At 05:20:28 UTC / 02:20:28 local time in Brazil, Team Malizia glided across the finish line off Ocean Live Park in Itajaí to win leg 3 of The Ocean Race, collecting 5 points in the process.
The win comes on the 35th day of racing and after 14,714 nautical miles of intense, close-quarters racing.
The final push north was hard-fought. Team Holcim-PRB and Team Malizia were racing within in sight of each other – exchanging body blows all the way up the South American coast.
The penultimate night – Friday night – was a battle through yet another fierce storm, with gusts of 50 knots screaming off the coast and whipping up the sea.
Boris Herrmann and his crew on Team Malizia handled the conditions with aplomb, and emerged into the daybreak with a 60 mile lead after Holcim-PRB did a crash gybe overnight and suffered damage.
This was the largest lead any team had enjoyed since New Zealand over 10 days ago.
On the last day of the leg and into the final night at sea Team Malizia sailed fast and confident towards the finishing line, extending its lead to more than 80 miles and taking an historic win.
Team Holcim – PRB arrived second at Itajai! For Escoffier, the points gained on this leg solidify his position at the top of the leaderboard.
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