Crew rotation is proving to be a big feature in this edition of The Ocean Race. For Leg 4, some big crew changes are afoot, for two of the teams in particular.

As previously reported on Afloat.ie, Ireland’s round-the-world veteran Damian Foxall is joining the crew of 11th Hour Racing Team for the leg from Itajaí in Brazil to its home base of Newport in Rhode Island, USA.

Others have made more sweeping changes. Current race leader Team Holcim-PRB sees skipper Kevin Escoffier about to set sail with a completely different crew line-up than for Leg 3. Stepping on board the IMOCA for the first time are Annemieke Bes (NED) and Benjamin Schwartz (FRA), while Fabien Delahaye (FRA) moves from shore duties to racing on the boat for the first time. Georgia Schofield (NZL) steps back on board as the On Board Reporter (OBR).

“I chose this crew for several reasons,” Escoffier said. “First, I wanted to have an international crew, with different cultures. Secondly, I selected Fabien’s profile because he already knows the boat as he sailed her at the end of 2022 from Pointe-à-Pitre on the way back from the Route du Rhum - Destination Guadeloupe.

“I then looked for a versatile crew member, and Annemieke’s profile matched exactly what I was expecting. She has already done a Volvo Ocean Race with a crew, she has been an Olympian [Olympic silver medal, 2008] and is very strong physically. To complete the team, the profile of Benjamin Schwartz was ideal, as he has a lot of skills, has also done multihulls, and is very experienced in terms of electronics and pilot.

“As the crew is new, to get the sailors into the swing of things, I have already sent them documents before their arrival on the specifics of the boat. I have sent them various sheets that summarise our knowledge of the boat and the trim book that we fill in as we sail. They will also take part in the boat’s performance debrief next week. This is already allowing us to make progress ahead of the sailing next week.”

There are also big changes on Biotherm, with skipper Paul Meilhat (FRA) bringing in three new crew members. For Leg 4 he’ll be joined by British sailor Alan Roberts (GBR), a nine-time participant on the French Figaro singlehanded circuit; Portuguese sailor Mariana Lobato (POR), Olympian and 2013 Match Racing World Champion; and French sailor Marie Riou,(FRA), a four-time Nacra 17 World Champion, Olympian and winner of the Volvo Ocean Race 2018 with Dongfeng Racing Team. Anne Beaugé (FRA) will be back aboard as OBR. This means the Biotherm boat will be sailing with two women and two men as race crew, and three women on board in total including the OBR.

British sailor Will Harris will be Team Malizia’s skipper for Leg 4 of The Ocean Race, taking over the role for the second time in the round-the-world race. New addition to the international team is French offshore sailor Christopher Pratt (FRA). He will replace Boris Herrmann who, as planned, is sitting out the race from Itajaí to Newport. Pratt has a wealth of IMOCA experience across various projects on the French racing circuit.

“I am really happy to join Team Malizia on the next leg of The Ocean Race,” said the 42-year-old Frenchman. “Taking part in this race is a childhood dream come true. I have been following the race very closely from the start and even more during the last leg. I am impressed by the commitment and the resilience of the crew winning the longest leg of the race. I am really looking forward to joining the team in Itajaí and I will do my best to bring my experience and enthusiasm to the crew.”

GUYOT environnement – Team Europe are sticking with the same crew that set out on Leg 3. That wasn’t originally in the plan, but after the retirement of the boat from Leg 3, skipper Benjamin Dutreux and the team have decided that it would be best to retain the continuity of crew from the previous leg. Most of the crew took the opportunity to rest and recuperate back at home, so they have had a good few weeks to recharge and get ready for a strong performance up the Atlantic.

“We can’t wait to get racing,” Dutreux said. “This is an interesting leg for most of us as we don’t normally sail up the west side of the Atlantic, so there will be a lot to learn and experience for us.”

The crew lists for the In-Port Race on Friday 21 April and for the Leg 4 start on Sunday 23 April are now available.

