A Kiel winner and a Malizia promise

Susann Beucke from Kiel is the high-flyer in the 14th Ocean Race. The Olympic silver medalist from Strande near Kiel only switched from Olympic sailing to sea sailing a year ago. The long-term goal is to successfully take part in the solo circumnavigation of the world Vendée Globe, where Boris Herrmann sailed into the hearts of German fans in 2020/2021. After the last-minute engagement for the Swiss team Holcim - PRB, "Sanni" Beucke has now experienced a successful premiere in the Ocean Race. On her first assignment for the crew around French skipper Kevin Escoffier, Beucke won the second stage straight away with the blue-green racing yacht “Holcim – PRB”.

“There were super emotional moments when we walked in. The stage was much harder than I had expected," reported the 31-year-old from the North German Regatta Club at the celebrations in the Cape Town stage port. After two stages, Team Holcim – PRB leads the Ocean Race classification with a maximum of ten points ahead of the US team 11th Hour Racing (7 points) and the French team Biotherm (6 points).

Boris Herrmann's team Malizia (5 points) has to place itself in fourth place in the overall ranking after stage ranks three and four, ahead of the taillights of Guyot Environnement - Team Europe (2 points) with Berlin skipper Robert Stanjek.

While Boris Herrmann was recovering from his scalded foot in Cape Town on stage one, his team around substitute skipper Will Harris competed in a strong second stage. However, the hoped-for happy ending did not materialize because the crew of the “Malizia – Seaexplorer” decided in favor of a risky approach to Cape Town in the finale and was not rewarded for it. "The last hours of the race were not in our favour, but the team kept fighting and we are very proud of them," said Herrmann from Hamburg. “Will has shown his talent as a leader. That was only the second stage. There is still a long way to go before the grand finale in Genoa.”

The outlook of the four-time circumnavigator, who contests his first ocean race with his own "Malizia - Seaexplorer" under the German flag: "I'm looking forward to being on board with the crew again for the next stage."

From February 26th, the ocean race fleet will face the king's stage of this edition, which leads over 12,750 nautical miles without interruption from Cape Town to the Cape of Good Hope, Australian Cape Leeuwin and Cape Hoorn to Itajaí in Brazil. The regatta around the world has a total of seven legs.

When asked if she felt prepared for the most brutal stage of the circumnavigation after the successful start, Susann Beucke said: "I've been wondering that too. How can that be endured for five weeks? Our skipper Kevin Escoffier always says that a person can adapt to any condition. It's going to be damn hard."

The ocean race trainee, who attests skipper Escoffier “a great willingness to learn”, is convinced that her team can win the ocean race: “Because we are really good and because we have the team, the boat and the motivation for it.” Beucke added with a smile: “And because our team song is 'Unstoppable' by Sia. If you pay attention to the text: 'I am a Porsche with no breaks' - this is our team Holcim - PRB."