The Ocean Race Europe Leg 2 - Day 2
by The Ocean Race 18 Aug 07:37 PDT
17 August 2025
The Ocean Race Europe Leg 2 Day 2 © Pierre Bouras / The Ocean Race
The second leg of The Ocean Race Europe delivered a night of extremes, as the seven teams tore out of Portsmouth in strong downwind conditions, only to be brought to a standstill by a windless patch off Ushant.
After stretching to nearly 40 miles from front to back in the Channel, the fleet was compressed to within a handful of miles as the breeze collapsed, creating the first major turning point of the leg.
Sunday evening's start from Cowes had delivered perfect conditions, with the fleet charging down the Solent under spinnaker and tide. Biotherm once again proved sharpest, taking maximum points at the Needles scoring gate, with Paprec Arkéa close behind for the single point.
"We had a bit of a difference in sail choice to some of the others, but we picked the right sail and the boat was going quick down the Solent," said Biotherm's Sam Goodchild. "Everything came together to get to the two-point gate, max points. That's exactly what we needed."
Others were equally upbeat. "We had great conditions to leave the Solent and cross the Channel, we really enjoyed it," said Morgan Lagravière on Allagrande Mapei Racing, happy to be back in the mix after Leg 1.
Once clear of the Isle of Wight the pace shot up, the leading group pushing over 20 knots as darkness fell. "It was pretty full-on with a strong easterly wind and some waves - we were actually faster than the routing predicted," added Goodchild.
The race changed dramatically at the northwest tip of Brittany. As forecast, the easterlies gave way to a transition zone with just a few knots of breeze. Boats that had been flying now found themselves crawling, crews working constantly to keep the boats alive.
Paprec Arkéa tried to slip inside Ushant through the narrow tidal channel - a move that could have paid off with a 15-20 mile jump had they caught the gate. But in the dying wind, they missed it by less than an hour. Forced to tack back and reroute to the west, Yoann Richomme's crew tumbled from the front into the chasing pack.
"We went from first to last. A bit rough, but anyway," admitted Richomme, summing up the gamble that went wrong. "We really thought we'd get through, but we didn't manage. We struggled all night trying to get past it. Instead of the current helping us down to the south, it was pushing us back north. In the end we had to do the same as the others and go around. Now we're about five miles behind the leader. It's not the end of the world, but if we can break out of here and not go backwards for six hours, that's already not bad."
While Paprec Arkéa paid the price, Biotherm, Team Malizia and Canada Ocean Racing opted for the northern route. It proved the safer call: Biotherm held a narrow lead, while Canada briefly surged into first place, a milestone moment for Scott Shawyer's team. By morning, just 15 hours after leaving Portsmouth, all seven IMOCAs were once again side by side.
The compressed pack left crews exhausted. "We didn't get much sleep last night," admitted Allagrande Mapei co-skipper Thomas Ruyant. "None, actually!" On board Team AMAALA, the mood was pragmatic. "All the boats are together, so it's another new start for everybody," said skipper Alan Roura. "So now the point is how to get out of this area as fast as possible to catch the new wind on the other side."
Lagravière called the transition "a serious change of scenery." He explained: "We're all looking for solutions to get out of it. We thought we could sneak through but unfortunately that wasn't the case. We'll be working hard all morning to pick up pressure and new wind. We know this is one of the big hurdles of this leg."
"This is the really key part," agreed Alan Roberts (Holcim-PRB). "To get across the light winds and into the new pressure - the boats will just get richer and richer coming out of it."
By mid-morning the fleet had punched through the transition, the northwesterly filling back in and speeds building into the teens. The course through the Bay of Biscay now looks like a straight-line drag race south to Cape Finisterre. From there, strong northwesterlies are expected to sling the fleet down the Portuguese coast and into Porto, where full points are on offer at the fly-by. The latest ETA has the leaders arriving during the day on Wednesday, though a faster run could bring them in earlier.
As of 12:00 UTC, Team Malizia, Biotherm and Holcim-PRB are leading the pack, neck and neck and pushing 20 knots in 13 knots of wind. Just eight miles separate first from last, with Team AMAALA bringing up the rear - proof that it is still all to play for.
The fleet is expected in Porto by Wednesday for the short fly-by, before resuming racing immediately towards Cartagena.
Race coverage is available on www.theoceanrace.com as well as via media partner Warner Bros. Discovery and their Eurosport, TNT Sports, HBO Max and Discovery+ platforms. See our How to Follow guide here.
Track the fleet at www.theoceanrace.com or see the latest videos from the boats.