Team Malizia and Biotherm have announced crew changes ahead of Leg 4 of The Ocean Race 2022-23.

British sailor Will Harris will be Team Malizia’s skipper for the fourth stage of the round-the-world race, taking over the role for the second time, as Boris Herrmann steps off for the leg from Itajaí to Newport, Rhode Island.

And a new face joins the team as French offshore sailor Christopher Pratt will be on board for Leg 4.

This is a scheduled change for the team and Pratt comes with a wealth of experience, having co-skippered the IMOCA Charal with Jérémie Beyou for four years and taken podium finishes in the 2019 and 2021 editions of the Transat Jacques Vabre, along with campaigns on other well-known French teams like Maître Coq and Banque Populaire.

“I am really happy to join Team Malizia on the next leg of The Ocean Race. Taking part in this race is a childhood dream come true,” Pratt said.

“I have been following the race very closely from the start and even more during the last leg. I am impressed by the commitment and the resilience of the crew winning the longest leg of the race. I am really looking forward to joining the team in Itajaí and I will do my best to bring my experience and enthusiasm to the crew.”

In addition to Will Harris and Christopher Pratt, Nicolas Lunven is also confirmed for the next leg and Rosalin Kuiper — currently back home in the Netherlands and recovering well from her recent concussion — is planning to return a week before the start to join the crew. Antoine Auriol will also be back as onboard reporter.

Specialists are grinding back the damaged material of Biotherm’s damaged foil | Credit: Alexander Champy-McLean/The Ocean Race

Biotherm skipper Paul Meilhat has also announced his crew line-up for Leg 4.

The British sailor Alan Roberts, a specialist in the Figaro class, will join Meilhat along with Marie Riou, a four-time world champion and a winner of The Ocean Race in 2017-18 with Dongfeng Race Team. Portuguese Olympian and world champion, Mariana Lobato will also be on board.

Biotherm will also become the first team in The Ocean Race to start a leg with an equal split of men and women racing the boat. With Anne Beaugé returning as on-board reporter, three women will be on board for the leg to Newport.

Meanwhile, Biotherm’s team of technicians is in a race against the clock to repair their damaged foil ahead of Leg 4.

The team have moved the foil project to a composite materials facility near Itajaí where specialists are grinding back the damaged material to find the ‘good’ part, which will be built up layer by layer with new carbon fibre.

Once completed, the repaired area should be as good as new. But it is time-consuming work and the new lamination needs to happen in stages. The race is on!

As skipper Charlie Enright put it, this wasn’t the finish they wanted, but it was a massive achievement all the same.

He was referring to a third-place result in Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23 for 11th Hour Racing Team, who battled increasing amounts of damage to their boat from the first moments after the start in Cape Town all the way through the finish line in Itajaí.

At one point as the team approached the southern latitudes ahead of the scoring gate with damage to both rudders (the teams carry one spare), it wasn’t clear they would be able to continue at all, or for how long.

But Enright and his crew kept bouncing back, finding repair solutions and eventually gliding into Itajaí in the pre-dawn glow on Wednesday morning (5 April). After a tough leg, the crew appeared extremely happy to reach shore.

“There’s definitely a feeling of positivity and accomplishment, more than I could have imagined,” said Charlie Enright. “That leg was gruelling. It was the ultimate test.

“It didn’t go the way that we’d wanted it to go. But I think every single team would have said that. It was extremely challenging. It tested the people and tested the boat.

“The resilience that our group showed was absolutely outstanding. You know, sometimes you need to be your strongest at your lowest moments and I’m just really proud of our team.”

Less than three hours later, with the morning sun beating down, it was Biotherm’s turn to ghost across the finish line to claim fourth place.

Biotherm crosses the line fourth in Itajaí after 37 days, 22 hours, 41 minutes and 19 seconds of racing | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

Like their counterparts on 11th Hour Racing Team, it was clear from the smiles on board that the team felt proud in its accomplishment of taking on the longest Leg in the history of The Ocean Race and rising to meet each challenge.

