August 27, 2025
2 minutes reading time
The Ocean Race Europe: Fleet powers out of Cartagena with uncertain forecast ahead
The third leg of The Ocean Race Europe 2025 got underway this afternoon in Cartagena, Spain under sunny skies and scattered clouds, as the fleet of seven state-of-the-art IMOCA yachts, each crewed by four-person mixed gender crews, powered away from the 3,000-year-old city at the start of the 680-nautical mile passage through the Mediterranean to Nice, France.
The seven teams – representing six countries – spent four days in Cartagena after completing the race’s 1,400-nautical mile second leg from Portsmouth, UK – via a Fly-By at Matosinhos / Porto in Portugal – marking the first time The Ocean Race has visited the ancient Spanish city.
After enjoying all Cartagena has to offer and entertaining local crowds with a spectacular day of speed trials, today it was back to competitive action for the teams as they began what promises to be a complex leg with volatile weather conditions expected on the planned three-day leg to Nice.
Biotherm have chalked up a perfect score so far, collecting the maximum points available over the first two legs of the race to lead the overall standings and taking 2 points at the scoring gate. With the race at the midway point, Meilhat has opted to refresh the French team’s four-person lineup, replacing Jack Boutell with Benjamin Ferré (FRA) – a former Mini 6.50 sailor who finished sixteenth (and first non-foiler) in the 2024-25 Vendée Globe.
After a closely contested start in 12-17 knots of north-easterly breeze the the crews were immediately into upwind mode, with the boats crisscrossing tacks against the wind as the fleet made its way along the spectacular Spanish coastline towards the scoring gate at Cabo de Palos.
An early split in the fleet saw Team Malizia and Allagrande Mapei Racing stage a breakaway offshore move in the south while the other five battled it out closer to the coast in the north but half an hour into the race, Team Holcim PRB had a narrow advantage with the gate still 8 miles away. With upwind conditions expected to continue overnight in the region, the sailors look to be in for a testing first night at sea.
The course for Leg 3 takes the Ocean Race Europe fleet past the Balearic Islands and around the French island of Giraglia at the northern tip of Corsica on the way to Nice on France’s Côte d’Azur, where the leaders are expected to arrive on or around August 29.
Text and images courtesy of The Ocean Race. Read more here.