The five VO65s and three IMOCA boats racing to The Ocean Race Grand Finale in Genoa are battling light and challenging conditions as they work to exit the English Channel and begin the next phase of the race, in more open waters.

At 1000 UTC on Saturday morning (17 June), the VO65 fleet was tight and compressed together, approximately 50 miles west of the leading IMOCA, Team Holcim-PRB.

Team JAJO was nominally in the lead, over Mirpuri-Trifork Racing Team and WindWhisper, but in reality — with boat speeds below four knots — it was all about who would get the next puff wind, the next eddy of favourable current. That would prove to be WindWhisper, which as of Saturday evening is more than 30 miles ahead of the rest.

“It’s really light, it’s the first big transition of the race,” said Max Deckers on Team JAJO. “We’re expecting wind from the west at some point, but until then it’s just about using anything we get — looking for wind. That’s the main thing.”

The IMOCA teams are facing the same situation. They’ve set up slightly further east and south, Benjamin Schwartz and his crew on Team Holcim-PRB extending away from Biotherm (17 miles) and Team Malizia (36 miles).

“We have to find a way through these light winds in the English Channel to the Bay of Biscay,” said Malizia’s Will Harris.

But it’s tough, slow sailing. “We are waiting for some good wind,” was the lament from Marie Riou on board Biotherm.

And the forecast doesn’t offer much respite. Light to (at best) moderate south-southwesterlies are ahead, but this would also mean upwind sailing through the Bay of Biscay, which won’t be fast in terms of making miles toward the goal.

Perhaps it is good practice for the Mediterranean days ahead.

Rankings at 1800 UTC, 17 June

IMOCA:

1. Team Holcim-PRB, 1,805.1 miles to finish
2. Biotherm, 17.1 miles to leader

3. Team Malizia, 36.1 miles to finish

VO65
:

1. WindWhisper Racing, 1,787.5 miles to finish
2. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, 36.6 miles to leader
3. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 339.2 miles to leader
4. Team JAJO, 40.3 miles to leader
5. Viva México, 46.9 miles to leader

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

All five VO65s left The Hague in full racing trim on Thursday afternoon (15 June), heading into Stage 3 of the VO65 Sprint Cup. Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for the IMOCA fleet, where a dramatic collision has left just three boats still on the course and racing towards Genoa.

One boat has retired from the leg after assuming responsibility for the accident, while the race-leading 11th Hour Racing Team is dockside in The Hague after working through the night to determine the extent of the damage, begin repairs and assess options for a return.

The incident itself was the type of accident that regrettably happens on rare occasions in racing. But it is a shock to see it here, in conditions of daylight and good visibility and on an uncrowded race course.

After 11th Hour Racing Team tacked on the layline for the next turning mark and established itself as the stand on ‘right of way’ boat, the crew on GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, required to give way in this situation, apparently didn’t see the other boat until it was too late. The resulting collision caused enough damage to send both boats back to port.

“I was helming and I just saw their boat appear suddenly and it was too late,” lamented Ben Dutreux, the skipper of the GUYOT boat. “The contact was unavoidable [at that point]. I take full responsibility. It is our fault.”

In acknowledging fault, GUYOT environnement - Team Europe has retired from Leg 7 of the race, a disappointing turn of events for a team that had proved resilient in coming back from an earlier dismasting.

For 11th Hour Racing Team, the damage from the collision is a big X factor the team now has to deal with. With his team currently at the head of the leaderboard and riding a wave of three consecutive leg victories, skipper Charlie Enright had been looking forward to a hard-fought race into Genoa that, given the right result, would see them winning The Ocean Race by beating their nearest competitor, Team Holcim-PRB, on the water. Now, through no fault of their own, the story takes a different turn.

“The most important thing is that everyone on their boat and on our boat is okay,” Enright said on the dock, not long after the collision. “Where we go from here is uncertain at this stage. It’s life, it’s racing. There is nothing we would have done differently and accidents happen.

“This race has a way of testing people in different ways, physically and mentally, and this is a test for our team. But there is no team I would rather be on, that I would rather have with me. If anyone can figure this out, it is us, I genuinely believe that; we will just have to see what that process looks like as we get more information.”

In a team statement on Friday (16 June), Enright confirmed the bad news — the team has withdrawn from Leg 7.

“We are working around the clock to repair the boat as quickly as possible, and our intent is to sail to Genova to rejoin the fleet and complete this lap around our blue planet,” he said. “Everyone is obviously devastated — no one wants to finish a race like this — but spirits are high within the team, and everyone is focused on finishing this incredible race on a high note.”

The team has also officially filed a Request for Redress. Retiring from the leg and filing for redress gives the team the best chance, within the rules of the event, to secure the points it needs to win the overall race.

