11th Hour Racing Team, and then Malizia had the pressure on us at the end. Again, we're super happy to hold on to this second place. Really unfortunate we could not have got the win. It was looking good at one point, and when we crossed tacks with 11th Hour, just a few miles out of here. It went really good with the crew on board. I mean, we're missing the knowledge of the old crew. Obviously, you build up an experience, a bank of how to sail the boat. That was apparent in some aspects, where we were struggling on boat speed against the others. I am really super happy, given that we had very little sailing time together, super happy with that."

Now it's time to rest, as the final leg of The Ocean Race is fast approaching. On Thursday, the fleet will set off for the conclusion of the round-the-world race. Heading for Genoa, Italy. To ensure victory, the crew of Holcim-PRB will have no choice but to attack, according to Martin Le Pape, who will not be able to come aboard for this Leg 7: "A lot can happen on the next leg. There's going to be a lot of sailing in the Mediterranean, and there's going to be some rough weather. It's still possible! The crew has the right cards in hand. The core crew is still there. And there's also the contribution of the shore crew. The atmosphere is great, and everyone respects each other. There's a great team spirit, even if everyone's tired after this round-the-world trip. Everyone wants to do well for the others, and maybe that's what's going to bring us victory."

Before the final kick-off, the Holcim-PRB crew will take part in the In-Port Race in The Hague on Tuesday afternoon.

Quotes:

Benjamin Schwartz, skipper

"All the way through the race, we were in a leading position ahead of 11th Hour. We stumbled into a windless zone while approaching Kiel and they came back behind us. Then they gybed and we made the mistake of not going with them. They headed west again, and we continued south. We thought the breeze would come in from the south. But they hit the wind before us and managed to head straight for the mark while we were stuck in a windless zone. We were then forced to gybe with the wrong wind direction because of a forbidden zone, a shooting zone not marked on the charts. This caused us to lose a little ground, and we arrived at the entrance to the Kiel Fjord 5 miles behind 11th Hour. And then, they're gone, we're back....Gone/back....Gone/back... By the north-eastern tip of Denmark, we were 4.2 miles back and had really widen the gap with the others behind. Unfortunately, they went back to the front. It went on like that all the way down. We'd managed to widen the gap with the rest of the fleet. We were up to 35 miles ahead of Malizia. But then we saw what happened at the end... We had a few speed problems, probably due to an error in sail choice. And we wondered if we'd caught something in the keel. We lost our edge, and Malizia came back very close. We managed to save our 2nd place at the last minute. It was uncomfortable last night, we were a bit distraught because we felt the boat was heavy. We backed off and saw something coming off the keel, but we couldn't quite make out what it was. It was like a big rope. We were in good spirits right up to the finish. This morning, we managed to cross in front of 11th Hour. They were better than us on the match racing section. Second place is still a disappointment, but you have to look on the bright side... We had very little time to train. We'd only sailed together for three days. We're up against crews who have sailed around the world together, who know their boats inside out. We can be very happy with this second place and I'm super proud of what the crew has done."

Abby Ehler

"The whole leg was absolutely crazy. I mean, the fly-by in Kiel was amazing. The amount of boats that escorted us up the river was just amazing. From a sailing point of view, it's super cool to have done it. And a very tight battle with 11th Hour Racing Team, and then Malizia had the pressure on us at the end. Again, we're super happy to hold on to this second place. Really unfortunate we could not have got the win. It was looking good at one point, and when we crossed tacks with 11th Hour, just a few miles out of here. It went really good with the crew on board. I mean, we're missing the knowledge of the old crew. Obviously, you build up an experience, a bank of how to sail the boat. That was apparent in some aspects, where we were struggling on boat speed against the others. I am really super happy, given that we had very little sailing time together, super happy with that. "

Yoann Richomme

"It was super intense! Everything was always in a channel, with sea traffic. We came out of Denmark completely exhausted. But we had a great team. We had a hard time getting the right settings. Fortunately, Ben and Abby know the boat well. We had a great sail. We're missing a few details that we if we were more used to sailing together. It was very close! When we crossed in front of 11th Hour Racing Team this morning, I really believed it! We caught a fishing line in the keel yesterday... We all got on really well. It was great fun! Martin and Ben did a lot of maneuvering. We didn't get much sleep, even falling asleep on watch. All in all, it was a great experience.

Martin Le Pape

"It was extremely difficult on every level... Physically and mentally. We did some committed tacks where we were going fast. Getting your bearings on a new boat like this isn't easy. We had to learn fast. But we're really pleased to finish behind 11th Hour Racing Team, because they're so precise. On our side, we had a few small lapses which certainly cost us the victory. It's hard for me to tell what we missed, as I don't know enough about the boat. In any case, when it came to trimming, we did everything and tried everything! Inevitably, they were less hesitant than us about settings and maneuvers. But second place is good! On board, everything went really smoothly, and I had no doubts that it was going to happen like that. We had clearly defined roles. At no point did anyone take the lead to make the other doubt. Ben stayed in his role as navigator. I was really happy to sail with these guys and the two girls on board. For me, it was really great!