A battle at the front
Leg 3 of The Ocean Race Europe has already delivered its first showdown. By midday today, Biotherm (FRA) and Holcim-PRB (SUI) were duelling just a mile apart as they tacked north of Ibiza, each team vying for control in the volatile Mediterranean breeze.
Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm continues to set the pace, adding two more points to their perfect record at the Cabo de Palos gate yesterday evening. Co-skipper Amélie Grassi admitted the crew took a moment to celebrate. “We had some good speed, so yes, two more points at the scoring gate. We are really happy with that,” she said.
No easy rest
The opening night was brutal across the fleet. Sailors faced constant manoeuvres as the wind flickered between 8 and 25 knots, with the carbon IMOCA interiors sweltering in summer heat. Sleep was scarce, focus absolute.
Team Malizia’s Cole Brauer captured the mood: “It’s been breeze versus angle pretty much the whole night. Tons and tons of trimming, moving things, trying things… It’s mainly about organising ourselves so that, when we get the shift we want, we can tack and it will be advantageous for us.”
The tactical puzzle — whether to hug the coast for angles or sail offshore for pressure — tested every team. By dawn, the two leaders had threaded through the exclusion zone off Cap de la Nau and begun their breakaway towards the Balearics.
Fitness session at sea
Few know more about tacking duels than Holcim-PRB’s Franck Cammas. The French helmsman admitted the workload was punishing: “We tacked many times right from the start. The beginning of the leg was hard because there were a lot of manoeuvres. For me it’s easy because I helm. But for the crew it is not easy at all. They had a good fitness session right from the start.”
By late morning, Holcim-PRB had closed within a mile of Biotherm, the two leaders locked in visual contact, testing each other’s sail choices and angles as they lined up for the next transition at Mallorca’s Dragonera headland.
The chase behind
While the French and Swiss duel ahead, Team Paprec Arkéa lead the pack 12 miles back in third. Their advantage is slim: Allagrande Mapei Racing, Malizia, Canada Ocean Racing, and AMAALA all trail within a mile of each other. One missed tack or mistimed shift could shuffle the entire order before nightfall.
As the fleet grinds up the north coast of Mallorca, sailors know the next 24 hours will prove decisive. North or south routing, shifts in the low-pressure system, and sheer crew endurance will shape the race to Corsica and, ultimately, Nice.
Looking ahead
The next turning mark is Menorca, where the leaders are expected to pass well to the north before setting their bows towards the Côte d’Azur. With Biotherm and Holcim-PRB battling for every metre, and the chasing pack only a squall away from rejoining the fight, Leg 3 is shaping as the most tactical and physically demanding of the race so far.
As Brauer put it, “We need to stay in as much breeze as we possibly can.” In the Mediterranean, that’s easier said than done.