VO65 Sprint Cup Stage 3 start day onboard Austrian Ocean Racing - Team Genova | Credit: Stefan Leitner/Austrian Ocean Racing - Team Genova/The Ocean Race

While this incident overshadowed the Leg 7 start, there are still three boats racing towards Genova in the IMOCA class, including Team Holcim-PRB who showed an impressive burst of speed off the starting line to build a lead over 11th Hour Racing Team and GUYOT envrionnement before the fateful collision.

Skipper Benjamin Schwartz pushed his boat and crew hard and they would go on to lead Team Malizia and Biotherm out of The Hague starting area towards the North Sea. As the three boats worked through the exclusion zones and into the English Channel, racing remained extremely close. As of Friday afternoon UTC (16 June) the trio are within eight nautical miles on the race tracker leaderboard, with Team Holcim-PRB holding a modest advantage.

Earlier on Thursday, it was the VO65 fleet with the first start of the day, their racing getting underway just after 1300 local time, under mostly sunny skies and in a nine-12 knot northerly breeze.

After pleasing the home fans with a win in the In-Port Race, the local heroes on the Dutch-flagged Team JAJO once again led the way on Thursday, making an early pass on the first downwind leg and extending away to lead the fleet through the departure gate and away from The Hague.

“This has been super nice,” said Team JAJO skipper Jelmer van Beek from on board as the boat passed through the final starting gate. “It’s great to have so many people out on the water supporting us. It keeps amazing me. And we’re in first place so a good start for us on the race to Genova.”

Just behind JAJO was WindWhisper Racing Team, the overall leader in the VO65 flee, the team JAJO has to beat to Genoa to have a chance at the title — and as of Friday afternoon, the team in the lead as the front-runners approach the Channel Islands. Austrian Ocean Racing/Genova, Mirpuri-Trifork Racing and Viva Mexico were all lined up behind the leaders as they sailed downwind from The Hague and they remain in contention, with only 20 miles separating the fleet.

Rankings at 1700 UTC, 16 June

IMOCA:

1. Team Holcim-PRB, 1,935.9 miles to finish
2. Biotherm, 2.6 miles to leader

3. Team Malizia, 7.5 miles to finish

VO65
:

1. WindWhisper Racing, 1,902 miles to finish
2. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, 1.6 miles to leader
3. Team JAJO, 9.1 miles to leader
4. Viva México, 13.1 miles to leader
5. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 20.4 miles to leader

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

Meanwhile, sailors in both fleets in The Ocean Race 2022-23 are preparing for a challenging Leg 7 towards the Grand Finale in Genoa, Italy.

For the IMOCA fleet that has raced around the world, this ultimate leg of the race is decisive — the winner will be crowned in Genoa.

Skipper Charlie Enright and his 11th Hour Racing Team have put themselves in a strong position with three consecutive leg wins to build a two-point lead over Team Holcim-PRB.

As the American team also holds the advantage in the tie-breaking In-Port Race Series, the only way for skipper Benjamin Schwartz’s Holcim-PRB team to overcome the deficit is to finish three points clear ahead on this final stage.

“It’s not only up to us to win this leg, we have to finish in front of 11th Hour Racing Team, either in first or second, and then they have to be fourth or fifth — those are the only only options,” Schwartz said at the skippers’ press conference on Wednesday (14 June). “So we’re going to try to win this leg, and then we’ll need a bit of help from the other teams if we are going to win The Ocean Race.”

For Enright, the task is clear: “We’ve sailed a lot of miles around the world already, but there’s 2,000 very, very, very complex miles left to go,” he said. “We’ve just had our weather briefing and this is shaping up to be like an extended version of the last leg, which was the most complex one that we’ve done to date.

“It’s tricky and the points are close. We’ll still try to sail aggressively, but also stay humble. We recognise where we are, what the situation is, so we’re looking forward to the next leg, and I’m sure it’s gonna come right down to the end, because it always seems to do that.”

Things are slightly easier at the head of the VO65 Sprint fleet, where Poland’s WindWhisper Racing Team has won the opening two stages of the competition. However, by earning second- and third-place finishes, Team JAJO remains within striking distance.

“I think it’s not going to be over until we cross the finish line in Genova,” was the cautious take from Pablo Arrarte, the WindWhisper skipper. “Anything can happen — you can break the boat or you can have other issues. So we’ll approach this stage the same way as the others. We will do our best, sail the boat as fast as possible, and we will work very hard until the finish.”

Gerwin Jansen is leading Austrian Ocean Racing - powered by Team Genova on a race to the team’s home port, so motivation is high.

“Obviously, there’s quite a lot of pressure on us because we’re sailing to our home port, and expectations are high in Genova, but we like the challenge,” Jansen said. “It’s a very long, complicated leg, so I think the key is to stay fresh, and then the plan is to keep close through Gibraltar and then overtake all of them in the Mediterranean.”

