The Ocean Race is supporting Team Nexans – Art et Fenêtres (II) in the collection of vital ocean data during the Transat Jacques Vabre, which sets sail this weekend from Le Havre in Normandy.

Following The Ocean Race 2022-23, in which over four million pieces of data were gathered, the round-the-world regatta is providing an OceanPack to the French-flagged team for the race to Martinique.

The OceanPack is a specialised instrument with multiple sensors that measure a range of data about the ocean to provide crucial insights into the health of the marine environment.

The equipment works by drawing up water through the hull and into the instrument, where it measures oxygen, carbon dioxide, salinity, water temperature and atmospheric pressure. It operates automatically and continuously, taking around 25,000 measurements a day.

Stefan Raimund, ocean science advisor at The Ocean Race said: “This year’s unprecedented ocean temperatures have set off alarm bells across the world. The more data that scientists have about temperatures and other essential ocean variables, the more accurately we can understand the ocean’s capacity to cope with climate change and predict what will happen to the climate in future.

“We’re pleased to have joined forces with Team Nexans – Art et Fenêtres (II), to continue contributing to this important research. Between editions of The Ocean Race, we will provide scientific equipment and support to teams, organisations and expeditions who share our desire to drive action for the ocean.”

The OceanPack is a specialised instrument with multiple sensors that measure a range of types of data about the ocean | Credit: Cherie Bridges/The Ocean Race

Team Nexans – Art et Fenêtres (II), which is skippered by Fabrice Amedeo and co-skipper Andreas Baden, has been involved in the collection of scientific data since 2019. Fabrice lost his boat — and his scientific instruments — in heavy seas during the last Route Du Rhum and is now competing again with a new boat.

Amedeo said: “The return to the open sea and racing is synonymous with the redeployment of my oceanographic project, thanks to the installation of The Ocean Race’s OceanPack. This sensor measures CO2, salinity and ocean temperature, enabling scientists to better understand the consequences of global warming on the ocean. I am happy to provide the scientific community with such important data.”

The data gathered by the team, on the race to the Caribbean and the return journey back to France, will be analysed by The Ocean Race’s science partners: GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel (Germany), Ifremer (France) and CNRS (Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique) (France). These organisations will use the data as part of their research on the impact of climate change on the marine environment and to inform predictions about how the ocean will respond to climate change in future.

The Ocean Race’s science programme is part of the Racing with Purpose sustainability programme, which was created with premier partner 11th Hour Racing. The race is the only team sport in the world that requires all participants to take part in the collection of vital ocean data. Earlier this year The Ocean Race launched a dedicated data visualisation platform for exploring the data at theoceanracescience.com.

Cabo Verde and The Ocean Race have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that could see the island archipelago host stopovers and future meetings of The Ocean Race Summits in partnership with the iconic around the world sailing event.

The MOU would see The Ocean Race Summits — a congress of change-makers from across government, industry, NGOs and the scientific community — return to Cabo Verde, as well as the racing fleet during the next around the world races.

The arrangement was announced in New York on Monday (18 September) by Ulisses Correia e Silva, Prime Minister of Cabo Verde, who was participating in the latest The Ocean Race Summit by tabling a proposal to the General Assembly of the United Nations on Ocean Rights.

“Cabo Verde and The Ocean Race have established a special partnership through the signing of an MOU today. This collaboration is designed to promote the Rights of the Ocean, the Ocean Science programme, the blue economy and Cabo Verde as a tourist destination in water sports and eco-tourism,” the Prime Minister said at The Ocean Race Summit, as Cabo Verde leads the charge on this critical diplomatic path forward to restoring ocean health.

“In Cabo Verde we have a partner who is pushing forward at the leading edge of a movement and shares our vision that sport can play a role in protecting the ocean,” said Richard Brisius, race chairman of The Ocean Race.

“In January of this year we hosted a very successful edition of The Ocean Race Summit in Cabo Verde and together with Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva, we welcomed UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss the importance of Ocean Rights as a way to protect and restore health of the ocean.

The Ocean Race Summits presents Ocean Rights in the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday 18 September. From left: Tania Romualdo, Permanent Representative of Cabo Verde to the UN; Ulisses Correia e Silva, Prime Minister of Cabo Verde; and Richard Brisius, race chairman of The Ocean Race | Credit: Cherie Bridges/The Ocean Race

“This week we have taken another step on that journey with the introduction of Ocean Rights at the United Nations. This is the first step towards a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights, in Cabo Verde, and in Prime Minister Ulisses Correia e Silva we have a steadfast partner to join us on this mission in a way that will benefit all stakeholders of the race.”

Working towards a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights is part of The Ocean Race’s multi-award winning Racing with Purpose sustainability programme developed in collaboration with 11th Hour Racing, a premier partner of The Ocean Race.

