Now there is only the last coastal race on Saturday, where 3 points will be distributed for the winner, 2 points for the second and 1 point for the third), so the general classification of the VO65 class will be decided in the first edition of The Ocean Race Europe

The third and final ocean stage of The Ocean Race Europe has experienced an exciting outcome in the middle of the morning of Thursday, in which the Portuguese team Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, with the Spanish Willy Altadill as the head of guard, achieved the victory coming from behind in the VO65 class in the goal of Genoa.

The night was still completely closed when the Portuguese team, led by the renowned French ocean pattern Yoann Richomme, concluded at 00: 51: 57 local time the Mediterranean stage of 600 miles / 1100 km from Alicante, after three and a half days of competition with predominantly loose and variable winds.

Hours before, Richomme's crew, which started the third stage tied to 11 points with the AkzoNobel Ocean Racing in the head of the classification in the VO65, sailed third, 10 miles behind the fleet leader, the Sailing Poland (POL), patrolling by Bouwe Bekking (NED) and the canary Simbag Quiroga in their ranks, and four nautical miles behind the second rated, the Dutch Team Childhood I, led by Simeon Testipont.

He benefited from the AzzoNobel Ocean Racing route on the right by Chris Nicholso, who finished second. The Dutch team was in fifth place before leaving with the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team, but soon went up to second place when the new wind took them from the southeast at speeds above 13 knots, exceeding the Viva Mexico (MEX) of Erik Brockmann, the Team Childhood I and the Sailing Poland to take second place.

The Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team thus consolidates its leadership in the 18-point classification, with the AkzoNobel Ocean Racing second with 17 points.

Team Childhood ended up standing on the heels of the Polish team to secure the fourth place, ahead of Viva Mexico and the AmberSail2. The Austrian Ocean Race Project was affected by the calms in the final approach to the finish line, but ended in seventh place just before 10 in the morning.

The Offshore Team Germany, unique IMOCA 60 without fleet foils, patrolled by the German Olympic Robert Stanjek, has achieved a spectacular victory in the third and final ocean stage of The Ocean Race Europe

After almost four days of navigation since they left Alicante last Sunday, the German team has crossed the goal in Genoa (Italy) at 0936 UTC / 1136 CEST this Thursday, having made the most of the best performance of their ship with low winds compared to the other four IMOCAs equipped with fils.

Stanjek and his crew, the navigator Benjamin Dutreux (FRA), Annie Lush (GBR), Phillip Kasüske (GER) and the reporter on board Felix Diemer (GER), separated from the rest of the fleet just after leaving Alicante, betting to sail further north on the coast.

Meanwhile, the four IMOCA with fils, the 11th Hour Racing Team (USA) by Charlie Enright, the Bureau Vallée (FRA) by Louis Burton, the CORUM L'Épargne (FRA) by Nicolas Troussel and the LinkedOut (FRA) by Thomas Ruyant, chose to remain grouped on a further south-east route during the first 48 hours of the stage.

2021 / 06 / 16: Angustious final with little wind, near Genoa, in the third stage The Ocean Race

The crew that compete in The Ocean Race Europe live the last miles with uncertainty and maximum emotion

Another 24 hours of loose wind in the Mediterranean as a major protagonist of the third and final stage of The Ocean Race Europe have caused the VO65 and IMOCA 60 fleets to be grouped as they move towards Genoa.

The five ships of the IMOCA 60 class are divided from the beginning, with the Offshore Team Germany (GER) patrolling by Robert Stanjek (GER), the only one who sails without foils, in the head from the start. In the last few hours, the group of the four bulldozers, 11th Hour Racing Team (USA) and the French LinkedOut, Bureau Vallée and CORUM L'Épargne have started to advance much faster and is significantly reducing the advantage of the Germans.

In the part of the 0000 UTC / 0200 CAST, Stanjek and his crew, made up of the navigator Benjamin Dutreux (FRA), Annie Lush (GBR), Phillip Kasüske (GER) and the reporter on board, Felix Diemer (GER), were 97 miles ahead of the rest.

Subsequently, in the part of the 1300 UTC / 1500 CEST, that advantage had been reduced by almost half, and it was 58 miles over the 11th Hour Racing Team, made up of the American patron Charlie Enright (USA), the winners of The Ocean Race Pascal Bidégorry (FRA) and Simon Fisher (GBR), the Swiss navigator Justine Mettraux, and the reporter Amory Ross (USA). The Americans lead the attack of the folier ships with a new wind that has allowed them to accelerate at speeds above 10 knots for the first time in 48 hours.

