The departure of the second stage of The Ocean Race Europe from Cascais to Alicante is scheduled for 1 p.m. local Sunday time

The fleet of The Ocean Race Europe returned to the competition in Cascais, where the 12 international teams participating in The Ocean Race Europe representing nine countries faced in the coastal race of the Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy, before the departure of the second stage that will lead them to Alicante.

The end of the first stage, which led to the fleet from Lorient to Cascais and which ended last Wednesday after almost four days of navigation, had an amazingly equal outcome in both the VO65 class and the IMOCA 60. The crews only had a few days to rest and recover before returning to the race camp for a 40-mile coast, which was a round trip between Cascais and Lisbon.

This coastal race was a general essay for the departure of the second stage of this Sunday. Initially the tour led to the fleet with a closed through the northwest from the promenade of the city to a beacon in the nearby Cabo Raso.

From there, a long stretch in favor of the wind gave the crews many occasions to practice the transferees, while sailing to another buoy located to the south-east of the mouth of the Tajo River in the Lusa capital. The final section was a long close back to the finish line in front of the Cascais Naval Clube, where the fleet is located.

The conditions were almost perfect for the competition, with blue skies and warm winds ranging from 15 to 20 knots.

The race was very equal among the seven VO65 monotypes. The Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, based in Cascais, where Willy Altadill sailed, defended a close advantage in the first beacon on the AkzoNobel Ocean Racing of the Netherlands, patronized by the Australian Chris Nicholson, who sailed enormously equalled as they surrounded the sotavent beacon in the final part of the long stretch in favor of the wind.

The local team made good use of their knowledge of the area in the last stretch of girth to the goal, crossing the line first to take the three points of victory. AkzoNobel Ocean Racing took second place and added two points, with the Sailing Poland, led by Dutch pattern Bouwe Bekking, getting a point for third place.

This Sunday at 13: 00 local time in Portugal, the tour of the second stage of The Ocean Race Europe will first take the teams to the south of Portugal to the top of the south-west of Europe, Cape San Vicente, before the fleet turns south-east to cross the Strait of Gibraltar, a very narrow and very congested area between the Iberian Peninsula and Morocco, which marks the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.

From there, the most direct route to the goal in Alicante is along the Spanish Mediterranean coast. Depending on the prevailing weather conditions, crews can choose to navigate a longer and further route from the coast, hoping to find better winds to bring them closer to Alicante faster.

Results of the Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy coastal race

VO65
Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR) - 3 points
AkzoNobel Ocean Racing (NED) - 2 points
Sailing Poland (POL) - 1 point
Viva Mexico
Team Childhood I
Ambersail-2
The Austrian Ocean Race Project

IMOCA 60
Offshore Team Germany (GER) - 3 points
11th Hour Racing Team (USA) - 2 points
LinkedOut (FRA) - 1 point
Corum L'Épargne
Bureau Vallée

General classifications

VO65
The Austrian Ocean Race Project (AUT) - 7 points
Ambersail-2 (LTU) - 6 points
AkzoNobel Ocean Racing (NED) - 5 points
Sailing Poland (POL) - 5 points
Team Childhood I - 5 points
Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR) - 4 points
Viva Mexico (MEX) - 2 points

IMOCA 60
11th Hour Racing Team (USA) - 6 points
Offshore Team Germany (GER) - 5 points
CORUM L'Épargne (FRA) - 5 points
LinkedOut (FRA) - 4 points
Bureau Vallée (FRA) - 1 point

2021 / 06 / 02: Corum L'Épargne and The Austrian Ocean Race Project first in Cascais

The Austrian team surprises the VO65 fleet with a final photo finish in the first stage of The Ocean Race Europe

The first stage of The Ocean Race Europe had an exciting outcome in Cascais in which the winners in the VO65 and IMOCA 60 classes were decided in the last moments of the four-day journey that began in Lorient.

An exciting end in the VO65 monotypes made the Austrian Ocean Race Project, patronized by the Dutch Gerwin Jansen, achieve a remarkable victory coming from behind to overcome the Lithuanian team Ambersail-2 by Rokas Milevičius for only six seconds.

