IMOCA skipper out of The Ocean Race

Cape Verde (January 22, 2023) – During Leg 1 of The Ocean Race, Team Malizia’s skipper Boris Herrmann sustained a severe burn on his foot from boiling water shortly before finishing in Mindelo.

After seeking medical treatment in hospital, Herrmann was advised by the team doctor to not participate in the second leg of The Ocean Race due to a considerable risk of infection while at sea. The German sailor is continuing to receive medical treatment and is recovering well.

“I’m really sad not to sail this leg with my team, especially after the success of Leg 1”, explains Boris Herrmann. “I am more motivated than ever to compete but I don’t want to jeopardize my participation in Leg 3 or risk inhibiting our performance in Leg 2.

“Luckily, world-famous and our long-time coach Yann Eliès will jump in to cover for me in this part of the race. I will now travel directly to South Africa to be with my wife and daughter and recover in order to be ready to take on the challenge of Leg 3 in the southern oceans.

“I will use the time onshore to work closely with our performance group, analyze the boat data and prepare the debrief for the sailor’s arrival in Cape Town. I’m excited to welcome the team in a strong position in South Africa.”

Will Harris, 29, will therefore take over the role of skipper sooner than expected in the race, as it was previously mapped out for him to hold the role for Leg 4 which Boris did not intend to do.

TEAM MALIZIA SAILING CREW FOR LEG 2 – CABO VERDE TO CAPE TOWN:
• Will Harris (GBR – Skipper)
• Rosalin Kuiper (NED – Co-skipper)
• Nico Lunven (FRA – Co-skipper)
• Yann Eliès (FRA – Co-skipper)
• Antoine Auriol (FRA/GER – Onboard Reporter)

There is no In-port race in Cabo Verde. As a short stopover, IMOCA teams are highly restricted in how they can operate, with all work on board to be completed by the sailing team. Racing resumes January 25 with the Cabo Verde start of Leg Two to Cape Town, South Africa.

Race details – Route – Tracker – Teams – Content from the boats – YouTube

Leg One Rankings

IMOCA: Boat, Design, Skipper, Launch date
• Guyot Environnement – Team Europe (VPLP Verdier); Benjamin Dutreux (FRA)/Robert Stanjek (GER); September 1, 2015
• 11th Hour Racing Team (Guillaume Verdier); Charlie Enright (USA); August 24, 2021
• Holcim-PRB (Guillaume Verdier); Kevin Escoffier (FRA); May 8, 2022
• Team Malizia (VPLP); Boris Herrmann (GER); July 19, 2022
• Biotherm (Guillaume Verdier); Paul Meilhat (FRA); August 31 2022

The Ocean Race 2022-23 Race Schedule:
Alicante, Spain – Leg 1 start: January 15, 2023
Cabo Verde – ETA: January 22; Leg 2 start: January 25
Cape Town, South Africa – ETA: February 9; Leg 3 start: February 26 or 27 (TBC)
Itajaí, Brazil – ETA: April 1; Leg 4 start: April 23
Newport, RI, USA – ETA: May 10; Leg 5 start: May 21
Aarhus, Denmark – ETA: May 30; Leg 6 start: June 8
Kiel, Germany (Fly-By) – June 9
The Hague, The Netherlands – ETA: June 11; Leg 7 start: June 15
Genova, Italy – The Grand Finale – ETA: June 25, 2023; Final In-Port Race: July 1, 2023

The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Round the World Race) was initially to be raced in two classes of boats: the high-performance, foiling, IMOCA 60 class and the one-design VO65 class which has been used for the last two editions of the race.

However, only the IMOCAs will be racing round the world while the VO65s will race in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint which competes in Legs 1, 6, and 7 of The Ocean Race course.

Additionally, The Ocean Race also features the In-Port Series with races at seven of the course’s stopover cities around the world which allow local fans to get up close and personal to the teams as they battle it out around a short inshore course.

Although in-port races do not count towards a team’s overall points score, they do play an important part in the overall rankings as the In-Port Race Series standings are used to break any points ties that occur during the race around the world.

The 14th edition of The Ocean Race was originally planned for 2021-22 but was postponed one year due to the pandemic, with the first leg starting on January 15, 2023.

Source: The Ocean Race