The islands of Cabo Verde have long been a tactical landmark for sailors competing in The Ocean Race, who have historically needed to decide whether to weave between the islands, or to avoid the potential wind shadows by giving the archipelago a wide berth.

The 2023 race was the first time the race made a stop in Mindelo, Cabo Verde and the stopover was hailed as a great success, with over 70,000 visitors to Ocean Live Park and over 2,200 school children taking part at in-person educational workshops. The Ocean Race Summit in Mindelo had 344 participants and 40 international media covering the event.

The 14th edition of The Ocean Race finished in July in Genoa, Italy with 11th Hour Racing Team (USA) as the winning team. As part of a 10-year plan, the next two editions of the around the world race will take place in 2026-27 and 2030-31, while The Ocean Race Europe will take place in August-September of 2025 and again in 2029.

Environmental DNA, known as eDNA — one of the most cutting-edge ways to measure ocean health and biodiversity — was collected during The Ocean Race 2022-23 in a world first for racing boats.

11th Hour Racing Team, winners of the six-month long round-the-world race, took samples during the 5,550-nautical-mile Leg 4 from Itajai in Brazil to Newport in Rhode Island, USA in a pioneering initiative of The Ocean Race’s science programme, which aims to support understanding about the state of the seas.

Twenty-seven water samples were gathered between 23 April and 10 May this year and later analysed by the Cawthron Institute, New Zealand’s largest independent science organisation. Each sample included genetic material contained in microbes or shed by thousands of marine species through their waste products and skin cells.

Analysis of this eDNA gives a comprehensive snapshot of the presence and diversity of these species with high accuracy. These data are valuable for a number of reasons, including helping to track endangered species, monitoring diseases and pathogens. And when samples are compared over time, eDNA can provide insights into how the climate crisis is affecting marine life, for example, by shifting their geographic range.

Among the key findings of The Ocean Race eDNA collection was a striking correlation between the abundance of ocean bacteria (Pseudomonas and Acidobacter) that break down plastic and latitude, with analysis showing the highest levels of the bacteria (meaning greater plastic degradation) at lower latitudes near Brazil’s coastline.

Amory Ross lead the eDNA sampling onboard 11th Hour Racing Team | Credit: Amory Ross/11th Hour Racing/The Ocean Race

While data from a single boat means that findings aren’t conclusive, The Ocean Race says this discovery highlights the powerful role of this type of eDNA technology and the need for further research. Understanding more about the geographic spread of these bacteria could provide valuable insights to help fight the marine plastic crisis.

Analysis also found that parasitic bacteria (exo or intracellular parasites) — which can be a threat to the health of other species, including humans — are strongly linked with increased sea surface temperature and longitude, with higher abundances closer to landmasses.

With record-breaking ocean temperatures documented in recent months, the influence of changing ocean temperatures on pathogenic microorganisms is another crucial area requiring further research.

Xavier Pochon, team leader of molecular surveillance at the Cawthron Institute and associate professor at the University of Auckland said: “We’re very excited about the data collected during The Ocean Race, particularly those linked with pathogens and plastic degraders. These are interesting findings because very little is known about their distribution and ecology across large latitudinal gradients.

“Our eDNA collection system on racing boats offers significant benefits over traditional research methods as it allows scientists to audit biodiversity from across the tree of life, more rapidly, cheaply and with minimum hands-on time for the sailors. We are looking forward to equipping many more racing boats in the future and propelling our knowledge of marine life into uncharted waters.”

Onboard 11th Hour Racing Team: three eDNA filters from the third sample set, all done and ready for processing with date and time recorded on the bags | Credit: Amory Ross/11th Hour Racing/The Ocean Race

As part of The Ocean Race’s science programme — one of the pillars of the Racing with Purpose sustainability programme that was created with premier partner 11th Hour Racing — the data collection was trialled across one leg of the 32,000nm (60,000 km) race, spanning a latitude of 27 degrees to 39 degrees, to test the feasibility of gathering eDNA on racing boats.

11th Hour Racing Team gathered the samples through an onboard OceanPack: a specialised instrument that measures a range of ocean data, including salinity, temperature, carbon dioxide, oxygen and trace elements.

The equipment worked automatically and continuously throughout the race; eDNA was sampled through the OceanPack — the vessel's existing seawater flow-through system — which pumps two litres of water through innovative eDNA filters for later lab analysis. Trialling eDNA sampling via the OceanPack had the advantage of providing scientists with the opportunity to cross check data and look for links and correlations.

Stefan Raimund, ocean advisor at The Ocean Race said: “Each sample collected contained millions of pieces of eDNA, from single-cell organisms, all the way up to lantern fish and the elusive Moray eel, providing a fascinating snapshot of life below the waves and how it changes throughout the Atlantic Ocean.

