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Dramatic start: collision of the favorites at the Ocean Race Europe!
Kiel is the starting point of the Ocean Race Europe 2025. Drama at the start: collision between two boats puts a strain on the event.
Dramatic start: collision of the favorites at the Ocean Race Europe!
The Ocean Race Europe clearly made sailing enthusiasts around the world sit up and take notice again this year. With a history dating back to 1973, when the regatta was founded as the Whitbread Round the World Race, it has been attracting the best sailors for 52 years. From 2001 the event was known as the “Volvo Ocean Race” and is now considered one of the toughest challenges in sailing. The German victory of ‘Illbruck’ under skipper John Kostecki in 2002 is still one of the unforgettable moments today , reports yacht.de.
The race is not just a competition, but also tells stories of extremes: from mast failures and records to dramatic rescue operations, such as in 2014 when Team Vestas hit a reef in the Indian Ocean, but luckily all crew members escaped unharmed. The crews defy the whims of the ocean and push their boats to the limits of their endurance. The regatta is currently running in Europe, with the first start in Kiel.
Dramatic start and collision
However, the start of the Ocean Race Europe was anything but smooth. Just two minutes after the start there was a violent collision between the Italian team “Allagrande Mapei” and the Swiss boat “Holcim PRB”. Both Imoca yachts suffered serious damage and had to return to Kiel. Fortunately, all crew members were uninjured, but the incident left a bitter aftertaste. Allagrande Mapei skipper Ambrogio Beccaria expressed sadness over the incident, while the Holcim crew is struggling with major damage - a sizeable hole in the hull wall , as the Associated Press reported.
On the other hand, Holcim skipper Rosalin Kuiper was optimistic and emphasized the work of a crisis team to repair the boat as quickly as possible. Following the cancellations, only five teams remained in the race and conditions for the first 24 hours were described as intense, with strong winds and high speeds. The race takes place over several stages and a total of 4,500 nautical miles into the Mediterranean under the motto “Connecting Europe”.
Current rankings and challenges
As is often the case in sport, there are positive things to report after setbacks: Skipper Boris Herrmann explained the challenges of the first stage from Kiel to Portsmouth, which demanded a lot from the participants. Currently the team ‘Malizia’ is in third place, behind ‘Biotherm’ and ‘Paprec Arkea’.
The Ocean Race Europe route goes from Kiel via Portsmouth in England, Matosinhos in Portugal, Cartagena in Spain, to Nice in France and finally to Genoa in Italy before the race ends in Boka Bay in Montenegro in mid-September , according to Wikipedia.
It will be exciting to see how the remaining boats overcome the challenges of the regatta and what stories will still be told. The Ocean Race Europe shows once again how fascinating and yet unpredictable sailing can be.