Sailors in both fleets spoke about the complexity of the race to the Grand Finale in Genoa. The start will take the teams into a North Sea crowded with shipping, wind farms and challenging currents, before the Bay of Biscay and race to Gibraltar offers a more traditional ‘offshore’ style of racing.

But then comes the Mediterranean and the final third of the leg racing through early summer conditions on a body of water that can throw any and all kinds of weather at the fleet.

With all this, it’s shaping up to be a fantastic push to the Grand Finale in Genoa with the results open in both the VO65 and IMOCA fleets.

Racing starts on Thursday afternoon 15 June at 13:10 local time (CEST) for the VO65 class and at 18:15 for the IMOCA fleet.

The local heroes on the Dutch-flagged Team JAJO made a statement of intent right from the start of the VO65 In-Port Race in The Hague on Wednesday afternoon (14 June) by crossing ahead of the entire fleet on port tack — a high-risk, high-reward manoeuvre that allowed them to build a solid lead at the first turning gate.

Behind them, the overall race leader WindWhisper Racing Team rounded in second place with Viva México following. But the Mexican team elected to race the downwind leg with a masthead code zero sail, which didn’t pay off, and allowed Mirpuri/Trifork to make a pass.

On the second lap of the course, WindWhisper skipper Pablo Arrarte worked every shift to split away from Jelmer van Beek’s Team JAJO to try and get a sniff of the lead. But the JAJO team protected well and even extended to earn a wire-to-wire win in front of a delirious home crowd.

Team JAJO wins the In-Port Race in The Hague | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

“This is so nice,” said van Beek, overcome with emotion after the finish. “The team worked so hard and we got it! We got it in our hometown! I never expected this. I’m so happy.“”

Arrarte’s WindWhisper crew sailed a solid race for second place, holding off Mirpuri-Trifork Racing in third.

“This kind of windward-leeward race course is intense with a lot of manoeuvres but we sailed well and second place is great,” Arrarte said. “It was a good race and I’m happy with the result.”

Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team in the VO65 In-Port Race in The Hague | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

“We were fourth over the starting line and we managed to overtake the Mexican team and even got close to WindWhisper, so it was an exciting race,” said ‘Chuny’ Bermudez from the Mirpuri-Trifork team. “But big kudos to Team JAJO, they made a great start and stayed ahead.”

There was also action at the back of the fleet, as the crew on Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova engineered a late comeback, passing Team México just before the finishing line to grab fourth place.

Twenty-four hours earlier, Benjamin Dutreux and his crew on GUYOT environnement - Team Europe sailed a flawless race in challenging conditions to earn their first win of The Ocean Race. Afloat.ie has more on the story HERE.

VO65 class - In Port-Race - The Hague

1. Team JAJO - 6 points
2. WindWhisper Racing Team - 5 points
3. Mirpuri-Trifork Racing - 4 points
4. Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova - 3 points
5. Viva México - 2 points
6. Ambersail 2 - DNS - 0 points

The result was in doubt until the final moments of Leg 6 of The Ocean Race 2022-23, with 11th Hour Racing Team along with Team Holcim-PRB and Team Malizia racing within shouting distance of each other during most of Sunday morning (11 June).

The final approach to The Hague required one short upwind section where the boats were criss-crossing within metres with each tack. But skipper Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team held their nerve and made the final turn south with a small lead they would manage to hold through the IMOCA finishing line.

“They crossed ahead of us, we were actually behind with about 25-30 miles to go,” Enright said in disbelief at the intensity of the racing. “But a big thanks to everyone on board just never giving up the fight and digging in and always believing…

“Even when the other guys kept coming into us from behind, I think we just thought we were not gonna let them win that way. But what an unbelievable race all of these teams sailed — Holcim-PRB, Malizia, Biotherm, GUYOT. This was a tough, treacherous race course. Everybody deserves congratulations for their finish here in The Hague.”

Just 12 minutes behind, Team Holcim-PRB crossed the finishing line after fending off a late charge from Team Malizia who crossed just over a minute later. The top three boats in the fleet were within 15 minutes.

“This was a very intense leg,” said Team Holcim-PRB skipper Benjamin Schwartz. “We pushed as hard as we could and now we have to focus on the final leg into Genova.”

Team Malizia crossing the finish line in The Hague with King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of The Netherlands onboard | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

The results leave the Holcim-PRB team trailing 11th Hour Racing Team by two points on the overall leaderboard. Malizia is a further four points behind.

“Mixed feelings for us on this leg,” said Malizia’s Will Harris. “Obviously happy to have been able to catch up so much in the last part of the leg, but we would have liked to grab at least one more point.”

The reception in The Hague was overwhelming for Team Malizia’s Dutch crew member Rosalin Kuiper, who has grown into a star here over the course of the race.

“This has been such a special day to be here with all of this support from friends and family,” she said. “I’ve devoted a third of my life to professional sailing and being able to share this with all the people who have supported me is amazing.”