The OceanPack is a specialised automated instrument with multiple sensors that measure a range of types of data about the ocean. 11th Hour Racing Team and Team Malizia carried the OceanPack onboard during The Ocean Race 2022-23 | Credit: Cherie Bridges/The Ocean Race

“eDNA sampling is at the forefront of biodiversity testing and is a powerful tool for understanding ocean health and how the major threats of climate change and pollution affect it. The more we know about the ocean, the more effectively we can protect it.

“Having successfully trialled the sampling during The Ocean Race 2022-23, we hope to scale it up for future races and have more boats collecting this data, including in remote and vital parts of the ocean, where even less information is available for scientists.”

The potential of eDNA testing for understanding marine biodiversity has been increasingly lauded in the last few years for providing a holistic view of biodiversity without the drawbacks of traditional research methods like catching species and aerial surveys, which can be harmful, expensive and limited. eDNA can also provide fast results, which can be vital given the urgency of the problems impacting the seas.

The data were produced using Illumina next-generation sequencing technology. Cawthron Institute, who specialise in science that supports the environment and sustainable development, was also supported by Sequench Ltd and Smith-Root.

Simon Fisher has been named the 10th recipient of the Magnus ‘Mange’ Olsson Prize, awarded annually to an individual who has made an impactful contribution to the sport of sailing.

Certainly this description fits Simon Fisher — known to all as SiFi — who has competed in The Ocean Race six consecutive times, beginning in 2005-06, and has won the race twice, including the latest edition with 11th Hour Racing Team. He is the only navigator in race history to earn this achievement.

During his 20-year career in the race, SiFi has seen it evolve from the Volvo Open 70 class through the one-design VO65s — where he won the race in 2014-15 with skipper Ian Walker on board Abu Dhabi Ocean Racing — and now again to the flying, foiling IMOCAs.

“My greatest accomplishment was probably winning the 2014-15 Ocean Race, as it was both the realisation of a childhood dream and the result of many years of hard work and experience,” SiFi has said. “I’m also proud of the fact that I have managed to dip my toe into many different areas that our sport has to offer, and I always enjoy new experiences and challenges.”

For over 10 years, Fisher has been a director of Diverse Performance Systems, which provides onboard systems for racing and performance cruising boats as well as superyachts where his vast experience as navigator has benefitted many projects.

Traditionally, the role of navigator is among the most important on a boat competing in The Ocean Race, and their decisions on race strategy, alongside the skipper, are critical to the success of a campaign.

But the work starts long before the race begins in terms of analysing historic weather patterns and working up an accurate performance profile of the competing race yacht to feed into the navigation routing software. SiFi is among the best in the world at this.

During this latest edition of The Ocean Race, SiFi embraced the leadership role his team was taking on sustainability via 11th Hour Racing, with a keen interest in the onboard science data programme, which feeds real-time data from the boat back to researchers on shore. One of the many uses of this data is to improve weather forecasting, which as a navigator is one of the core inputs needed to provide fast and efficient routing.

“It’s such an honour to be recognised by the Magnus Olsson Memorial Foundation for this award,” Fisher said. “I had the opportunity to cross paths with Mange a few times early in my career at The Ocean Race and he never failed to make an impact with his positivity, enthusiasm and pure joy at the prospect of going to sea and racing around the world. His attitude was infectious — you couldn’t help but smile when you were around Magnus.”

The Magnus Olsson Prize is awarded annually to an individual who has made an impactful contribution to the sport of sailing — and previous recipients include The Ocean Race winners Torben Grael, Grant Dalton, Carolijn Brouwer and Stan Honey along with Olympic sailing legends like Sir Ben Ainslie, Peter Burling, Martine Grael, Santiago Lange and Pelle Petterson.

The 10th Magnus Olsson Prize will be presented to Simon Fisher together with a scholarship to young sailors at a Mange-style dinner ceremony in Stockholm on Tuesday 22 August. Several past winners and scholars will attend celebrating the essence of enthusiasm, passion, and determination that Mange brought to the sport of sailing — the very foundation of the Mange Olsson Memorial Foundation.

Iconic coastal cities around the European continent are expressing their interest in hosting the IMOCA fleet along The Ocean Race Europe route in 2025, organisers say.

The Ocean Race Europe is a north-south European offshore race scheduled to take place in 2025, ahead of the 2026-27 edition of the round-the-world race.

It will start in the Baltic Sea, sail across the North Sea and the Atlantic, through the Strait of Gibraltar, and finish in the Mediterranean — with up to five stops along the way in addition to the start and finish ports.


Following The Ocean Race’s announcement in May of the next major event in the 10-year planning cycle, European coastal cities from countries north, south, east and west are submitting their proposals to be a stopover Host City for this world-class event.

Under the banner of “Connecting Europe: Racing to restore our ocean and waters” — inspired by the EU mission aimed at protecting and restoring the health of our ocean and waters through research and innovation, citizen engagement and blue investments — the event is scheduled to begin in the late summer of 2025.

