Malizia’s trouble
- Struck an object in the water at high speed overnight, tearing a pneumatic ram out of its mounting and disabling trim control on the port-side foil
- Skipper Boris Herrmann’s first words after the impact: “We’re still in the race, but…”
- Crew spent two to three hours jury-rigging a fix; the boat is back near full speed but can no longer trim that foil for lift
- Also managing a separate ballast tank leak, adding unwanted weight
- Result: a 55.7nm swing in 24 hours, from leading outright to fourth, the biggest single reversal of the race so far
Current standings, distance to finish
- 11th Hour Racing – 1867.2nm (Francesca Clapcich)
- United by the Ocean – 1871.8nm (4.6nm behind)
- DMG Mori – 1882.7nm (15.5nm behind)
- Malizia – 1922.9nm (55.7nm behind)
- Embrace the Challenge – 1996.1nm (129.0nm behind)
- MSIG Europe – 2179.5nm (312.3nm behind)
Aotearoa Ocean Racing
Conrad Colman’s all-Kiwi crew are still paying for Wednesday’s furling line repair, forced dead downwind at the peak of the breeze and now sailing in noticeably lighter air than the rest of the fleet. Two jibes in 12 hours since. One upside: unlike the front five boats getting pounded in rough seas, the crew have had an actual chance to rest.
Super Sprint standings
United by the Ocean won today’s 20-minute sprint. Malizia still leads the cumulative series on 19 points from three wins, with DMG Mori and 11th Hour Racing tied second on 16 each.
Also in the fleet
DMG Mori, sailing a boat only months old, has climbed from as low as fifth to third. Embrace the Challenge sits fifth on the oldest foiling design left in the race, skipper Oliver Heer calling it “a great learning platform” despite the performance gap to newer boats.
Weather
The fleet remains in the low-pressure system it’s been chasing since day three, with the next 24 hours flagged as the best remaining window for big daily mileage before the breeze lightens and the approach into Lorient turns tricky.