Moments after the Malizian boat crossed the finishing line, King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of The Netherlands climbed on board to welcome Rosalin and the Malizia crew.

Not far behind the leading trio, Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm secured a fourth-place finish over Benjamin Dutreux and his team on GUYOT evironnement - Team Europe, who returned to for the race to The Hague following a dismasting on Leg 4.

WindWhisper Racing Team arrives first in The Hague at 11:23:33 UTC for a race time of two days, 21 hours, 13 minutes and 33 seconds | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

In the VO65 Sprint Cup, WindWhisper Racing Team stretched their lead at the top of the table as the fleet returned for the one design class’ second stage.

It’s two wins in a row for the team, after a victory in stage one from Alicante to Cabo Verde in January.

“Of course it’s important to get the win and with Team JAJO in third place, this gives us a little bit of breathing space heading into the final race to Genoa,” said skipper Pablo Arrarte.

“It was a very challenging leg — we had everything you would expect in a long race packed into three days. I’m proud of the team and happy with the result.”

The Mirpuri-Trifork Racing Team took a well-earned second place over the local heroes on Team JAJO, with Austrian Ocean Racing-Team Genova ahead of Viva Mexico.

“It’s good to be home,” said Team JAJO skipper Jelmer van Beek. “It has been a short and hectic three-day race. Awesome to arrive for this home crowd and to be cheered on by all the boats out on the water and all the fans in the harbour. We even had some spectator boats already following us from IJmuiden which was really magnificent. Now it’s time for some beers, food from my mom and a short sleep!”

WindWhisper Racing Team has now opened up a three-point margin on the VO65 Sprint leaderboard, but the standings behind are very close and the Grand Finale leg into Genoa will be decisive.

IMOCA Scoreboard after Leg 6:

1. 11th Hour Racing Team – 33 points
2. Team Holcim-PRB – 31 points
3. Team Malizia – 27 points
4. Biotherm – 19 points
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe – 2 points

VO65 Scoreboard after Stage 2:

1. WindWhisper Racing Team – 12 points
2. Team JAJO – 9 points
3. Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova – 7 points
4. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team – 5 points
5. Viva México – 4 points
6. Ambersail 2 – 3 points

The flying, foiling IMOCA fleet racing in The Ocean Race and the one-designs competing in the VO65 Sprint both left Aarhus on Thursday (8 June), their race starts separated by two hours.

And while the IMOCAs turned south to race into the Kiel Fjord in front of tens of thousands of fans on Friday, the VO65s pushed north to a turning mark off the coast of Norway.

But today (Saturday 10 June) the two fleets are coming together again, off the west coast of Denmark, as the 65s pass a turning mark and the IMOCAs push south down the Danish coast.

After their different routes, both fleets are making fast miles towards The Hague with an expected arrival on Sunday afternoon.

“We’re just at the top of Denmark trying to squeeze by a little Traffic Separation Scheme,” said Charlie Enright — skipper of 11th Hour Racing Team, the leading boat in the IMOCA fleet — appearing visibly fatigued on Saturday morning.

“We’ve got Team Holcim-PRB in sight this morning. We did a nice job stretching on them last night but they’ve come back into us. But we’re in good shape, spirits are high, even if people are tired… But I think we only have about 30 hours left so we will gut it out.”

There will be a lot of that happening. This is the shortest leg of the race and while it is too long — 800 miles, nearly three days — to stay awake, it is also too short for most of the teams to fully implement their watch systems. So there will be tired sailors arriving in The Hague on Sunday afternoon.

11th Hour Racing Team and Team Holcim-PRB, the two leaders on the overall race points table, have made a slight break from the trailing trio of Biotherm, Team Malizia and GUYOT environnement - Team Europe. A win into The Hague would give 11th Hour Racing Team a nice margin on the leaderboard heading into the last leg towards the Grand Finale in Genoa.

In the VO65 fleet it is WindWhisper Racing Team continuing to hold pole position over Team JAJO and Mirpuri/Trifork Racing, although the racing here is very close — the spread between first and fifth is less than 25 miles.

“It’s been an interesting start to the leg,” said Pablo Arrarte, the skipper on WindWhisper. “We’ve had all kinds of conditions — upwind, downwind, reaching, light wind, a lot of wind. Luckily we are leading still…”

Both fleets are expected to finish on Sunday afternoon in The Hague, with the exact ETA still uncertain as conditions near the finish are not locked in with the weather forecast yet.

But a 10-boat arrival on an extremely sunny and warm Sunday afternoon in The Hague promises to be exciting sport, and a fabulous spectacle for fans of The Ocean Race.