“Mostly I’m very, very happy,” said skipper Paul Meilhat. “We managed to get a very new boat through the south and we had to deal with a lot of issues to get here. Of course, I’m also a competitor and so I can’t say I’m very happy with fourth place. But I know what we went through to get here and overall it’s very positive.”

Both boats suffered significant damage during the race from Cape Town, whether the mainsail and rudders on 11th Hour Racing Team or the port foil and casing and hull leaking on Biotherm.

And so the race to be ready for Leg 4 is now under way. Before each IMOCA boat had its lines secure on the dock, shore crew and technicians were already climbing over lifelines to get a look at what lies ahead.

The boats are to be launched ahead of the Pro-Am races in Itajaí in two weeks. It’s a tall order.

On the overall points table, Team Malizia takes over second place from 11th Hour Racing Team by just one point. But more than half of the race points are still available for collection on the remaining legs as the teams race towards the Grand Finale in Genoa this June.

Leg Three Finishes at 1145 UTC, 5 April

1. Team Malizia, finished on 02/04/2023 at 05:20:28 UTC
2. Team Holcim-PRB, finished on 02/04/2023 at 10:56:20 UTC
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, finished on 05/04/2023 at 08:20:23 UTC
4. Biotherm, finished on 05/04/2023 at 10:51:19 UTC

Leg 3 Results

1. Team Malizia — 5 points
2. Team Holcim-PRB — 4 points
3. 11th Hour Racing Team — 3 points
4. Biotherm — 2 points
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe — did not finish — 0 points

Race Leaderboard (after Leg 3)

1. Team Holcim-PRB — 19 points
2. Team Malizia — 14 points
3. 11th Hour Racing Team — 13 points
4. Biotherm — 10 points
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe — 2 points

The podium battle promises to push the two teams still racing up the coast to the very end, with Biotherm and 11th Hour Racing Team racing within as close as seven miles of each other on The Ocean Race Leg 3 leaderboard as of Tuesday evening (4 April).

It’s slow but steady progress to the north with Biotherm set up to the west of 11th Hour Racing Team, where skipper Paul Meilhat’s team continues to race from a compromised position.

In addition to damage to their foil, the IMOCA boat is still leaking — taking on water slowly — and now the team reports the hydraulic system that moves the keel isn’t working, so that becomes a manual procedure. In addition, the team has been without wind instruments for over a week.

It’s been a long list of challenges to overcome and a remarkable display of fighting spirit to remain in the hunt for the podium, something the Biotherm skipper was quick to acknowledge.

“The wind is quite unstable,” Meilhat reports. “[On Monday 3 April] we weren’t on the damaged foil so that was good. But we have been sailing for the last 10 days without the wind sensor and it’s been really hard, trying to steer the boat during the night when you can’t see the sails.

“But we’ve been going fast compared to the forecast and we’ve come back on 11th Hour Racing Team so that’s good news. Maybe we can fight for third place. We have hope and hope is an engine for the crew!

“The water continues to come in to the boat. But not a lot — it’s something like 50-100 litres per hour, so it’s okay. Monday we had an opportunity to try and fix it a bit more so we are confident.

“It’s really hard to say the ETA as the wind is so different from the prediction… We hope to arrive on Wednesday [5 April] but I don’t know when.”

Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team continues the push north to Itajaí with one eye on Biotherm and another on the work list that needs to be completed upon arrival.

