A highly emotional moment as Team Holcim-PRB returns to racing
by Team HOLCIM - PRB 17 Aug 18:06 BST
17 August 2025
Team Holcim-PRB returns to racing in Leg 2 of The Ocean Race Europe 2025 © Yann Riou | Holcim-PRB
The start of the second leg of The Ocean Race Europe in Portsmouth, was one full of emotions for Team Holcim-PRB. Rosalin Kuiper (NL), Franck Cammas (FR), Nicolas Lunven (FR), Alan Roberts (GB/BR), and onboard reporter Anne Beaugé (FR), the crew that will sail the course from England to Cartagena, Spain, took time to warmly thank the entire shore team, for their dedication and tireless effort in getting the green and blue IMOCA back on the start line for leg 2.
After having to sit out the opening stage following last week's collision, the sailors made no secret of their enthusiasm and determination to return to competition. They know this stage will be highly strategic, and that they'll need to get into race mode immediately. As soon as it became clear the boat would return to the race, they focused on the 1 400 miles of competition ahead, with particular attention to the weather patterns that would set the pace in both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.
The challenge of making it to the start of this second leg was a collective achievement of the full team, and now it's up to the four sailors on board to show what they're made of. The forecast looks rather pleasant: downwind sailing with some stronger breeze in places, and key transitions that could make the difference.
Team navigator Nicolas Lunven breaks down the expected conditions: "We'll be leaving the English Channel with an easterly breeze, quite strong overnight from Sunday into Monday. It'll be downwind, up to 25-28 knots. From Ushant, the wind is expected to drop very quickly because of a sharp transition zone, between the strong easterly in the Channel and a much lighter northwesterly flow across almost the entire Bay of Biscay. That transition will be a decisive moment in the leg, and tough to get through. Then we'll head south across the Bay of Biscay to a waypoint off Cape Finisterre, on a reaching leg in a moderate northwesterly. The run down the Portuguese coast should be in steady trade winds of around 20 knots—fast and fun. After Gibraltar, where lighter winds await, we'll enter the Mediterranean. And as often happens there, it will be a matter of poetry or philosophy. The forecasts are still uncertain—it's a little too far out."
The teams are expected in Porto on Wednesday for a three-hour pitstop, before the IMOCA fleet sails on to Cartagena, where they are due to arrive next Saturday.