Rankings at 1510 UTC, 10 June

IMOCA:

1. 11th Hour Racing Team, 269.6 miles to finish
2. Team Holcim-PRB, 3.9 miles to finish
3. Biotherm, 36.5 miles to leader

4. Team Malizia, 39.3 miles to leader
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, 57.1 miles to leader

VO65
:

1. WindWhisper Racing, 266.1 miles to finish
2. Team JAJO, 4.3 miles to leader
3. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, 12.8 miles to leader
4. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 14.7 miles to leader
5. Viva México, 25.6 miles to leader

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

The last time The Ocean Race was in Kiel was on 9 June 2002 and the German team Illbruck Challenge was being celebrated for winning the Volvo Ocean Race. In the crowd was a young German sailor beginning his career — Boris Herrmann — and the event made a lasting impressions.

“I used to live in Kiel, I finished my studies there, I sailed and trained a lot there, so I have a great connection to the city,” Herrmann said in anticipation of Friday’s (9 June) events. “I also experienced The Ocean Race myself there in 2002 with the legendary victory of the Illbruck. I was on the water and remember that day as if it was yesterday.”

Today, The Ocean Race returned to Kiel for a Friday afternoon Fly-By with the IMOCA fleet and the crowds were out in force to cheer on Herrmann, now the skipper of Team Malizia.

“Racing into the Kieler Innenförde with my team and boat, after having sailed around the world, and seeing the many fans expected there is something I am really looking forward to,” he said.

On Friday the competitive advantage went to Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team, leading the fleet into the fjord, around the turning mark and back out to sea, with a Sunday finish in The Hague the next objective. Team Holcim-PRB and Biotherm weren’t far behind.

But the love and affection from the crowd in Kiel was for the final two boats, Herrmann’s Malizia and GUYOT environnement - Team Europe with German Olympian Robert Stanjek and national champion Phillip Kasüske on board.

“Look at how many boats there are, it’s unbelievable,” Herrmann said with a big smile as his team made their way up the fjord. “This is very, very nice. This moment has been a big motivation for us the entire race.”

In the VO65 fleet, meanwhile, the racing has been fast after making the turn at the Langesund marker just off the coast of Norway. Pablo Arrarte’s WindWhisper Racing Team led the fleet around the mark and remains in a close battle with the Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team. Further back, three teams have split away, staying close to the coast, led by Team JAJO.

“It’s been tough since the start,” said Joy Fitzgerald on Team JAJO. “It was a really long first night, with a lot of manoeuvres, a lot of sail changes, and so we’re all just trying to catch up on a bit of sleep now.

“We’ve had no wind, a little wind and then we had all the wind! It was pretty wet on deck as well!”

As of 1900 UTC on Friday, the VO65 fleet is charging south towards an offshore turning mark, before heading back towards the west coast of Denmark and then being freed up to head to the finish in The Hague, with an ETA on Sunday 11 June.

Rankings at 1900 UTC, 9 June

IMOCA:

1. 11th Hour Racing Team, 588.8 miles to finish
2. Team Holcim-PRB, 12.8 miles to finish
3. Biotherm, 20.6 miles to leader

4. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, 30.3 miles to leader
5. Team Malizia, 31.1 miles to leader

 VO65
:

1. WindWhisper Racing, 428.9 miles to finish
2. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, 7.4 miles to leader
3. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 11.7 miles to leader
4. Team JAJO, 12.6 miles to leader
5. Viva México, 18.8 miles to leader

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

The Ocean Race returned to full strength in Aarhus, Denmark on Thursday (8 June) as the VO65 fleet rejoined the race for the European legs.

On a beautiful afternoon with sunny skies, warm temperatures and light sea breeze, racing started with the stakes high for both fleets.

First off were the five VO65s returning to race in the second stage of the VO65 Sprint after a three-month sabbatical. With two legs of racing left, the VO65 leaderboard is wide open and the stage to The Hague is an important opportunity to collect points. The ETA for the finish is Sunday 11 June.

As the afternoon turned to evening it would be the IMOCA fleet on point for an 18:15 start, with the race around the world still wide-open — 11th Hour Racing Team is in pole position, but only one point clear of Team Holcim-PRB. The early evening conditions were extremely light for the IMOCA start, with a new breeze just starting to fill in as the fleet finally left Aarhus behind.

The IMOCA fleet is racing towards the Kiel Fly-By, expected to attract over 100,000 visitors and 1,000 boats to the Kiel Fjord on Friday, with an ETA of mid-afternoon on Friday (9 June) before pushing towards the finish in The Hague.

The stopover in Aarhus has been picture perfect, with the glorious late spring weather drawing big crowds down to Ocean Live Park. The local event organisers estimate between 350,000 and 400,000 fans experience The Ocean Race stopover in Aarhus, including over 7,000 school children who took part in the learning programmes on the Sustainability Island activation site.

The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint - start report

Having dominated both previous in-port races, the pressure was on Pablo Arrarte’s WindWhisper Racing Team (POL) to deliver a repeat performance for Stage 2 of the VO65 Sprint.