“I’m just doing a bit of a check around the boat,” said Jack Bouttell from on board. :As we sail on the leg we make repairs on board to keep the boat performing well but we also have a jobs list for when the boat gets on land…

“This was meant to be the longest stopover period for work but we’re still at sea so there are a few days less than originally planned, so we’re just trying to get a jump on what needs doing…”

“We’re locked in a battle with Biotherm here and we’re basically bow-even,” said Charlie Enright in a boat feed from Monday. “But there’s another race going on as well. The race for our boatyard period. We have a 35-day jobs list that’s accumulated over the course of this leg and we have to be prepared when we hit the dock to let the tech team know what they have in store…”

The ETA for arrival is fairly uncertain as neither team appears to be sailing at maximum potential, making accurate weather routing from on shore challenging. But the latest predictions are for a finish near midday local time in Itajaí on Wednesday. This could shift in either direction by several hours. And still to be determined is the order of arrival.

Leg Three Rankings at 9800 UTC, 4 April

1. Team Malizia, finished on 02/04/2023 at 05:20:28 UTC
2. Team Holcim-PRB, finished on 02/04/2023 at 10:56:20 UTC
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to finish, 141.4 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 13.4 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

The organisers of The Ocean Race and the Valencian regional government presented the economic impact generated over the race start period in Alicante to be estimated at €71.6 million in GDP, of which €58.5 million was in the Valencian region.

This figure represents the equivalent of over 1,200 full-time jobs annually in Spain, the vast majority in the Valencian region, according to the independent study carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

The start of the race attracted over 300,000 visitors from the opening of the Ocean Live Park on 7 January until the departure of the round-the-world race on 15 January. The Ocean Live Park featured a wide variety of family-friendly activities.

One of the milestones of this edition was to reach a record in daily visitors with 81,118 and 70,662 visitors on 14 and 15 January, respectively — the most in the five editions the start has been hosted in Alicante.

Jordi Esteve, responsible for the PricewaterhouseCoopers study, said: “The celebration of The Ocean Race is a benchmark and one of the main economic engines and job creators for Alicante, the Valencian Region, and Spain, as shown by the numbers.”

The report indicates that the national expenditure during the period covered in the report amounted to almost €49 million, of which the vast majority was spent in the Valencian region. The most favoured sectors were retail and hospitality, which enjoyed 45% of the indirect and induced impact.

IMOCAs dock out before the start of The Ocean Race Leg 1 on 15 January | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

In addition to wealth and employment, The Ocean Race has also had a very significant impact on tax revenue — €33 million in VAT, income tax, social security and corporate tax.

Richard Brisius, race chairman of The Ocean Race said: “The expenditure and investment made, both by spectators, organisers, and all of the other stakeholders involved in the regatta, such as sponsors and teams, are a very relevant stimulus for the economy and the business fabric of the Valencian region.

“We are also proud to have welcomed 2,200 school children to educational sessions on ocean protection and 18,000 visitors to the One Blue Voice pavilion — an inspirational experience developed in collaboration with the founding partner of our Racing with Purpose sustainability programme, 11th Hour Racing, to engage and educate about the race to protect our ocean.”

Antonio Rodes, CEO of the Society for Digital Transformation Projects (SPTD) said: “For us it was very important to introduce values reflecting the two major vectors on which economic growth and development in the world pivot at the moment, ie digitalisation and decarbonisation, which have both been present in this edition.

“The positive impact has been not only on GDP and employment, but also on the hotel sector during the low period after Christmas, and the boost it has given to the hospitality and retail sectors in the city and province of Alicante.”

Alicante has been the starting port of The Ocean Race for five editions and will return as the start port for the next edition scheduled for 2026-27. Since 2010, the city has also been home to the headquarters of The Ocean Race — and since 2012 Alicante has been home to The Ocean Race Museum, which in 2022 saw its visitor figures return to pre-pandemic levels.

With The Ocean Race Leg 3 winner Team Malizia and second-place finisher Team Holcim-PRB safe in Itajaí, the battle on the water for third place has closed up dramatically over the past 24 hours.

Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm crew has realised an incredible gain on 11th Hour Racing Team, making up more than 100 miles on the leaderboard as of 1600 UTC on Monday (3 April).

The IMOCA pair are separated east/west by about 80 miles, but in terms of distance to finish are now virtually tied.

