Team Malizia arrived in The Netherlands in third, consolidating their third place in The Ocean Race standings ahead of the final stage of the around-the-world adventure.

The shortest leg of the race provided the highest result. The Monaco Yacht Club’s (YCM) team, skippered by Boris Herrmann brought the Malizia-Seaexplorer into the port in The Hauge in third place, just one minute and 20 seconds behind Team Holcim PRB in second, and just over 13 minutes behind winners 11th Hour Racing, who look increasingly assured of taking the overall victory.

The flotilla did a fly-by in Kiel, Germany, at which point the Monegasque team were languishing in fifth place, but they rallied overnight, making up time and places to give themselves a shot at victory. Having forced themselves ahead of Holcim, some “funny lines of wind” cost Team Malizia their second spot on the podium, according to Herrmann.

Team Malizia ready for final departure

“We made a very good comeback. It was really intense and amazing racing. We did a 30-nautical mile comeback on them and we are pretty happy with that, although we are missing out by just over a minute,” added the German skipper.

There is now a tight and hectic turnaround as the flotilla prepares to depart for the final time; now towards the Italian port city of Genoa. The departure will take place on Thursday, with the epic journey, which began in Alicante back in January, set to conclude in the coming days.

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Photo source: Sailing Energy