I arrived in Portsmouth, UK, yesterday just in time to see Team Malizia arrive after Leg 1 of The Ocean Race Europe. The fleet had left Kiel in Germany on August 10, and after 1,000 nautical miles, it was a close fought battle right to the finish with Paprec Arkéa. Team Malizia crossed the line in second place after a tense final stretch, just ten minutes ahead of the French team, and 1h 55m behind the Leg 1 winners, Biotherm. It felt really good to be on the dock to welcome them all back. You could see on their faces both the satisfaction of a strong result and the deep tiredness from such a demanding, maneuver-heavy leg.

And tomorrow it will be my turn to get back onboard. This leg will take us from Portsmouth to Cartagena, Spain, with a fly-by in Matosinhos, Portugal. The route will have a bit of everything, starting with medium winds, getting lighter towards the finish. The English Channel will bring its usual mix of currents, boat traffic, and inevitable surprises!

There are a few crew changes from Leg 1. Will Harris (GBR) will be our skipper, which feels perfect since we are starting in his home waters. He has been part of the Team Malizia project for years and is not only an incredibly skilled sailor but also someone I truly enjoy sharing a watch with. We also have Loïs Berrehar, a French sailor who has a natural instinct for how a boat should feel. And there is Justine Mettraux (SUI), an offshore legend, two-time Ocean Race winner, and top-ten Vendée Globe finisher. JuJu and I have been on the same teams before but never actually sailed the same leg together until now, so I am really looking forward to learning from her.

For me this race is about more than just the result. It is also about miles, about hours on the helm and trimming, about understanding how this IMOCA behaves in every condition. I’ll be taking ownership of the boat after the finish of The Ocean Race Europe and my on-water campaign with 11th Hour Racing will begin, so these miles are important for me personally as part of my build-up to solo sailing and getting to know the boat inside out. Sailing with Will, who will be my co-skipper for the rest of the year, gives us valuable time to learn each other’s rhythms which is so important in double-handed racing.

I am happy to be back in The Ocean Race with this team and also to be part of such a strong seven-boat IMOCA fleet. I am especially glad that the two damaged boats from Leg 1 have made it back: I know how much effort that takes. Watching the progress of their repairs brought back memories of the last Ocean Race when we had to fix a massive hole in the boat after the start in The Hague, The Netherlands. It was the same type of repair and the same all-hands effort. No one wants to win because another team has to drop out, the best racing is when everyone is on the line from start to finish, pushing each other all the way.

Now we are just one day away from the gun: Portsmouth to Cartagena. Let’s make it count.

THE CREW

Will Harris

Will is British, but he’s spent so much time in France that sometimes he feels half-French. He’s done a lot of offshore racing, came through the Artemis Offshore Academy when he was young, did miles and miles of Figaro, and then really found his stride in the IMOCA Class with Team Malizia. Officially, Boris is our skipper, but Will carries a huge amount of responsibility in the team, especially when it comes to working with the tech crew to squeeze every bit of performance out of the boat. He’s an amazing sailor and honestly, he’s an even better person. Always full of energy, and just genuinely nice to be around. Before this project, I didn’t really know him well, and now I’m just glad I get to share more time onboard with him.

Loïs Berrehar

Loïs (really hard name to pronounce for a non-french person - Low-iss!) is pure talent. He’s young, with this kid-like face that tricks you into forgetting how much experience he already has. He has previously skippered Figaro boats, racing at the top levels of short-handed sailing. The thing with Louis is, when he steps on a boat, the very first thing he does is take the helm just to feel the boat. He doesn’t go straight to the numbers or what ‘should’ be fast, he lets instinct and sensation tell him. Even without loads of time onboard Team Malizia, he tunes into a boat instantly. It’s a rare skill, and I love watching him do it.

Justine Mettraux

JuJu (everyone calls her that) has sailing running through her veins. She grew up in Switzerland in a family where basically everyone sails at a high level: her brother in the America’s Cup, her sister, Elodie, and I together on Turn the Tide on Plastic and UpWind by MerConcept, and one more sister, Laurane, in the Swiss SailGP team. JuJu has spent her whole career offshore: starting with the Mini Transat, then the Figaro, and onto The Ocean Race (twice a winner, which no other woman has done!). Last year, she sailed the Vendée Globe, finished seventh, was the first non-French finisher, and broke the women’s record for the race. She’s calm, always thinking two moves ahead, and makes really solid calls. We’ve been in teams together before, but somehow we’ve never been on the same leg until now. I’m determined to learn as much as I can from her, especially about IMOCA sailing, and bring it back to my own campaign.

Flore Hartout OBR

Flore is a dynamo onboard the boat! She first got hooked on the sailing world when she was ten years old, watching British sailor, Sam Davies, race on her bright pink Roxy IMOCA and would plead with her parents to take her to every race start she could. Passionate about storytelling at sea, she taught herself photography, filmmaking, and onboard reporting, chasing a dream: to become an OBR for The Ocean Race. And she’s made that happen! Which I think is so cool. Flore is responsible for all of the content coming off the boat - the videos, photos, and words. It’s a tough job onboard these boats and she manages that always with a smile!

On Sunday I will be onboard Team Malizia for the start of Leg 2 of The Ocean Race Europe

THE CREW

From the start to the finish line: the story of my first race