The Sailing Poland still maintained the lead this Wednesday, although with a very small advantage over its closest rivals, the Team Childhood I (NED) coming second and the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR) third.

The Polish flag ship patrolled by Dutch pattern Bouwe Bekking and with the canary Simbad Quiroga in its ranks has led the VO65 class for most of this third stage from Alicante and came to have 27 miles of advantage over the rest. Since yesterday, that advantage has been reduced to less than five miles.

Data at 10 p.m.

With less than 60 miles to the arrival in Genoa, only 26 miles separate the leader Sailing Poland from the seventh classified, The Austrian Ocean Race Project (AUT). The closest rivals of the Polish team, Team Childhood I with Simeon Testipont (NED) as patron and the Mirpuri Foundation Ocean Racing with Yoann Richomme (FRA) as patron and the Spanish Willy Altadill as head of guard, are four and six nautical miles from the leader respectively, ready to take advantage of any errors. But there are many possibilities that the wind will fall tonight in the approach to Genoa, so none of the fleet's persecutors can be ruled out to enter the podium of the third stage.

The latest estimates predict that the first arrivals to Genoa could be by midnight, but there is still great uncertainty about that forecast. If the wind stays as it is, the main VO65 could come more than two hours earlier. But if the wind amains as forecasts advance, the ships could be calmed just a few miles from the line of arrival until well into the morning.

2021 / 06 / 15: The lack of wind havoc in a scattered fleet in The Ocean Race Europe

The ships that sail further north of the fleet have advanced many miles

The crews that compete in The Ocean Race Europe have spent a second night marked by the restlessness in search of the wind that will help them in the third and final stage of the race from Alicante to Genoa.

Spread in two classes, with seven VO65 monotypes and five IMOCA 60 with some margin in their design, the crews, representing nine countries, starred last Sunday afternoon a quick exit from Alicante with 15-knots winds and a clear sky.

Since they left Alicante, both classes have had constant accelerations and stops due to irregular winds and large areas of total calm that hinder the route to Genoa.

The VO65 block class has made faster progress in these early hours, after having passed Mallorca and Menorca and having entered a pleasant north wind that reaches the Mediterranean from within France.

Situation of the fleet at 22.20 a.m.

In the last 24 hours, the leaders, the Sailing Team Poland, patronized by Bouwe Bekking (NED) with the Norwegian Aksel Magdhal as a navigator and the Canary Simbad Quiroga in their ranks, and the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team led by Yoann Richomme (FRA) with its French compatriot Nico Lunven in the navigation and Willy Altadill as the head of guard, have benefited from being the first to reach the new wind and have significantly widened the gap between them and the persecutor group.

Meanwhile, the Team Childhood-I, with a Dutch flag, patronized by Simeon Testipont (NED), breathed with relief after a complicated decision. The crew had placed everything on the north of the Balearic Islands, and was fighting to find some wind along the north-west coast of Mallorca.

2021 / 06 / 14: The little wind causes a fleet scattered around Mallorca in The Ocean Race

Separations in the fleet yield different results in the last ocean stage of The Ocean Race Europe

The 12 international teams that compete in The Ocean Race Europe have had to deal with very loose winds on their first night at sea after leaving this Sunday in the third and final stage of the competition from Alicante to Genoa.

The pre-departure weather forecasts predicted soft winds throughout the whole stage, and during the night the five IMOCA 60 and the seven VO65 ships slowly moved away from Alicante with speeds that rarely exceeded 10 knots in the most benign conditions.

In the IMOCA 60, the crew of Robert Stanjek's Offshore Team Germany (GER) took the northern route from the beginning, turning immediately after the last Tenca beacon, still very close to Alicante.

Similarly, in the VO65, when it became clear that most of the fleet was positioned to pass through southern Ibiza, Team Childhood I, with Dutch flag and patronized by American's double winner Simeon Testipont, decided to stay in the north in search of better winds. He didn't get any immediate benefits.

In the part of the 1430 local hour, as the teams approach Mallorca, still in very low wind conditions, the Offshore Team Germany had a good 12-mile advantage over the remaining four IMOCAs, the CORUM L'Épargne (FRA), the LinkedOut (FRA), the 11th Hour Racing Team (USA) and the Bureau Vallée (FRA), which sailed very together about 50 miles south of the largest Balearic island.

In the VO65, the main group passed through the Cabrera archipelago 5 miles from the southern coast of Majorcan, with the Sailing Poland (POL) of Bouwe Bekking and with the canary Simbad Quiroga on board in the first place, the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR), patrolled by Yoann Richomme, in the second place, and the Viva Mexico led by Erik Brockmann and with five Spaniards as part of the crew, including the navigator Juan Vila, in the third place.