The advanced foiling offshore IMOCA class will compete in The Ocean Race Europe, crewed by the best men and women in the sport racing alongside each other on each boat.

“The 14th edition of The Ocean Race has just come to a close and we are already looking forward to seeing the IMOCA fleet back in the water,” said Richard Brisius, race chairman of The Ocean Race. “Following the success of the first event in 2021, The Ocean Race Europe will connect the continent bringing world-class sailing and Racing with Purpose to help protect and restore the ocean.”

Stopovers will welcome the fleet on a Thursday or Friday and visitors and partners will enjoy departures on Sunday. Start and finish ports will offer a longer event period.

Bringing the core pillars of the race’s sustainability programme, each of the stopover cities will host an Ocean Live Park, the dedicated race village where visitors can experience the event up-close and learn about how to protect the ocean. Activities will include learning workshops for children, high-level summits and opportunities to help people understand the race's onboard science programme.

Proposals arriving from cities all over Europe are being carefully evaluated by The Ocean Race and a maximum of five will be selected among the bidding venues. The selected cities will be announced in February 2024.

The Ocean Race 2022-23 featured more female sailors than in any of the previous events in the race’s 50-year history.

Overall, across the five IMOCAs taking part in the round-the-world race and the six VO65s taking part in the The Ocean Race Sprint, there were 39 female sailors, making up 28% of the competitors overall and 98 male sailors, making up 72%.

This is a third more than the previous edition and continues the upward trend of more women sailing in the Race. In 2014-15 18% of competitors were female, while in the last edition (2017-18) the figure rose to 21%.

While each IMOCA is required to have at least one female competitor onboard the four-strong sailing team, and three of the 10 sailors onboard VO65s are required to be female, Biotherm exceeded the quota, with two men and two women sailing in three of the seven legs.

The French IMOCA team also had a female onboard reporter (OBR) for several legs, as did Team Holcim-PRB, while Viva México had a female onboard reporter on all their legs and Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team for Leg 2. This marked another record for the race, which had only one female OBR in the last edition and two in 2014-15.

The Ocean Race organisers say they also made strides in the race for greater equality in sailing off the water, with other traditionally male-dominated roles seeing an increased number of women.

Following a big push to bring gender balance to the race official roles, the current edition had an international jury of 11 members, composed of six women and five men. This figure is significantly higher than elsewhere in the industry, with certified international sailing judges only consisting of around 15% women.

‘We are sailing in the right direction, but more needs to be done to break down barriers and create pathways into the sport for women’

Richard Brisius, race chairman of The Ocean Race said: “Making sailing more inclusive is one of the most important things we can do to secure the future of the sport. We’re delighted to have a record percentage of female competitors in the race and more females taking on traditionally male-dominated roles.

“We are sailing in the right direction, but more needs to be done to break down barriers and create pathways into the sport for women. Just as we have set an industry benchmark in driving more female participants in the sport, we need to move the dial on diversity and leave a legacy in which the sport becomes much more accessible to all.

“Coming together as an industry and working collaboratively is the only way that this can be achieved. For the race, we will continue to work with our host cities and local and national sailing federations to create pathways and opportunities. We also need greater commitments and action across the industry.”

Holcim-PRB sailor and co-founder of The Magenta Project, Abby Ehler said: “I have participated in four editions of this race and The Ocean Race 2022-23 has taken a step forward in terms of inclusivity. I have genuinely felt part of a team, and not a token gesture to a rule. This in my mind says a lot and shows that change is happening. Men and women competing side by side in a team is now being normalised — we are one of many, rather than the first, or the only.

“I do believe that the rules around crew diversity help to increase female participation and inclusion and I hope this continues with the pathways and opportunities ensuring that crew diversity occurs organically without the need for a rule.”

During this edition, The Ocean Race teamed up with logistics partner GAC Pindar, The Magenta Project and World Sailing Trust to host a series of panel discussions and networking events aimed at driving greater diversity and equality in sailing. The four events, held in three continents, featured local and international voices from across the maritime industry, with the final ‘On the Horizon’ session being held on Friday (30 June) during the Grand Finale in Genoa, Italy.

The Ocean Race was the first round-the-world crewed race with female sailors, with 13 women competing in the first edition in 1973. For the 2017-18 edition, the race introduced a rule requiring all teams to include at least one woman.

The last day of racing in this 14th edition of The Ocean Race took place at the Grand Finale in Genoa on Saturday afternoon (1 July).

Sunny skies, very light and shifty winds and enthusiastic crowds on shore and on the water were the order of the day as this six-month round-the-world odyssey came to a close.

It was a day of celebration as well as competition with the afternoon and evening set aside for awards night and prize-giving ceremonies.