Both crews are showing incredible resilience in the face of adversity as each team has suffered more than its share of damage in the five weeks of racing to date. A race for third place isn’t the race they were dreaming about when this leg started in Cape Town.

Meanwhile, the weather isn’t ideal for making fast progress to the finish — light to moderate winds, upwind — but should provide for some good racing.

“We have had highs and lows, seen joy, frustration, courage and heartache. We’ve been fast. We’ve been broken. Above all, thus far, we’ve been safe,” said 11th Hour Racing Team skipper Charlie Enright on Sunday afternoon.

“The magnitude of what we’ve done hasn’t yet set in, nor should it have, it’s never over till it’s over! We have 500 miles or so to go, and two or three potential points on the table.

“Everyone and every boat has been pushed to the limit and beyond. We need to get to Itajaí as fast as possible, for the points, for the physical and mental rest and, most importantly, to be preparing Mālama for the next leg, into our hometown of Newport, Rhode Island.”

That last point can’t be overstated. All of the teams have lengthy work lists for their boats, and 11th Hour Racing Team and Biotherm are no exception. Their technical teams will be looking on with envy on Monday as the Team Malizia and Holcim PRB boats are now out of the water and work begins in the technical zone at the Ocean LIve Park.

The sooner Mālama and Biotherm arrive, the sooner the ‘race to repair’ can begin.

Leg Three Rankings at 1600 UTC, 3 April

1. Team Malizia, finished on 02/04/2023 at 05:20:28 UTC
2. Team Holcim-PRB, finished on 02/04/2023 at 10:56:20 UTC
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to finish, 363.5 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 3.5 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

This morning, Sunday 2 April at 05:20:28 UTC (02:20:28 local time) in Brazil, Team Malizia glided across the finish line off Ocean Live Park in Itajaí to win Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23, collecting five points in the process.

The win comes on the 35th day of racing and after 14,714 nautical miles of intense, close-quarters racing.

Early in the leg, it didn’t appear likely that we would see Team Malizia at the front of the IMOCA fleet for the finish.

Within days of the start in Cape Town in late February the team discovered serious damage to the top of their mast and needed to devote nearly two full days to effecting difficult repairs at sea, with an uncertain result.

Meanwhile, Team Holcim-PRB had escaped from the rest of the fleet and was a full weather system and nearly 600 miles ahead.

On board Malizia, the makeshift reinforcement of the top of the spar was successful and the chase was on.

By the time the teams reached the Leg 3 scoring gate, Malizia had closed to less than 200 miles from Holcim-PRB, moving up into second place and collecting four points.

As the fleet raced south of New Zealand and into the southern depths of the Pacific Ocean, the game closed up significantly within 10 miles and exchanging the lead one to the other as they raced along the ice exclusion zone.

During one of the worst periods of the leg, with the boat lurching in a violent sea state, Rosalin Kuiper was tossed from her bunk and suffered a head injury. With a focus on getting Rosie stabilised and recovering, the crew was taxed even more, down to a three-person watch rotation for the rest of the leg.

A day out from Cape Horn and Team Malizia had a narrow advantage of fewer than 30 miles, leading the fleet around the iconic passage and winning the Roaring Forties trophy in the process.

The final push north was hard-fought. Team Holcim-PRB and Team Malizia were racing within in sight of each other — exchanging body blows all the way up the South American coast.

The penultimate night — Friday night — was a battle through yet another fierce storm, with gusts of 50 knots screaming off the coast and whipping up the sea.

Boris Herrmann and his crew on Team Malizia handled the conditions with aplomb, and emerged into the daybreak with a 60-mile lead after Holcim-PRB did a crash gybe overnight and suffered damage. This was the largest lead any team had enjoyed since New Zealand over 10 days ago.

On the last day of the leg and into the final night at sea, Team Malizia sailed fast and confident towards the finishing line, extending its lead to more than 80 miles and taking an historic win.

