‘It was perfect’ – Paul Meilhat delighted with second place finish in Leg 2 and adds ‘it’s a good story tell’

Biotherm had an eventful end to Leg 2 of The Ocean Race in a pulsating finish towards the coast in Cape Town, and skipper Paul Meilhat was happy to seal second place.

His team were battling alongside Team Holcim-PRB and 11th Hour Racing Team as the action reached its crescendo.

Team Malizia were also in contention to take the win and may have even claimed first place themselves, but had too much work to do ahead of that gripping three-team shootout between Biotherm, Team Holcim-PRB and 11th Hour Racing Team.

In the end, Kevin Escoffier’s Team Holcim-PRB secured the victory, while Meilhat’s side edged out Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing Team in second.

“Today was perfect with 11th Hour Racing Team and Holcim-PRB; it was so tricky and crazy. But at the end the finish line was perfect with the spinnaker, 20 knots of speed, sun, Cape Town. It was perfect.

“We are lucky to be in front of 11th Hour Racing Team and with Holcim-PRB. It could have been 11th Hour Racing Team in first. It’s a good story tell.”

Meilhat’s Biotherm teammate Amelie Grasse also spoke about the gripping finale to the Leg and the joy that comes after slugging it out after almost three weeks at sea.

“It shows that offshore racing is amazing,” she added.

“After 18 days of offshore racing we crossed the line within minutes of two other boats. It’s crazy!”

The Rules of The Ocean Race – namely Notice of Race 6.4 – state that teams are only allowed to use one set of foils during The Ocean Race.

However, teams can apply to replace a foil if it “suffers serious damage that cannot be repaired before a leg start”.

In a statement, the 11th Hour Racing Team said it had found serious damage to both foils after the boat had undergone surface Non-Destructive Testing in Cape Town after Leg 2, concluding that the foils would require extensive repair.

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