11th Hour Racing Team skipper Charlie Enright was delighted to be able to deliver a race win after all the effort it had taken to get his IMOCA Mãlama repaired after it was hit by GUYOT environnement - Team Europe soon after the start of Leg 7 in The Hague.

“Our shore crew worked night and day for three days straight to be able to get us back on the water and able to take part in this Grand Finale In-Port Race,” he said.

“To be able to compete — and win the race today in Genova — we couldn’t ask for a better way to complete our lap of the planet and to show our thanks to everyone who has supported our campaign for the past few years.”

The race win ensured 11th Hour Racing Team would take the double victory — a win in the offshore round-the-world race as well as the In-Port Race Series.

There was very little wind for the scheduled start of the IMOCA In-Port Race and after a brief delay, the start got away at 1415 hours local time.

All four boats were late to the start, but Team Malizia was first to cross the line and take the early lead in just three knots of wind.

Team Holcim-PRB started further to windward and seemed well placed initially. But as the fickle breeze shifted further to the right, the Swiss boat looked increasingly stranded. After poor starts from Biotherm and 11th Hour Racing Team, the French and American teams started to close the gap on the early leader, Team Malizia.

By Mark 1, Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm had closed the gap on the lead and was overlapped with Boris Herrmann’s boat. The black German boat managed to hold on to the lead but now the chase was on, with Biotherm in hot pursuit and Charlie Enright’s crew on 11th Hour Racing Team not far back in third. Benjamin Schwartz and Team Holcim-PRB were struggling to stay in touch with their rivals, the green boat a long way back in fourth place.

Around Mark 2, Malizia rounded up on to the breeze and were on port tack upwind. Biotherm tacked away from the leader to create a split and see if the French boat could find anything better than the Germans.

Eventually the Germans tacked too and on the next cross, Meilhat had closed distance on Herrmann. However, Germany was still in the lead as the fleet drifted upwind, battling to keep the boats moving in almost no breeze.

Meanwhile, 11th Hour Racing Team decided to keep things simple, leaving the tacking duel to the front two while Enright kept his boat tracking on port tack on the city side of the race course. Hooking into more breeze on their side of the course, it looked like the Americans would move into the lead as their boat speed touched six knots, their rivals still looking slow further out to sea.

With the wind showing little sign of improving, the race was shortened at Mark 3. Now the outcome of the race would be decided on a port-starboard convergence between the Germans and the Americans to see who would cross ahead.

In the end, it was 11th Hour Racing Team who eased across the finishing line to steal the race win from Team Malizia, who had led for so long but had to settle for second. Biotherm held on for third place, which was good enough to lift the French to third overall ahead of Team Holcim-PRB in the In-Port Series.

The Ocean Race In-Port Series Final Leaderboard (IMOCA):

1. 11th Hour Racing Team - 29 points
2. Team Malizia - 25 points
3. Biotherm - 19 points
4. Team Holcim-PRB - 17 points
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe - 10 points

It was one last hurrah for Team JAJO with their win in the VO65 In-Port Race in Genoa on Saturday 1 July | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

The VO65s took to the race course first on this last day of The Grand Finale in Genova, in light winds of three to six knots.

As the seconds counted down to the start, all five teams were looking late on their time-on-distance judgement. Bearing in mind how an extra metre at the start can turn into hundreds of metres of advantage further along the race track, it was a missed opportunity for everyone.

Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team (DEN/POR) was looking in a solid and safe position at the windward end of the line and accelerated up to speed nicely.

WindWhisper Racing Team (POL) has tended to dominate the pin end of the line but this time skipper Pablo Arrarte was beaten to the punch by Team JAJO (NED). Jelmer van Beek looked vulnerable initially, but he had the advantage of being the most leeward boat.

This enabled van Beek to turn away from the breeze by an extra couple of degrees, breathing extra power into the sails on a day when every ounce of additional oomph was vital.

Team JAJO began to stretch its early advantage, as WindWhisper Racing Team started to slip into the backwash of the big VO65 rig ahead of them.

The Dutch led around the first mark, followed by Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team whose windward start had served Roberto Bermúdez de Castro and his crew well. Next around were Austrian Ocean Racing/Team Genova but finding a better puff of wind behind them were Viva México who capitalised on a deeper downwind angle to get inside rights at the next turning mark.

Erik Brockmann’s team gybed the Mexican boat nicely on the inside of Gerwin Jansen and the Austrians and México sneaked into third place as they set out on the third leg of the course.

Meanwhile, WindWhisper had struggled to find clear air on the first leg out of the start, and really struggled to get around the first mark. The Polish team furled its headsail as it luffed up towards the breeze in a desperate bid to avoid hitting the mark. Arrarte and company did indeed avoid the mark but now had to play catch-up. There was a slim possibility of the dominant Polish team losing their In-Port Race crown to Team JAJO if Arrarte failed to finish inside the time limit.