Leg Three Rankings at 1050 UTC, 2 April

1. Team Malizia, finished on 02/04/2023 at 05:20:28 UTC
2. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to finish, 0.9 miles
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 533.1 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 669.2 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

It was the last thing they needed: a quick, deepening low-pressure system bringing winds in excess of 40 knots, a sickening sea state and another massive challenge for IMOCA sailors operating on the 34th day of racing in Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23.

But that was the state of play overnight on Friday night. It was no April Fool’s joke.

It meant an exhausting, pressure-filled night, trying to compete for points while making sure the boat and crew could make it to the finish line.

“This is the final push — push, push, push!” said Malizia’s skipper Boris Herrmann. “I’m trying to keep the boat upright and balanced under the sails… I have to confess, I’m a bit tense. You don’t want to make a mistake now, here.”

With the competition so close, teams are being circumspect about how much damage they have suffered. It’s a competitive advantage to hide your vulnerabilities from the competition, but nobody has raced 15,000 hard miles unscathed.

There is no doubt that every boat is operating at less than 100 per cent. And every crew member is being asked to give more, well past their comfort level.

For example, Team Holcim-PRB dropped miles to Team Malizia on Friday evening (31 March). After the boats had raced in lockstep since Cape Horn, it was unusual to see Malizia quickly stretch out to 30-plus miles.

It’s not hard to imagine some level of damage on board as a contributing factor — and it could already be the leg-winning difference for Boris Herrmann’s team.

Both teams pushed close to the shore to escape the worst of the weather, but still experienced gale-force winds and a punishing sea state.

Further back, in the fight for third place, we know Biotherm hit an object Friday evening and damaged their port foil. The fact that 11th Hour Racing Team hasn’t added to its lead in a meaningful way would indicate Charlie Enright’s squad is probably operating at a level less than 100 per cent as well.

It would be impossible to overstate how challenging this last run up the coast has been. Since Cape Horn the teams have been in a constant battle. Normally the turn to the north provides a respite from the Southern Ocean and a return to a week of tactical racing to the finish.

This year, it has been a continuous series of new challenges to be met by crews and boats who have been pushed long past their operational limits. The finish line off the Ocean Live Park in Itajai can’t come soon enough.

The ETA for the winning boat is between 0200 and 0800 local time Sunday morning in Itajaí — 0600 to noon UTC on Sunday 2 April. Regardless of final arrival time, a very warm welcome is awaiting in Itajaí.

Live coverage of the finish will be available via a player in The Ocean Race blog on Eurosport.com.

Leg Three Rankings at 1620 UTC, 1 April

1. Team Malizia, distance to finish, 194.1 miles
2. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to lead, 66.8 miles
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 474.68 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 579.6 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

Tension, exhaustion and extreme emotional swings through elation and despair. That’s likely to be the mood on board Team Holcim-PRB and Team Malizia all the way to the Leg 3 finish now on Friday 31 March.

Despite racing hard for over 33 days and over 14,000 miles sailed over ground, neither Boris Herrmann’s Malizia nor Kevin Escoffier’s Holcim-PRB crew have managed to find a winning advantage in this stage of The Ocean Race 2022-23.

To the contrary, they are often sailing within plain sight of each other, and have been exchanging the lead back and forth over the past 48 hours.

“We can see them on the computer, but we can also just see them out the window,” said a very tired Sam Goodchild, speaking about a Malizia team that is staying close like a shadow.

It’s no better on Team Malizia where Boris Herrmann’s team was hoping to take advantage of unexpectedly strong conditions after Cape Horn to gain some separation in conditions that tend to favour the German boat. It hasn’t happened and they are locked in a duel that appears destined to go all the way to the finish line.

“Holcim-PRB is just here,” Herrmann says at one point, pointing slightly behind. “I’m happy to see them there, and not there,” he adds, moving his arm slightly forward.

“We can see a 10-minute average speed on the computer and see if we are faster — green — or slower — red. For the moment we are faster.”

