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Boris Herrmann

We compete on the highest level in the toughest races, inspire action & create awareness and highlight solutions to the climate crisis.

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Skipper Boris Herrmann feels strong with his crew going into the final leg of The Ocean Race

Skipper Boris Herrmann feels strong with his crew going into the final leg of The Ocean Race © Ricardo Pinto / Team Malizia

The seventh and final leg of The Ocean Race starts this Thursday 15 June at 18:15 local time (16:15 UTC) and will see Boris Herrmann, Will Harris, Rosalin Kuiper, Nico Lunven and Antoine Auriol race from The Hague to Genova for the grand finale in Italy. This leg will conclude Malizia - Seaexplorer’s 31,300 nautical mile lap around the world in which the team has secured a podium position.

This Thursday, the fleet of five IMOCA race yachts will depart The Hague in the Netherlands and be on their way to Genova in the 

 will see their crew from the very first leg and the Southern Ocean leg reunited for a 

 back into the Mediterranean Sea after 5,5 months of racing around the world. Skipper 

 in both coastal waters and offshore, and give their all to try to finish second in the overall ranking.

“I feel very strong going into this leg”, said skipper 

 the day before the start. “For this final leg of The Ocean Race, we have our ‘

 reunited. It feels like the family is back together with Nico the navigator back on board. It makes us feel very strong with him covering the navigation and the weather. Rosie, Will, and I can really focus on making the boat go fast. We 

 and I feel very strong going into the next leg with them.”

 added: “The previous leg was kind of decisive in the sense that it took away the hope for an overall victory of The Ocean Race. The hope was already slim before Leg 6, nevertheless we are 

. We can go all in, we can really try to win this one, and maybe, with lots of good circumstances, we can still be second overall. So there is still a lot to play for.”

 of this edition commented: “I would love to win The Ocean Race, it’s definitely a dream to try and win it one day. I think we can be really proud of what we have achieved so far, we have done a fantastic race. When I think back to Alicante, we’ve come a really long way. We’ve had some

 which could have kept us in the hunt. We were probably one of the less experienced teams, with almost all of us being 

, we gained a lot of experience and it is great to be fighting against these more experienced boats and more experienced sailors. We are definitely 

still in the fight to try to win this Leg 7

, and if we do and Team Holcim-PRB finishes last, then we take second place overall. So we will give it everything. I really hope that we can have a fantastic race, enjoy it, and appreciate what we have done in the last few months.”

“We will approach the final leg as we approached any other leg”, added co-skipper 

only female sailor to have completed the full lap

 around the world in this edition of the race. “We will give our 100%, keep pushing the boat, pushing each other, and try to win it!”

, who rejoins Team Malizia after having sat out the last two legs between Newport and The Hague, is fresh and ready for the final push. “The race might finish soon but it’s not finished yet”, said the 

. “We still have a tough leg to race and all of us are very much in a competitive mindset.”

“It will be a long and complicated race towards Genova, with a variety of weather challenges and strategic situations”, explained

. “We will have an inshore section coming out of The Hague, where we will have to slalom a bit around the many exclusion zones due to wind farms, traffic separation zones, and oil rigs. We will have to be on high alert. The English Channel is often complicated, with a lot of changing currents and light winds, especially in the summer.”

 adds: “Sailing into the Atlantic, into the Bay of Biscay, and down the Portuguese coast it will be proper offshore sailing, and with a bit of luck we should have stronger winds again. Then, passing through the Gibraltar Strait will be fairly complex.”

“Coming into the Mediterranean, it can be very much anything”, commented 

.  From drifting around for days to very strong winds that come off the North, one of the most famous ones being the Mistral, which can be very rough, like in the Southern Ocean. Further into the bay of Genova it can be an area with no wind. It will be difficult to have any prediction on our precise ETA at the end of the leg, but we expect a total of 10 to 12 days.”

“We sailed to Genova in The Ocean Race Europe last time and that finish was really tricky with light winds”, remembered 

. “So you really have to look for every opportunity right until the end. I’m looking forward to the challenges in terms of weather that come with this leg, and also I am really happy to have Nico as navigator back on board.”

A Race We Must Win – Climate Action Now!

mission is only possible due to the strong and long-lasting commitment from its 

: Kuehne+Nagel, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hapag-Lloyd, Schütz, the Yacht Club de Monaco, EFG International, and Zurich Group Germany. 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.

Co-skipper Will Harris is ready for the final push to Genova, Italy

Co-skipper Rosalin Kuiper will be the only female sailor in this year's Ocean Race to have sailed the full lap around the world

Co-skipper Rosalin Kuiper will be the only female sailor in this year's Ocean Race to have sailed the full lap around the world © Antoine Auriol / Team Malizia

Nico "The Brain" Lunven is back onboard Malizia - Seaexplorer and in charge of weather and navigation

Onboard reporter Antoine Auriol in action

Malizia - Seaexplorer racing in The Hague during The Ocean Race

In-Port Series scoreboard after The Hague’s In-Port Race

The IMOCA and VO65 fleets of The Ocean Race 2022-23 in The Hague

The seventh and final leg of The Ocean Race starts this Thursday 15 June at 18:15 local time (16:15 UTC) and will see Boris Herrmann, Will Harris, Rosalin Kuiper, Nico Lunven and Antoine Auriol race from The Hague to Genova for the grand finale in Italy. This leg will conclude Malizia - Seaexplorer’s 31,300 nautical mile lap around the world in which the team has secured a podium position. 