With the wind looking unlikely to improve and, if anything, get even lighter, the race committee shortened the race course after 30 minutes of competition. Team JAJO finished exactly 60 seconds ahead of Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, with the Mexicans third, Austria fourth and WindWhisper bringing up the rear but well inside the time limit.

This means WindWhisper narrowly retains the top of the In-Port leaderboard despite Team JAJO closing the points gap.

Jelmer van Beek was rightly happy with Team JAJO’s performance which all stemmed from that accurately executed start at the pin end of the line: “A light and tricky day and not much breeze, but we had a really good start. They say you’re only as good as your last race, and we won the last race! It’s nice to finish like this. Time for a holiday now but I love this race, it was a great experience.”

Paolo Mirpuri, founder of the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, was on board his VO65 for the race and enjoyed the experience: “We had a very good start, the teamwork went well. We managed to keep it close and very happy to get second place today.”

Erik Brockmann was delighted to get another podium finish for Team México in Genova: “Even though it was light it’s always intense. We managed to maintain our position and to overtake a boat and got another podium in Genova. Couldn’t be happier to finish The Ocean Race like this.”

The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint In-Port Series Final Leaderboard:

1. WindWhisper Racing Team - 19 points
2. Team JAJO - 17 points
3. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team - 12 points
4. Viva México - 10 points
5. Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova - 8 points
6. Ambersail 2 - 0 points

After racing around the world and overcoming challenge after challenge, 11th Hour Racing Team was confirmed as winners of The Ocean Race 2022-23 on Thursday morning (29 June).

While the team celebrated ashore and afloat, they would need to wait a few more hours before joining together to toast their incredible achievement.

But finally, just after 1730 local time in Genoa, the 11th Hour Racing Team IMOCA, Mālama, eased into the port and arrived at Ocean Live Park to a thunderous welcome and an incredible prize-giving moment.

Just hours earlier the World Sailing International Jury had awarded the team four points of redress, based on an average of their strong results in the race to date, following the incident just minutes into the start of the final leg on Thursday 15 June when the boat was involved in a collision with GUYOT environnement - Team Europe.

The crew were notified by satellite phone on Thursday morning as their boat made up the last miles towards the northeastern Italian port after repairs to its extensively damaged hull.

The final leaderboard sees 11th Hour Racing Team three points clear of Team Holcim-PRB in second place, with Team Malizia in third, Biotherm fourth place and GUYOT environnement - Team Europe in fifth.

“I’m absolutely ecstatic,” said skipper Charlie Enright. “This race takes everything out of you — emotionally, mentally and physically. I’m incredibly proud of our whole team who have worked tirelessly for three years to get to this point. There have been highs, some incredible highs, but also lows that have knocked us all, but they were all worth it to hear this news today.”

The team members already in Genoa celebrate confirmation of 11th Hour Ocean Racing’s victory in The Ocean Race 2022-23 | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

Speaking from onboard Mālama as the team delivered the boat to Genoa, Enright added: “When we launched our campaign in 2019, we never could have anticipated that it would finish in this way. Any sailor will tell you that they want to win races on the water and not in the jury room, and after winning three legs back to back we felt exceptionally strong and confident going into the final leg.

“We are pleased with the jury’s decision, although we wish we had had the chance to battle it out for this final leg on the water as Holcim-PRB have been exceptional competitors and pushed us all the way.

“To be the first US team to be lifting this trophy is an exceptional honour, and to be sharing the message and showcasing action and innovation for ocean health has made this a truly impactful, global campaign. It’s not the way I would have drawn this up, but the victory is sweet all the same.”

James O’Mahony with Lucy Hunt and Rebecca White, Kerry-based advisors to The Ocean Race and Damian Foxall with The Ocean Race trophy | Credit: Damian Foxall

Featured in Mālama’s crew at various stages were Cork sailor James O’Mahony and Kerry offshore veteran Damian Foxall, the latter of whom declared to Afloat.ie: “Munster just won The Ocean Race!”

In another achievements of note, 11th Hour Racing Team is the first US-flagged team to win The Ocean Race — and sailor Francesca Clapcich arrived in Genoa on Thursday afternoon as the first Italian sailor to win the race.

“It feels pretty surreal still - it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” Clapcich said. “It’s been a lifetime dream to firstly be part of the race, and now to win the race, and so it feels very special. The first time for an American team and the first time an Italian sailor has won the race — it means a lot to me. I’m Italian, and I live in the US — it’s both of my worlds colliding together.”

11th Hour Racing Team strategist Marcel van Triest gets a congratulatory handshake from Holcim-PRB skipper Benjamin Schwartz | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

Team navigator Simon Fisher added: “I’ve done this race six times now, and it has consumed almost 20 years of my life. It’s nice at this stage of my career that I can be involved with a campaign that’s trying to do something more than ‘just’ be competitive and has a positive impact on the sport, the wider community, environment, people, and planet. That’s really important to me.