In contrast to the very light conditions earlier in the week when they last raced, the breeze was 10 knots across the course at start time.

At the start, WindWhisper Racing Team jumped the gun and were forced to return back to restart. Gerwin Jansen’s Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova (AUT/ITA) were penalised for an infringement at the start and had to take a penalty, sliding back behind the fleet.

This left Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team (DEN) and Team JAJO (NED) to lead the field along the first leg with Viva México (MEX) in third.

At the first mark it was Team JAJO that rounded ahead with Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team close on their stern.

After the second lap and as the fleet headed off to the northeast on the start of the offshore leg, it was Team JAJO that had not only held onto their lead but extended it to more than 400m.

Behind them the competition was close with Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team in second, Viva México in third with WindWhisper Racing Team nipping at their heels in fourth and Austrian Ocean Racing powered by Team Genova in fifth as the fleet passed through the final inshore gate.

From there it was north into the late afternoon sun.

The Ocean Race IMOCA leg 6 - start report

Two hours after the VO65s had left Aarhus the 10-knot breeze died to just two to four knots as the southeasterly sea breeze fought against the northwesterly gradient.

This was frustrating and stressful for the IMOCA fleet for their start to a leg that already promises to be extremely challenging, especially during the next 24 hours through the Fly-By in Kiel.

With such light conditions, all five teams were aiming to minimise manoeuvres which led to a slow drag race into the line, but there was plenty of excitement.

Start of Stage 2 of The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint Cup in Aarhus on Thursday 8 June | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

At the committee boat end, Team Malizia (GER) were playing an aggressive tactical game with Team Holcim-PRB (SUI) that resulted in Holcim-PRB diving behind the German boat before pushing Malizia over the starting line early, forcing them to restart behind the fleet.

Meanwhile, it was 11th Hour Racing Team and Biotherm that made the best starts with Team Holcim PRB close behind.

By the first mark 11th Hour Racing Team had extended their lead over Biotherm with Team Holcim-PRB in third. Further back Malizia had overtaken GUYOT environnement - Team Europe.

On the third leg of this square configuration course, what wind there was swung through 40 degrees turning the reach into an upwind leg.

Halfway down this leg the breeze dropped even further, switching in direction before then dying altogether. As all five boats struggled to make any progress the stress only increased among the teams. All teams knew that in these conditions the first to get the breeze are often able to take a jump on the fleet. The waiting game was nerve-racking.

Slowly, the gradient breeze came in off the land from the northwest and when it did the leader board changed as GUYOT environnement - Team Europe overtook Team Malizia.

So, as the fleet cleared the leaving gate and headed out on the leg towards Kiel, it was 11th Hour Racing Team that led the field, Biotherm second, Team Holcim-PRB third with GUYOT fourth and Malizia just behind in fifth.

The ETA in Kiel is mid-afternoon on Friday, with a finish in The Hague expected on Sunday 11 June.

Rankings at 1825 UTC, 8 June

IMOCA:

1. Biotherm, 782.9 miles to finish
2. 11th Hour Racing Team, 0.3 miles to leader

3. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe, 0.6 miles to leader
4. Team Malizia, 0.8 miles to leader
5. Team Holcim-PRB, 3 miles to finish

VO65
:

1. Team JAJO, 781.7 miles to finish
2. WindWhisper Racing, 0.1 miles to leader
3. Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team, 1.1 miles to leader
4. Viva México, 2.9 miles to leader
5. Austrian Ocean Race - Team Genova, 3.5 miles to leader

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

At 800 nautical miles, Leg 6 may be the shortest of The Ocean Race 2022-23 but it is also one of the most complex.

From the start in Aarhus. the fleet will head south for a fly-by in Kiel before turning north to head back up the eastern side of Denmark. Once around the top of the country, the fleet exits the Baltic and heads out into the North Sea for the run south to the finish in The Hague, anticipated to be on Saturday evening (10 June).

“The leg to The Hague via Kiel is one of the most complex and ambitious we have taken on,” said race director Phil Lawrence. “The narrow channels and confined waters make it tricky from a navigation point of view, but so too is catering for the large amounts of leisure and commercial traffic as we get close to Kiel. We’ve been told to expect over 100,000 spectators and up to 1,000 boats which has meant a great deal of planning that includes a detailed marshalling schedule.

“As an indication of the local impact that this leg will have, the Kiel canal will be closed for two hours and commercial shipping has been suspended in the immediate area.

“But on top of this, the range of speeds that the IMOCAs are capable of adds another level of complexity. As I’m often told by the IMOCA crews, these boats have four speeds: zero, 10, 20 and 30 knots and not much in between. A small increase in wind strength by a few knots has a big effect on their speed.”

With such a wide range of potential performances, planning for a specific arrival time is clearly difficult. This looks set to be especially tricky given the forecast for the first part of the leg where a light southerly breeze is expected to veer to the northwest during the passage south. Add to this the local effects through the fjord and around islands and the complexity of the leg for organisers and crews is clear to see.

