A couple of weeks ago I had the chance to properly meet my future companion for my solo race around the world: the 60-foot sailing boat, Malizia-Seaexplorer. The occasion: one of the first training sessions with Team Malizia.

In preparation for the two upcoming offshore sailing races I’ll take part in this summer - the Course des Caps and The Ocean Race Europe - Team Malizia brought together the squad of sailors they have selected in Brittany, France, who will be taking part in both events. All of us were excited to get to know the boat better, the systems onboard, the sails set-up, and more.

It was great to be sailing once again alongside skipper Boris Herrmann (GER), Justine Mettraux (SUI) (JuJu and I were both with 11th Hour Racing Team for the last edition of The Ocean Race), as well as sail for the first time with Will Harris (GBR) (who I have chosen to be my co-skipper for The Transat Café L’OR) Louis Berrehar (FRA), and Cole Brauer (USA). A really international crew all with a broad experience in offshore sailing.

For two weeks we trained together as Team Malizia. For the first week we sailed with the Port-La-Forêt training centre - the very best offshore sailing school in the world - and we went offshore for 24-hours and tested some different sail configurations. We were not alone: alongside us were another six IMOCA teams and the level of sailing was extremely high. A few of the teams will be our future rivals and learning as much as we can from these sessions is key to improving the performance of our boat, and ourselves.

From the first day on the water with the team I found myself thinking a few times about how I would do a specific maneuver or sail change by myself … It’s hard enough with three people onboard - what will it be like when I’m on my own? It gives you so much perspective when you think about the challenges that the Vendée Globe skippers have to face during the most grueling two months of their lives - racing solo, and non-stop around the world. Hopefully that will be me in 2028 …

Malizia-Seaexplorer is a strong, seaworthy IMOCA - definitely her strength is in strong winds and big waves where the boat doesn’t plunge the bow in every wave and where it is possible to keep a really high average speed. However during the four days of training in Port-La-Forêt we didn’t have these strong conditions and that made it quite a challenging session as we tried to find the best mode and sail configurations. A lot of learning and overall lots of improvement for the team!

The inside of the boat I would say is all about ‘comfort’! We had some acceleration touching 32 or 33 knots [37mph | 59 kmph] and I felt really comfortable onboard, even when standing up in the cockpit. The boat is now set -up for a crewed configuration, but after The Ocean Race Europe we will get rid of some of the bunks and living space for four people and reduce it to what Will and I will need for the TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR.

It’s really exciting to be able to start the project in a crewed configuration and then transition into the shorthanded mode, having learnt about the boat with other sailors onboard. It definitely gives me confidence in my learning, and in a way less pressured to be having to do all this by myself right away

The other really nice part of the last two weeks was to be able to meet the wider team working at Malizia - our technical partner to Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing. They have real expert knowledge about the boat which will be invaluable, and will help to make sure she is ready for me, and we’ll be well supported by the team behind the scenes working on logistics and admin.

It’s a really great group of people, motivated, and at the same time ensuring they are having fun together. Most of them are young and bright, and bringing diversity of thought is in the DNA of my team too. I’m confident that the alignment in these values will make both of our teams more successful in the future!

The last couple of weeks has been full on: another training session with the Port-la-Forêt training team, some day sailing followed by 24-hours offshore, and also the short 1,000 nautical miles [1,151 miles | 1,852 kilometers] qualification for the TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR with Will. I’ll then return to UpWind by MerConcept for the first event of the year in Saint-Malo - I can’t wait to be back sailing with the team onboard the Ocean Fifty.

An exciting few months ahead.

The moment has finally arrived: I’ve sailed on my future IMOCA!

Our 2025 Team Schedule Is Here… And It’s Packed!