“Winning is important, and it is what we all strive for, but personally for me, I hold a lot of value in winning the right way and doing things the right way. And so, to win The Ocean Race with 11th Hour Racing, a team like this, with such a great group of people and a positive mission, is really incredible.”

A milestone in the journey towards a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights is being reached this week in Genoa, Italy as two years of efforts to drive support for a declaration, and expert input on what it should include, enter the final leg.

On Tuesday (27 June), The Ocean Race Summit Genova — the penultimate event in a series of high-level discussions — examined how recognising the inherent rights of the ocean could be vital to its protection.

The summit will be followed on Thursday (29 June) by the final stage of the Genova Process, where draft principles on ocean rights will be completed, before being shared with members of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Started in March 2022, the Genova Process is an initiative that has gathered together at dedicated ‘Innovation Workshops’ over 150 experts, policymakers, business leaders, lawyers, indigenous peoples, scientists, NGOs and other stakeholders to develop principles on ocean rights that could form the basis of a potential Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights.

Richard Brisius, race chairman of The Ocean Race speaking at The Ocean Race Summit Genova on Tuesday 27 June | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

Opening Tuesday’s event, The Ocean Race chairman Richard Brisius drew parallels between the extreme and difficult conditions experienced during the round-the-world race and the fight to protect the ocean.

“Just as Genova marks the end of a gruelling and exhilarating race for our sailing teams, it also marks the final stage of another significant feat of teamwork: the Genova Process,” he said. “Armed with the expertise and support gathered across four continents, we will have a strong proposition for members of the UN General Assembly that could help to secure a healthy ocean in our future.

“Our ambition for the ocean’s rights to be recognised don’t end there, but this is a significant moment in our race to protect our blue planet.”

The Ocean Race and the government of Cabo Verde — with support of US-based Earth Law Center — are leading discussions with governments to increase formal support at the UN and national levels.

Additionally, local governments have also formally supported the idea, including stopover city Itajaí and the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil; the stopover city of Newport, Rhode Island as well as the House of Representatives of Rhode Island; the first-ever Danish stopover city of Aarhus; Kiel in Germany; and The Hague.

Mayor of Genoa, Marco Bucci (left) signed the city’s public support for ocean rights at The Ocean Race Summit Genova alongside Richard Brisius | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

Mayor of Genoa, Marco Bucci also signed a declaration of support on behalf of the city. “Today we are bringing Genova to the world: not only through an international sport competition, but also through a challenging fight to protect our oceans,” he said.

“The scientific research and the cultural heritage that the sea provides us are the foundations of the Genova Process and we are proud that it is named after our city. This is an essential step towards a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights, an essential way to set the rules agreed among the countries to help protect our ocean and help a thriving ocean. Genova is a port city but above all, it is a city of the sea, giving us even more reasons to fight to preserve it.”

Genoa, Italy’s top maritime city and the Mediterranean’s largest commercial port, is the host city for the Grand Finale of the 2022–23 edition of The Ocean Race — the first time that the around-the-world race has culminated in the Mediterranean.

Antonio di Natale, marine biologist, special advisor on ocean rights to the secretary-general of the Genova Aquarium Foundation and a key player in the Genova Process said: “We would like the ocean to have a voice, supported by the comprehensive framework that the main life support system of the planet deserves.”

Kestutis Sadauskas, deputy director-general, DG MARE, European Commission speaking at the event | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

Also highly supportive of ocean rights was Kestutis Sadauskas, deputy director-general of DG MARE in the European Commission, who acknowledged that the European Union shares the race’s ambition to protect and restore the ocean by 2030: “We are all in the race against time. If we do it together, if we do it with a sense of urgency and responsibility, we will definitely succeed.”

Earlier in the day, Lily Xu Lijia, Olympic sailing gold medallist at London 2012 in the Laser Radial class as well as broadcaster and presenter for The Ocean Race China Show said: “All nations should be part of the global conversation to protect ocean rights. China is a key player, given its reliance on the ocean and the fact that a Chinese-sponsored team, Dongfeng Racing won the last edition of the race. The nation has already shown commitments to reduce marine plastic pollution with the single use plastic ban. There is still scope for enhancing public awareness.”

Sailor Cecilia Zorzi joins The Ocean Race Summit Genova in a live connection from the Austrian Ocean Racing Team boat, with Nature’s Baton in hand | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

Cecilia Zorzi participated live on the Austrian Ocean Racing Team powered by Team Genova boat before arriving into the city on Tuesday afternoon and said: “As sailors we must protect the ocean. We really need to be aware, to care, to do all we can to preserve it, to defend it, to tell the stories to the people on land. We are the people who must give the ocean a voice.”