Situation of the fleet at 21: 30

2021 / 06 / 13: Spectacular exit in Alicante of The Ocean Race Europe to Genoa

The exit of stage 3 took place under ideal conditions in which the five IMOCA ships gave a real show flying over their foils and the seven VO65 monotypes were divided from the beginning, anticipating an interesting tactical battle...

The third and final ocean stage of The Ocean Race Europe began this Sunday afternoon in Alicante, where the international fleet of 12 ships representing nine countries and is manned by regatists from all over the world left to travel the Mediterranean to Genoa.

In contrast to the high-wind conditions experienced by the crews in the first two stages, the weather part for the third stage predicts very low winds along the 600-mile route, which have ahead of them until they reach Genoa.

The tour of the third stage had a first stretch of girth to the exit beacon of Alicante, where the ships headed towards a second beacon located in front of the nearby island of Tabarca. From there, the crews have the freedom to choose their own routes without further buoys passing north through the Mediterranean to Genoa.

Situation of the fleet at 8 p.m.

The conditions were almost perfect, with 8-12 knots of wind and sunny skies, when the VO65 class first left at 1300 CEST / 1100 UTC, followed 20 minutes later by the five IMOCA 60.

At VO65, the AkzoNobel Ocean Racing led the first round by sailing closer to the coast to the exit beacon of Alicante, with the Mirpuri Foundation Sailing Team second and the Viva Mexico third.

In IMOCA class 60, Robert Stanjek's Offshore Team Germany (GER) made the most of its foyer configuration in the first row to lead in the exit buoy of Alicante, ahead of the 11th Hour Racing Team (USA), patronized by Charlie Enright, second, and Louis Burton's Bureau Vallée (FRA) in third place.

The last chance to add points to The Ocean Race Europe will be a coastal race in Genoa scheduled for Saturday, June 19, which will distribute bonus points to the first three classified in each class.

IMOCA
1.LinkedOut - 9 points
2.Offshore Team Germany - 9 points
3.11th Hour Racing Team - 9 points
4.CORUM L'Épargne - 6 points
5.Bureau Vallée - 3 points

VO65
1.Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team - 11 points
2.AkzoNobel Ocean Racing - 11 points
3.Sailing Poland - 10 points
4.The Austrian Ocean Race Project - 9 points
5.Team Childhood I - 8 points
6.AmberSail-2 - 7 points
7.Viva Mexico - 5 points

2021 / 06 / 12: The third stage of The Ocean Race Europe on Sunday to Genoa

Both the IMOCA and VO65 fleet are well matched before facing the last ocean stage of The Ocean Race Europe

The 12 international crews that compete in the first edition of The Ocean Race Europe will leave Alicante on Sunday, June 13, to Genoa in the final stage of the new return to Europe organized by The Ocean Race, at 12: 45 official time in Spain.

Loa five IMOCA 60 and the seven VO65, representing nine countries and manned by professional regatists from all over the world, arrived in Alicante last Wednesday after a three-day journey from Cascais in the second stage.

In the VO65, the Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team (POR) and the AkzoNobel Ocean Racing (NED) are first and second, tied with 11 points, after the two teams crossed the Mediterranean with less than half an hour between them. Third in the second and general stage, just one point behind, is the Sailing Team Poland.

Incredibly, the classification is even more adjusted in the IMOCA 60, with three teams tied to nine points: the LinkedOut (FRA) by Thomas Ruyant, the Offshore Team Germany, patronized by the German Olympic Robert Stanjek, and the 11th Hour Racing Team by Charlie Enright.

However, there are several teams in both classes that are still able to compete for the title in the general with a good result in the third stage and in the last coastal race scheduled for June 19 in Genoa, where bonus points will be awarded to the first three classified of each class.

The third stage tour will take the fleet from Alicante to a beacon of passage near the island of Tenca, just off the coast, and from there the teams will sail to Genoa without any restrictions, so the figure of the navigator will be fundamental at this stage.

IMOCA
1.LinkedOut - 9 points
2.Offshore Team Germany - 9
3.11th Hour Racing Team - 9
4.CORUM L'Epargne - 6
5.Bureau Vallée - 3

VO65
1.Mirpuri Foundation Racing Team - 11 points
2.AkzoNobel Ocean Racing - 11
3.Sailing Poland - 10
4.The Austrian Ocean Race Project - 9
5.Team Childhood I - 8
6.AmberSail-2 - 7
7.Viva Mexico - 5