New Malizia Seaexplorer 1297: Route du Rhum & Vendée Globe 2024-25 Watch Out!

Boris Herrmann’s offshore racing team’s new racing yacht, was launched this July after an 18-month period of innovative design and construction.

Malizia – Seaexplorer and her international team are once again ready to sail in solo and crewed regattas around the world, while continuing their mission to raise awareness of the climate protection. Imagine the effect of 80.000 hours of design and construction helped on by 250 team members and delivered on time to boot, a rare miracle in that industry.

Among the spectators at the launch were those who spent hundreds of hours building and designing the boat. They were joined by some of those who have supported the team for years, such as team founder Pierre Casiraghi, Vice President of the Yacht Club de Monaco, Otto Schacht, Executive Vice President of Sea Logistics at Kuehne+ Nagel and Veit Enders, Managing Director of SCHÜTZ – all wanting to commemorate the magical moment.

The future includes Team Malizia with Boris Herrmann taking part in the Route du Rhum next November. This will be the new boat’s first real test in this legendary transatlantic race from Saint-Malo to Guadeloupe, and will also be its first solo regatta since the Vendée Globe. During The Ocean Race 2022-23, Boris will sail on Malizia – Seaexplorer with co-skippers Will Harris, Rosalin Kuiper, and on-board reporter Antoine Auriol. This 6-month round-the-world crewed challenge will start mid-January from Alicante (Spain) and will be a further test for the new boat, this time in the harsh conditions of the South Seas – all aiming for the ultimate objective of the Vendée Globe 2024-25.

Thanks to the Ocean Pack, a mini-laboratory installed on the previous boat and now also on its new boat, Team Malizia has managed to collect oceanographic data, such as surface water CO2 levels, each time the boat sails. This valuable data, which is scarce in remote places like the Southern Ocean, helps marine scientists better understand and monitor the health of the oceans.

The racing boat, which sails under the Monegasque flag, bears the new sail number 1297, in tribute to the year in which Francesco Grimaldi conquered the rock of Monaco. The boat will be christened during the Malizia Ocean Festival on September 6th and 7th in her home port of Hamburg (Germany), where Boris Herrmann lives and where Team Malizia is based.

The technology and craftsmanship that went into building this boat is among the most advanced in the field of engineering. There are softer, rounder hull lines and a curved bow. The boat is even stronger than the previous one and the living space completely redesigned with state of the art ergonomics.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Unlike many other teams in the IMOCA class, Malizia – Seaexplorer is not a billboard for a single brand, but carries the wheel of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the team slogan A Race We Must Win – Climate Action Now, with the aim of raising awareness and inspiring ambitious climate action. Team Malizia and its seven main partners EFG International, Zurich Group Germany, Kuehne+Nagel, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, Hapag-Lloyd AG, SCHÜTZ and the Yacht Club de Monaco are united by this common mission.