Third in Boka Bay: Team Malizia Clinches Podium Finish in Final Leg of The Ocean Race Europe 2025
by Team Malizia 15 Sep 06:33 BST
15 September 2025
The Ocean Race Europe Leg 5 Finish - Team Malizia celebrating third-place finish in Boka Bay © Vincent Curutchet | The Ocean Race Europe 2025
Team Malizia has accomplished a hard-fought third place in Leg 5 of The Ocean Race Europe 2025 after an intense final showdown across the Mediterranean.
In a stage where everything was still to play for until the very end, the team onboard Malizia - Seaexplorer sailed a tight battle with runner-up Team Holcim-PRB before crossing the finish line in Boka Bay, Montenegro, in the early hours of Monday 15 September at 01:26 am local time (23:26 UTC on 14/09/2025).
Having started in Genova, Italy, on 7 September, skipper Boris Herrmann (GER), co-skippers Will Harris (GBR), Francesca Clapcich (ITA/USA), Cole Brauer (USA), and onboard reporter Flore Hartout (FRA/NED), sailed over 1,600 nautical miles against six competing teams over the course of 7 days, 10 hours, 26 minutes, and 9 seconds. Battling thunderstorms, a challenging Mediterranean course, stretches of no wind, and the fatigue of six weeks of racing since the start in Kiel, Team Malizia remained firmly in the leading pack and fought to the very end to secure a podium place and five points in the race's final and longest leg. The German-entry team finished just 2 hours and 13 minutes after Leg 5 and overall race winner Biotherm and less than 54 minutes behind Leg 5 runner-up Team Holcim-PRB.
"It's fantastic to finish the race around Europe on the podium once again, just as we had hoped," commented Boris Herrmann on the dock in Boka Bay. "We fought hard for it, it was very exhausting, and thankfully we've now been rewarded. My congratulations go to Biotherm for winning this edition of the race. Paul Meilhat and his team sailed an incredible race all along, and this victory is more than well-deserved, I'm really happy for them."
Leg 5, with its Mediterranean zig-zag course, proved challenging from start to finish. The fleet faced a variety of conditions, and even in the final hours, sailing in very light winds while racing through the dark tested the sailors mentally. "There weren't necessarily any major surprises on this leg, but two moments stood out," the German skipper said. "First, the strong Mistral, where we were able to catch up and gain miles, clearly faster than Biotherm. Then, a day later, we lost a lot during a thunderstorm off Sicily. Those were the two key moments, I'd say. Beyond that, it was all about very small details, sometimes just a few metres, sometimes a few hundred metres of difference."
Co-skipper Will Harris described taking on the navigator role as a new and exciting challenge. "After all these years of sailing with the team, being the navigator was new for me," he said. "Overall, it went quite well. We made some good choices, not always the best ones, but we managed. The start was especially challenging. In the first 24 hours, finding a way out of Genova felt almost impossible. It was like you could throw the weather files in the bin. We're used to very reliable forecasts wherever we sail, so that was a new experience."
As the leg progressed, he said the team grew more confident: "We got better and better at understanding things, and each of us really found our roles and responsibilities. That helped us get the best out of the boat and the team. I think that really showed in the end with finishing third in a leg that wasn't our conditions at all, so it feels like a great achievement."
A key moment came after the Santa Stefano Latitude scoring gate (where Team Paprec Arkéa claimed two points and Allagrande MAPEI Racing scored one point), when a massive convective thundercloud approached. "We had to decide whether to try and sail away from it like the others, or stick to the shorter course to the waypoint and face it head-on," the British sailor recalled. "We chose the shorter course, sailed into the cloud, and caught a really nice gust that pushed us into first place towards the Ustica gate. That was a big boost."
Team Malizia stayed at the front of the pack throughout the leg, swapping positions with competitors and even taking the lead at times. "What was really hard to see was that when we made the choices that put us in first place, we never got the bit of luck needed to extend and hold the lead," Will Harris noted. "Other boats, like Biotherm at the end, managed to sneak away with small moves. We never quite got that piece of luck, but I'm proud we were fighting at the top. It shows that even though the overall race hasn't gone exactly as we hoped, and we're not on the overall podium, we still have the fight in us and always push to do our best and try to win."
For Leg 5, the crew onboard Malizia - Seaexplorer adjusted their watch system to test an organisation that would allow their navigator to focus on weather and strategy. "We had Will outside of the shift system, which was useful on a leg with so much coastline and numerous capes, but it also made things tougher because we were sailing with only three instead of four people," explained co-skipper Cole Brauer. "We switched to a two-hours-off, four-hours-on schedule. But if you tacked in the middle of your two hours off, you might only get 30 minutes of rest, and then suddenly be on for eight hours. It was completely exhausting and definitely pushed us mentally as far as you can go. It's fine for short races, but extremely challenging for longer ones."
Co-skipper Francesca Clapcich added: "All the teams are at such a high level, you can't give up even a meter or they'll catch up. Luckily, Allagrande MAPEI Racing and then Team Paprec Arkéa made strategic decisions, some of which we had considered and decided against, and as it turns out, didn't pay off in the end. We managed to secure a good result, get on the podium, and finally score some more points. That's really nice for the whole team, not just us on board, but also everyone working behind the scenes on shore, and it's important for all of us."
For Biotherm and their incredible performance over the past six weeks, any podium finish in Leg 5 was enough to secure overall victory in this edition of The Ocean Race Europe. But the rest of the scoreboard remains undecided, particularly between Team Malizia and Allagrande MAPEI Racing, who are still in contention for fourth place overall and currently separated by only one point. The outcome will be decided in the Final Coastal Race in Boka Bay on Saturday 20 September, a short but high-stakes inshore race.
"The big offshore legs are over, but we still have a short coastal race in Montenegro, which will last less than a couple of hours yet counts for as many points as a full week-long offshore leg," noted Francesca Clapcich. "It will definitely shake up the scoreboard. It's an exciting format for The Ocean Race Europe, keeping everything thrilling right until the very end." Boris Herrmann added: "We are really looking forward to the Final Coastal Race. We feel confident and these smaller courses are fun. Hopefully we can get good points there, secure the fourth-place ranking, and finish this very intense and memorable event with a strong result."
Until then, Team Malizia will spend a few days in Boka Bay with guest sailing, media interviews, and a short period of recovery. On Saturday afternoon, they'll take their Malizia - Seaexplorer to the start line for the final race of The Ocean Race Europe 2025. This will also mark the last race with this boat before handing it over to Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour and beginning a new chapter in their campaign with a brand-new IMOCA racing yacht.
Team Malizia's A Race We Must Win - Climate Action Now! mission is only possible due to the strong and long-lasting commitment from its eight main partners: KPMG Germany, the Yacht Club de Monaco, EFG International, Zurich Group Germany, Kuehne+Nagel, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hapag-Lloyd, and Schütz. These partners band behind Team Malizia to support its campaign, each of them working towards projects in their own field to innovate around climate solutions.