A festival start turns to chaos
Kiel turned on the charm for the start of The Ocean Race Europe 2025. Flags lined the Kiellinie promenade, brass bands played, and the harbour was thick with spectator boats close enough for the crews to hear cheers. After a week of sailor parades, speed runs and perfect summer weather, seven IMOCA 60s lined up for the first leg to Portsmouth — 850 nautical miles packed with wind farms, rocky coasts, and the narrow channels of the Danish straits.
No one expected the first major twist to come within a mile of the start.
With seconds to go, Team Holcim PRB, skippered by Rosalin Kuiper, powered in on starboard with rights. Above them, Ambrogio Beccaria’s Allagrande Mapei Racing bore away under a big masthead sail. As the breeze built, Holcim PRB broached, Mapei heeled hard, and the two boats collided. Mapei’s headsail shredded; a gash tore into Holcim PRB’s port topsides.
Both boats turned back immediately. The rest of the fleet pressed on.
The Ocean Race Europe 2025: From festival to fallout in the first mile
Racing into the night
Biotherm, skippered by Paul Meilhat, grabbed the Kiel Lighthouse scoring gate for the first two bonus points, with Paprec Arkéa in second and Canada Ocean Racing – Be Water Positive in third. Meilhat’s crew kept the pressure on through the first night, sailing fast and smart in close company with Yoann Richomme’s Paprec Arkéa.
“The start was super intense, and we definitely burned a lot of energy,” Richomme admitted. Biotherm’s Amélie Grassi added that the opening hours were “relentless” with unstable winds, heavy traffic, and constant adjustments. “For a long time, all four of us were in the cockpit working,” she said. “We had a clear plan for onboard organisation and sail trim — so far, it’s gone without a hitch.”
That focus paid off. By dawn, Biotherm still held the lead. But at Skagen, on Denmark’s tip, the tone shifted from fast, flat reaching to a bruising upwind slog into 15–20 knots. Short tacking against a choppy sea, crews faced noise, motion, and spray that made rest almost impossible.
The Ocean Race Europe 2025: From festival to fallout, and a fight for the lead
A fight to repair — and return
Back in Kiel, the two damaged teams wasted no time. For Beccaria, skippering Allagrande Mapei for the first time, the moment was “a mix of disappointment and pride… disappointment at having to withdraw so early, but immense pride in the way the team reacted.”
The list of damage was daunting. The starboard shroud system was badly compromised, requiring replacement of the D0 outrigger stay — donated by rivals Paprec Arkéa — and a full outrigger supplied by TR Racing’s other IMOCA, Advens 1. These carbon components were dispatched from Lorient the morning after the collision, due in Kiel within 24 hours.
Structural inspections focused on the D0 chainplate, a high-load attachment point that sees forces over 30 tonnes. Ultrasound scans and designer consultations were under way to confirm whether repairs could make the boat race-ready. On the sail front, the J0 headsail was destroyed beyond repair, while the mainsail’s large tear had already been patched.
Holcim PRB faced a similar flurry of repairs, with both teams also lodging formal protests — matters to be decided later by an international jury.
The road ahead
For Biotherm and the other front-runners, the first full day at sea promised no respite: upwind bashing, little rest, and tight-quarters racing. For Allagrande Mapei and Holcim PRB, the race is now on land — sourcing parts, repairing systems, and rejoining the fleet for Leg 2 from Portsmouth to Cartagena on 17 August.
As Amélie Grassi put it, “We all hope they’ll find a way to get back in the race.” In The Ocean Race Europe, fortunes can change in a mile — and recovery is as much a part of the story as the sailing itself.
