Ocean Race: Malizia passes Cape Horn as leader | > – Sports

Status: 03/27/2023 10:30 p.m

The Malizia team around Hamburg skipper Boris Herrmann won the race to Cape Horn in the Ocean Race. The German racing yacht passed the legendary Chilean landmark on Monday evening after 29 days, four hours and eight minutes.

Herrmann was then overwhelmed. “Cape Horn holds many memories for me. Being the first to reach this line means almost more than winning the stage. I’m proud of the team and of this boat,” said the 41-year-old after his sixth passage of the most famous landmark of the international sailing. He and his crew had reached the headland on the Chilean rocky island of Isla Hornos with a lead of 18 nautical miles ahead of the Swiss team Holcim – PRB, which had recently been strong again.

Malizia on the trail of the legendary Illbruck

Herrmann and Co. made history with it: The Malizia is the first German ship since the Illbruck in 2002 to round Cape Hoorn in the leading position in an international offshore regatta. The team around the German Tony Kolb also won the Ocean Race – maybe a good omen for the Malizia.

“The boat has really proven itself in the Southern Ocean and shown how robust it is,” explained Herrmann. His co-skipper Will Harris added: “If we think back to the beginning of the stage with the problems on the mast and the strong winds of the past few days, I think we did a great job.”

Herrmann team currently in third place

With the successful summit attempt, the last 2,000 nautical miles of the longest royal stage in the history of the Ocean Race are heralded. The fleet exits the South Pacific and turns left into the Atlantic. There, in the final phase of stage three, the circumnavigators head up the South American east coast to Itajai. In the Brazilian port, the second round of points for the double-rated stage will be distributed over a total of almost 15,000 nautical miles.

Biotherm and 11th Hour Racing are currently about 250 nautical miles behind the top pair. Harris, who will replace Herrmann as skipper again on the fourth stage from Itajai to the American port city of Newport, prophesied for the forthcoming stage final: “It will be a close race to Itajai, Holcim is really pushing and is just under 20 nautical miles behind us. So we have to work hard to finish this stage first.” In the intermediate overall classification, Malizia is third behind Holcim – PRB and 11th Hour Racing.

Malizia gewinnt Roaring Forties Trophy

Overall victory in the sailing regatta is still a long way off for Herrmann and Co. But the team of the native of Oldenburg has already won a title: It secured the Roaring Forties Trophy for the boat that mastered the passage between the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and Cape Horn in South America the fastest. The Roaring Forties Trophy was awarded for the first time in the history of the Ocean Race for a non-stop passage between the two capes, as the third stage is also the historically longest of the race.

Kuiper has to rest after a fall

Rosalin Kuiper is currently unable to support the Malizia crew. The Dutchman suffered a concussion, lacerations and bruises when she fell out of her berth as a result of the encounter between the boat and the big wave on Sunday. The 27-year-old is resting on the advice of the doctors on board in order to be operational again as soon as possible, but briefly celebrated her first circumnavigation of Cape Horn with her teammates on deck.

“It’s a cinematic hospital to lie in and watch the wonderful passage of Cape Horn. That’s not how I imagined the Cape Horn Passage to be. But I couldn’t wish for better care either. I’m with the boys really grateful,” says Kuiper.