“Compared to a trans-oceanic leg with lots of strategic options, now the focus will be on navigation and the management of transitions, basically getting the timing of sail changes right,” said 11th Hour Racing Team navigator Simon Fisher.

“Deciding whether you invest in getting to the new breeze or stay on track and wait for it to come to you, is going to be one of many key decisions.”

Paul Meilhat, skipper of the In-Port Race-winning Biotherm, agrees that this leg requires a different approach which is reflected in his choice of crew.

“For us this is like what we do a lot in France,” he said. “I’m lucky because I have two Figaro specialists, Alan Roberts and Anthony Marchand who have 25 races between them. Apart from tactics the big issue will be the speed. From 10-12 knots of wind speed the boat speed can leap from 12 knots to 25 knots and with that kind of speed difference it doesn’t take much to stretch out a 30-mile lead.”

Team Malizia’s Will Harris is also thinking about the conditions, especially for the first night.

“Looking at the weather forecast it looks likely that the first stage will be the hardest with light breeze for the first night, with lots of transitions, with the risk of the breeze going around in circles,” he said. “Trying to get out of that cleanly will be really important because if one boat gets the jump on the fleet, they could well hold onto that lead when the conditions settle down as the wind comes in from the east. It’s going to be a coastal race on the first night and it’s going to be intense.”

And then there’s the issue of points. With just one point separating the leaders 11th Hour Racing Team from Team Holcim-PRB and with Team Malizia just four points further back, a shuffle on the leaderboard is a distinct possibility.

The fact that the fleet is now back up to five boats with the return of GUYOT environnement-Team Europe - who arrived in Aarhus on Wednesday after a herculean effort to rejoin the race following their dismasting - provides even greater opportunities for the pecking order to change.

Team JAJO in speed trials in Aarhus on Tuesday 6 June | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

For the VO65 fleet, the route to The Hague is less complex as they do not head south for the Kiel fly-by. Instead, from the start they head north, exit the Baltic and then head south to The Hague. But even without the dive south to Kiel, this is still a challenging leg.

“The number of traffic separation schemes and exclusion zones make this a complex leg to navigate,” said The Ocean Race veteran Bouwe Bekking, who is aboard with Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team. “Then there are the wind farms to avoid along with plenty of shipping, there’s plenty to take into account on this leg. The sheer number of waypoints in the sailing instructions for this leg make it very clear.”

So, while this is one of the most ambitious and complex legs, for the teams it is also one of the most tactically challenging for all.

Thursday’s leg start from Aarhus marks the start of Leg 6 of The Ocean Race for IMOCA fleet and the start of Stage 2 of the VO65 Sprint for the VO65 fleet. Racing is scheduled to start at 16:10 CEST for the VO65s and at 18:15 CEST for the IMOCA fleet.

The weather forecast for Thursday is for a light to moderate sea breeze near 7-10 knots, establishing and building as the day progresses.

If you’re lucky enough to be in Aarhus, come down to Ocean Live Park in Havnepladsen to catch the action or follow along on Event TV. Live coverage of the IMOCA start for viewers in Ireland will be on Eurosport and discovery+ from 4.30pm.

Start times – Thursday 8 June (all times local)

VO65 Sprint - Stage 2 - Aarhus to The Hague

16:05 - Warning signal
16:10 - LEG START

IMOCA - Leg 6 - Aarhus -> Kiel fly-by -> The Hague

18:10 - Warning signal
18:15 - LEG START

The sun was shining on Sunday (4 June), as it has been throughout the entire Aarhus stopover, and that meant a building sea breeze would be the order of the day for the In-Port Racing programme.

This marked the return of the VO65 class to The Ocean Race, as the fleet comes back to continue racing in the VO65 Sprint.

In the IMOCA class, with the overall race leaderboard so close at the top, the In-Port Race results take on greater importance as a tie-breaking mechanism for The Ocean Race.

It was a day of comebacks, with the return of the VO65 fleet and Biotherm taking their first win after only arriving in Aarhus yesterday evening.

As the IMOCAs got underway just after 1400 local time (1200 UTC), the sea breeze had built to nearly 10 knots, providing steady conditions for the fleet. The rectangular configuration race course was set at three laps.

As the clock counted down, the first decision for crews was focused on the sail configuration. Judging whether the breeze had built to its peak or whether there was more to come was the key pre-start decision. After that, judging the time on distance approach into the start was critical.

Biotherm and Team Holcim-PRB were closest to the start line in the final moments and appeared to be struggling to kill their pace.

Meanwhile, having started their run from further back, 11th Hour Racing Team looked like they could maintain more of their momentum.