15 seconds behind, third, the Team Childhood I of Dutch pattern Simeon Testipont arrived, and the seven ships of the fleet ended up in a six-minute margin.

Meanwhile, in the IMOCA class, the CORUM L'Épargne of the Galo Nicolas Troussel took the victory, ahead of the 11th Hour Racing Team of Charlie Enright in second place, and the LinkedOut (FRA) of Thomas Ruyant in third place.

In the VO65, the leader from the exit, the Portuguese ship Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, was the only one who chose the northern route, while the rest of the fleet tightened to surround the southwestern corner of the exclusion zone.

The last 40 miles of the stage saw the positions of the classification change incessantly, almost with every new streak of wind.

Things were even more unpredictable in the last 15 miles when the fleet slowed down with the slow winds of a cold front heading towards the Portuguese coast.

A division between the six VO65 in the south, placed Sailing Poland, Team Childhood I and The Austrian Ocean Race Project a little higher, while AkzoNobel Ocean Racing (NED), Ambersail-2 (LTU) and Viva Mexico (MEX) moved south in search of a better angle for the final approach.

When the ships converted again in the last two miles the equality was tremendous between the Austrians, Ambersail-2 and the Team Childhood I as they competed towards the goal.

In the end, it was The Austrian Ocean Race Project, a new team with a relatively young and inexperienced crew, who advanced to win over the Ambersail-2, second, with Team Childhood I complete the podium.

The teams will have a well-deserved break on Thursday and Friday in Cascais, before competing on Saturday in a coastal race as part of the Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Trophy and facing the start of stage two, towards Alicante on Sunday.

IMOCA
1: CORUM L'Épargne
2nd: 11th Hour Racing Team
3rd: LinkedOut
4th: Offshore Team Germany
5th: Bureau Vallée

VO65
1: The Austrian Ocean Race Project
2nd: AMBERSAIL-2
3rd: Team Childhood I
4th: Sailing Poland
5th: AkzoNobel Ocean Racing
6th: Viva Mexico
7th: Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team

2021 / 06 / 01: The Lorient-Cascais act of The Europe Race Europe... is played this morning

The winners of the first stage will be decided in the last few hours after the fleet overcomes a last obstacle before the Cascais goal

After a day full of adrenaline surpassing the Atlantic, the 12 competing crews in The Ocean Race Europe face a challenging last night of competition as they approach Cascais, at the end of the first stage that it started in Lorient.

The winds of the north rose markedly when the fleet surrounded the Atlantic virtual pass beacon, allowing both VO65 and IMOCA 60 to reach high speeds as they set a direct course for Cascais.

In the IMOCA 60 class, the fierce battle of fieldships between the French LinkedOut of Thomas Ruyant and the 11th Hour Racing Team, sponsored by Charlie Enright, continued in all its splendor. The two ships were practically matched as they passed the beacon, and the Americans passed with a very strong advantage around 01: 40 UTC.

Around 11: 00 UTC Tuesday, the LinkedOut took the initiative to move south, apparently in an attempt to stay in the strongest winds. The movement did not go unnoticed for its rivals and the 11th Hour Racing Team did the same about 40 minutes later.

Both crews pressed their foyer ships hard, and the two IMOCA 60 reached speeds of up to 25 knots for the rest of the day. Located a little closer to the finish line than the LinkedOut, the 11th Hour Racing Team held the first position in the last part, but there are still many miles before reaching the finish line in Cascais, so the final result is still an unknown one.

In the VO65, the Portuguese Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, patronized by Yoann Richomme and with Willy Altadill in its ranks, continues to lead the fleet of seven monotypes with almost perfect performance. The Portuguese flag monotype mounted the virtual beacon about 30 minutes before the Dutch AkzoNobel Ocean Racing of Chris Nicholson, which was second, and the Sailing Poland of Bouwe Bekking and Simbad Quiroga and the Childhood I (NED) of Simeon Testipont very close to the head.