This is close-quarters, short-handed racing of the kind rarely seen on these boats. It will take every ounce of fighting spirit on board these boats to muster the 24/7 energy required to make gains. It is now a question of who can hold on the longest between now and the finishing line.

Further back, things are slightly better for 11th Hour Racing Team who have eked out a 60-mile advantage over Biotherm. Still absurdly close after nearly 14,000 miles of racing, but a measure of breathing room nonetheless.

The ETA is starting to take shape: for the leading IMOCA pair, the most likely scenario is near sunrise in Itajaí on Sunday 2 April (near noon UTC). The second pair is approximately one day behind, and looking at a Monday finish.

GUYOT environnement - Team Europe arrives in Itajaí on Thursday 10 March two weeks after a repair on the hull in Cape Town | Credit: Alexander Champy-McLean/The Ocean Race

Meanwhile, GUYOT environnement – Team Europe’s IMOCA arrived in the Brazilian city of Itajaí after a two-week, 3,500-nautical mile delivery trip across the South Atlantic Ocean from Cape Town in South Africa.

The European team — led by Benjamin Dutreux (FRA) and Robert Stanjek (GER) — was forced out of Leg 3 three days in after discovering delamination to the bottom of the hull of the 2015-built yacht.

After arriving back in Cape Town four days later, the team made a full assessment of the damage before embarking on a painstaking repair operation to put the boat back in full racing trim.

Despite the setback of missing Leg 3, the team is in good spirits and committed to rejoining the race for the fourth leg from Itajaí to Newport, Rhode Island which starts on 23 April.

Leg Three Rankings at 1900 UTC, 30 March

1. Team Malizia, distance to finish, 545.4 miles
2. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to lead, 5.9 miles
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 373.6 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 434.6 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.

As the calendar ticks over to the 33rd day of competition on Leg 3 of The Ocean Race 2022-23, Team Malizia and Team Holcim-PRB are as close as ever.

On the 1700 UTC tracker update on Thursday 30 March, the IMOCA pair were separated by a fraction of a nautical mile on the leaderboard.

And it’s a tense time, with very changeable conditions.

“We’ve had crazy conditions all night,” said Will Harris from Team Malizia. “Everything from zero to 52 knots of wind from every direction. It’s been pretty tough… But we’re going good. Strong now.”

“We’ve seen quite a quick increase in breeze,” said Abby Ehler on Team Holcim-PRB. “More that we were expecting, between 48 and 50 knots of wind… The seaway is not too bad so we’re not slamming too bad, but we’re going to play it safe.”

“We haven’t been pushing too, too much,” agreed skipper Kevin Escoffier. “We had gusts of 50-55 knots, pretty heavy night. Tonight it was quite windy.”

But soon after there was the sound of sails flapping back and forth with very little wind; tough conditions for the teams.

Just over 350 miles behind, 11th Hour Racing Team has started to put some distance between itself and Biotherm, with both now nearly a full day behind the leading pair.

“We’re definitely going north as fast as we can right now,” said 11th Hour Racing Team sailor Simon Fisher. “The water temperature is creeping up slowly, so I think two more days of thermal clothing but we’re making good progress!”

Also making good progress is GUYOT environnement - Team Europe on their delivery from South Africa to Itajaí, Brazil where the team will rejoin the race for Leg 4. The GUYOT team was expected to arrive in Itajaí late in the afternoon local time today.

As the fleet heads north with an ETA on Sunday 2 April, The Ocean Live Park in Itajaí opened to the public on Wednesday evening (29 March).

Leg Three Rankings at 1700 UTC, 30 March

1. Team Malizia, distance to finish, 896.7 miles
2. Team Holcim-PRB, distance to lead, 0.2 miles
3. 11th Hour Racing Team, distance to lead, 362.8 miles
4. Biotherm, distance to lead, 499.5 miles

Find the latest fleet positions on the race tracker at theoceanrace.com.