Biotherm wins the IMOCA In-Port Race in Aarhus | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

But as the gun went, it was Biotherm that timed their approach and building speed perfectly to hit the line at the leeward end at pace, gaining the initial advantage as the four boats made their way up the first leg.

By mark one, Biotherm led with Team Holcim-PRB in second, 11th Hour Racing Team third and Team Malizia in fourth.

Leg three saw Biotherm stretch their lead over the fleet on the long reach back down towards the bottom of the course.

Biotherm only arrived in Aarhus late on Saturday night after a difficult and frustrating transatlantic leg, making their dominant performance all the more impressive.

Judging when to tack on leg four to lay the next mark was another key decision to ensure no distance was given away. Once again Biotherm picked the perfect spot and gained over the rest of the fleet as a result. On the second lap they had drawn out to 640m ahead of Holcim-PRB.

Towards the end of that lap Biotherm delivered another perfect rounding of marks three and four to extend their lead even further.

Behind them life wasn’t easy. With a strong incentive to try to cut the distance to the upwind mark there was a temptation to tack too early. Team Holcim-PRB almost fell foul of this but got away with it, while Team Malizia did not and ended up squeezing up to the mark, losing more distance as a result.

On the final lap it was more of the same from Biotherm with a perfect performance stretching the lead even further to take the in-port win in Aarhus.

Meanwhile, 11th Hour Racing team took distance out of Holcim-PRB to the point that on the downwind leg at the top of the course, there was an opportunity for Charlie Enright’s team to gain a place. But sailing low in an attempt to catch Holcim-PRB on the give-way port tack slowed their progress too much and gave away distance instead.

Team Holcim-PRB finished second, 11th Hour Racing Team third and Team Malizia fourth.

“We won the start and when you win the start in an In-Port Race it’s easy after,” Paul Meilhat said following the race. “We were a bit faster off the line than Team Holcim-PRB and that was it. We are really happy and I dedicate this win to our shore team who have worked so hard to get us out here. It’s our first victory so it means a lot to us.”

“It’s a first step for the new crew,” said Team Holcim-PRB skipper Benjamin Schwartz. “We managed to get around the course nicely. We had a bit of tension when 11th Hour Racing Team came back on us a little bit, but the team did a great job to stay in front.”

IMOCA - Aarhus In-Port Race - Results

1. Biotherm - 5 points
2. Team Holcim-PRB - 4 points
3. 11th Hour Racing Team - 3 points
4. Team Malizia - 2 points
5. GUYOT environnement - Team Europe - 0 points

Earlier in the day, it had been the VO65s who took to the race course first, in light winds of five to seven knots as the sea breeze was only just getting established.

As the seconds counted down to the start, initially it was WindWhisper Racing Team that appeared to have the early momentum although a round-up manoeuvre at the pin end slowed them down. Instead, it was Team JAJO that got the best start delivering a perfect time-on-distance run into the middle of the start line.

A few minutes later, WindWhisper had built their pace once again to pull themselves into the lead. By the first mark, WindWhisper led, followed by Team Jajo who rounded 16 seconds behind. In third place it was Viva México, closely followed by Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team.

WindWhisper Racing Team leading the fleet in the VO65 Sprint Cup In-Port Race in Aarhus | Credit: Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race

After a short reaching top leg it was a gybe at mark two for a longer broad reaching leg back down towards the start area.

So far the manoeuvres had been kind to the boat speed with bear aways and gybes helping to keep the speed on. Keeping momentum was critical.

Leg four was an upwind affair and it was here that crews came under a great deal more pressure to maintain their pace. For WindWhisper, a well-timed approach and a slight gust provided a smooth mark rounding. The same was true for Team Jajo as the pair stretched their lead on the rest of the fleet.

When it came to the tack to reach mark four, both boats delivered perfect executions, helped by a slight increase in the breeze.

Meanwhile further back, there was a tight battle between third placed Viva México and Mirpuri/Trifork Racing Team as the pair duelled for mark four with less than a boat length between them.

The second lap of the course didn’t provide any passing opportunities and skipper Pablo Arrarte’s WindWhisper Racing Team held off Team JAJO for the win. It was a flawless performance and a great win for the Polish team as the VO65 Sprint reignites.

“It’s been awesome to get back into the race,” said WindWhisper skipper Pablo Arrarte. “We’ve been away from the race for a while, watching the IMOCAs, which has been great, but it’s time to get back.

“We’ve had some changes on the crew but had an opportunity to train here for the last 10 days so we were confident we could handle all the situations today. It was a tricky day and the start was so important, but we managed okay and we got a good lead there and we were able to hold it.”

VO65 Sprint - Aarhus In-Port Race - Results

1. WindWhisper Racing - 6 points
2. Team JAJO - 5 points
3. Viva México - 4 points
4. Trifork Mirpuri Racing - 3 points
5. Austrian Ocean Racing / Team Genova - 2 points
6. Ambersail - did not start - 0 points