In the 'tracker' it can be seen that the AkzoNobel Ocean Racing has sailed a lower and slightly faster course than its rivals. As the miles advanced, the lateral separation between them and the other three VO65 was constantly increasing.

If we look only at the distance to the goal, this decision left them in the third place behind the Sailing Poland, but seeing the transfered that the two IMOCA 60 leaders carried out further south, the strategy may have turned out well to the AkzoNobel Ocean Racing in terms of positioning to win miles at night. Time will tell, but as in the IMOCA 60 fleet, the battle for triumph in the VO65 seems to reach the last miles.

The estimates for the winner's arrival range from 0800 local time (UTC + 1) to around noon... the last classified should come about four hours after the first.

2021 / 05 / 31: The Ocean Race Europe fleet at a high speed towards the west after overcoming Finisterre

The miles are made quickly thanks to the favourable conditions that the fleet has found, although a complicated transition awaits...

The rise of the wind in the north-west end of Spain has resulted in significantly faster navigation for the 12 professional crews from nine countries competing from Lorient to Cascais, in the first stage of The Ocean Race Europe.

After the first twenty-four hours of the stage were spent in an exhausting series of transferees as they crossed the Gulf of Vizcaya with winds between loose and moderate, after the length of Cape Finisterre the crews had enjoyed a navigation without just manoeuvres as they were heading almost directly west towards the forced point of passage, a virtual beacon located in the Atlantic.

The French IMOCA 60 LinkedOut by Thomas Ruyant was the first ship to make the last move to the west, followed almost immediately by the 11th Hour Racing Team, with American flag, patronized by Charlie Enright.

As the wind increased progressively, the two ships headed west with a good angle and a great state of the sea, allowing them to average about 27 knots of boat speed for almost a couple of hours. These impressive statistics are a clear indicator of the potential of the performance of the IMOCA 60 with full crew. If this rate were to be maintained for 24 hours, it would be a record rate.

In the VO65, the Portuguese Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, in which the Catalan Willy Altadill sails, is held in front of the seven-boat fleet with an 11-mile advantage over the Dutch AkzoNobel Ocean Racing, patrolling by Chris Nicholson, which is second.

The speeds in this fleet of monotypes have remained very uniform, and all the crews have managed to get their ships to more than 21 knots, with only 10 miles of separation between the first five ships.

With the forecast that the conditions of strong wind will resume after passing through the Atlantic beacon, the time of arrival to Cascais for the first ships is estimated to be about noon on Wednesday, June 2.

2021 / 05 / 30: Great equality in The Ocean Race Europe fleet... heading for Finisterre

The first day of The Ocean Race Europe provides a very equal classification and a very intense competition

The 12 international teams that compete in the first stage of The Ocean Race Europe make steady progress through the Gulf of Vizcaya in their first 24 hours of competition after they left Lorient this Saturday afternoon, to Cascais.

Although the weather conditions have been quite benign so far, the crews had a very busy first night of navigation, as the variability of the wind required them to perform a series of transfered to maintain an optimal VMG until the first beacon of the route, located virtual in the Atlantic Ocean.

As expected, the race is being very equal in both the VO65 monotypes class and the IMOCA 60 box rule class. The crews of both fleets have manoeuvred in small groups without anyone having wanted to try a rupturist movement in these early stages.

In the VO65, the Portuguese Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, favorites in their class, have maintained their position in the front after leading yesterday the seven-boat fleet at the exit of Lorient. Behind them, however, the chasing group steps on their heels with only seven nautical miles of separation between the entire fleet.

The IMOCA 60 crews have also been very equal during the first 24 hours of Stage 1, with the five crews carrying out the same maneuvers as they sailed with bearing winds towards Cape Finisterre.

In the last part, the five IMOCA were laterally separated by 14 miles, with the 11th Hour Racing Team leading thanks to its position further west, closer to the virtual crossing point.

The wind force and speed of the ships are expected to increase steadily over the next 24 hours as the teams approach the Spanish coast and approach the virtual beacon... the arrival in Cascais is scheduled for Wednesday, June 2.