The Ocean Race Summits are a key part of The Ocean Race’s multi-award winning ‘Racing with Purpose’ sustainability programme developed in collaboration with 11th Hour Racing, a premier partner of The Ocean Race.

Alongside the high-level support for a Universal Declaration of Ocean Rights, the public are being asked to show their support for giving the ocean a voice by signing the One Blue Voice petition, which has gathered almost 30,000 signatures. The petition will be presented to global leaders in New York, alongside the principles on ocean rights, to show that citizens around the world demand accelerated ocean action.

Team Malizia found a way to grab a last-minute win in Leg 7 of The Ocean Race 2022-23, saving the best for last.

On the waters off the finish port of Genoa, skipper Boris Herrmann and his crew boldly grabbed the leg lead in extremely light and variable conditions at 0600 UTC on Tuesday morning (27 June), by virtue of heading close to shore and picking up a gentle breeze by the land.

This allowed them to ease past Team Holcim-PRB — who had led for the majority of the leg from The Hague to Genoa — as well as Biotherm, and secure their second leg win in The Ocean Race.

“I’m very happy and very proud of this team. It’s been a privilege to work with all of them,” said Herrmann, reflecting on the end of his round-the-world race. “We have the most sailors who completed the full race and Rosie [Rosalin Kuiper] is the only female to do the whole lap of the planet.”

“It’s incredible to finish the leg to Genoa in first place,” said Kuiper. “I still can’t believe it. We have done a lap around the world, pushing ourselves day in and day out and to finish like this is so special… It’s been a crazy adventure and we had such a good time. We will miss each other and miss being out at sea together.”

Following the finish of Malizia, the wind nearly died completely, leaving Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm and Benjamin Schwartz and his Holcim-PRB crew to play a very downspeed chess match to get to the finish line.

At the end, it was Biotherm who were able to glide across in second place on Leg 7, leaving Team Holcim-PRB to claim third place in the IMOCA fleet — an unfortunate result after leading for so much of the leg.

“It was a really close race even if only with three boats,” said Meilhat once his team reached the dock. “Congratulations to Malizia — they took a risk during the night and it worked. We knew from the start that it would all come down to the last moments in front of Genova and this is how it happened.”

On the other hand, third place was a disappointment for Team Holcim-PRB. “It could have been better as unfortunately we are finishing third today,” Schwartz said on final approach to the line. “Biotherm and Malizia, we couldn’t cover them at one point and they managed to escape and here we are after leading the race for the last 12 days and finishing in the last position of the group, so it’s a bit disappointing. But we are happy to be here in Genova and it was a great leg, we really enjoyed it, so we have to remember this too.”

The two other IMOCA teams in the fleet, 11th Hour Racing Team and GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, were forced to retire from racing shortly after the start, following a collision.

And this means the overall leaderboard for the IMOCA fleet in The Ocean Race remains provisional, awaiting the Request for Redress that has been filed by 11th Hour Racing Team after being hit just after the start by GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, who acknowledged responsibility for the incident.

The World Sailing International Jury will hear the eedress request on Thursday (29 June). With today’s results, Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team is just one point behind Team Holcim-PRB, so any award of redress of one point or more will give the team overall victory in The Ocean Race.

In the VO65 fleet, the first boat to finish in Genoa on Tuesday — just minutes ahead of Malizia — was Team JAJO, with skipper Jelmer van Beek sliding home just over 24 hours after WindWhisper Racing Team won the VO65 Sprint Cup.

“We always said this leg was going to come down to the very end, the last night, and I’m so proud of the team for pulling it off because every day was a battle,” Van Beek said. “In the end we were on the right side of it. We’re really happy!”

The second-place finish into Genoa ensures Team JAJO has locked up second place in the VO65 Sprint leaderboard.

Viva México then had their best result of the VO65 Sprint, a third-place podium finish that was a long time coming, with the dying breeze prolonging their day.

“It’s been an amazing leg for Viva México,” said skipper Erik Brockmann. “We are happy with a podium finish and to be in Genova is an amazing feeling.”

Behind them, the light conditions also enveloped Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova and Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team — both boats were declared as having reached the finish line by the race management team some two hours later, at 1530 and 1545 UTC respectively.

Rankings at 1700 UTC, 27 June

IMOCA:

1. Team Malizia, finished at 11:17:51 UTC
2. Biotherm, finished at 12:54:23 UTC
3. Team Holcim-PRB, finished at 13:31:49 UTC

VO65
:

1. WindWhisper Racing, finished on 26 June at 10:27:52 UTC
2. Team JAJO, finished at 10:50:43 UTC
3. Viva México, finished at 13:35:39 UTC
4. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, finished at 15:30:00 UTC
5. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, finished at 15:45:00 UTC

Follow both fleets’ progress via the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.