Third on the podium into Boka Bay, Montenegro, and now fighting for fourth overall in The Ocean Race Europe. Our seven week tour around Europe is about to come to a close with this weekend’s inshore race an all-important decider.

That was a tough and complicated leg. I’m back ‘home’ now in Italy - where I grew up - and it was amazing to sail into Genoa yesterday, to be welcomed by so many people, to hear crowds of people speaking Italian again!

It was beyond hot onboard Team Malizia for the last leg, from Cartagena, Spain to Nice, France. It was all we could do to keep up our calorie and water intake to ensure we didn’t end up lacking energy or get too dehydrated.

Team Malizia is currently sailing off Ireland’s wild east coast, heading south toward the finish line in Boulogne-sur-Mer. They’re expected to arrive late tomorrow, navigating strong winds along the way. Francesca continues her offshore adventure aboard Malizia - Seaexplorer.

In this episode, the moment finally arrives — I step onboard Malizia-Seaexplorer for the very first time! It's a big moment because this is going to be the boat I will hopefully sail on the 2028 Vendée Globe ...

Frankie is going to co-skipper Malizia-Seaexplorer with Britain’s Will Harris in the upcoming Course des Caps. Read on to find out more about this 2,000 mile race around Great Britain and Ireland.