From the team: Biotherm 2nd into Genova

Press release from Biotherm

Just trailing the winner Malizia, Biotherm finished this final leg in second place after a last 24 gruelling hours battling the flat calm of the Mediterranean. Treating themselves to a much-deserved dip in the port of Genoa after securing silver, the whole of the Biotherm team were as one, thrilled to have pulled off such a magnificent feat: completing their 6-month round the world epic.

Italian glacis

The heated exchange in the IMOCA fleet stretched across nearly 12 days in all, but the hierarchy for the 7th and final leg of The Ocean Race was ultimately decided in the last 24 hours. Victory could have gone to any one of the three competitors still out on the racetrack, but in the end it all played out in unbearably light airs along the Côte d’Azur and the Gulf of Genoa. Malizia secured the win ahead of Biotherm, which pocketed her second silver in The Ocean Race.

Hard work pays off

Though there’s still one last In-Port race to go on Sunday, Genoa is also synonymous with the end of the show. The end of an exceptional 6-month marathon and nearly 105 days of sailing in all. As we await the definitive scores (to be announced on 29 June), Biotherm is guaranteed to finish 4th in The Ocean Race 2023. Paul Meilhat has realised his dream and fulfilled his mission: to compete in this legendary event, which this year celebrates its 50th anniversary, to enhance his boat’s performance and bring her safely home, bringing his united entourage together again as one. From Spain to Italy, via Africa, the Deep South, South and North America and northern Europe, Biotherm, along with Malizia, is also the only team, to have completed every one of the 7 legs. Aboard a monohull launched just four and a half months before the start in Alicante, and with a scaled-down shore crew, it always seemed like a very bold challenge. However, energy, self-sacrifice, passion and a strong work ethic saw the whole of the Biotherm clan rise to the challenge and go from strength to strength.

Quotes:

Paul MEILHAT, skipper: “Since the start we’ve known that everything was going to be decided off Genoa and that’s just how it played out. We tried to bend our course around the coast, but that wasn’t entirely successful. It’s fantastic to finish in second place, though we’d have liked to have done better. We risked everything at the end. It was an incredible race. All three boats were in contact the whole time. Yesterday evening, any one of us could have won the race! This leg was a success for us, as was our plan not to break the boat and to keep on top of the massive logistical challenge represented by The Ocean Race. We’ve pulled it off and that’s a great source of satisfaction. We’re split between a sense of relief that it’s all over, as we’re done in, whilst also wanting it to continue.”

Marine LEGENDRE, Team Manager: “When we set off, we didn’t really know what we were getting involved in! In the end, we all stuck together, we worked very, very hard, all together, with a great deal of passion. That’s why it worked, despite us only being a small team. We pulled it off, we’ve completed the race! Paul circumnavigated the globe with the crew! Though we’re slightly disappointed about the overall ranking, the journey we’ve been on and the progress we’ve made as a team is incredible. Today, we have a boat that is reliable and works. We were a young team with only a little experience. In 6 months, it’s like we’ve gained years of experience!”

Marc LIARDET, boat captain: “We made it to the end of the adventure. We weren’t always confident, but we finished with a boat, which has gone from strength to strength over the course of the race. I believe it’s a great result! We’ve worked hard, we have a good team, which has raised its game throughout. On a human level, it was interesting to see how the shore crew evolved and how everyone stepped up to the plate. Our skipper inspired us to give our all for him! The whole team was eager to work hard and to succeed. We’ve learned a great deal and that will enable us to step things up again going forward.”

Gregory BENOIT, President of the Biotherm brand: “It’s the end of an adventure, but it’s also the start of a brand-new page. Witnessing them all arriving here in Genoa, they are the grand champions to my mind. Winning is not necessarily about finishing first. To make it all the way to the end, in every one of the legs, without any major damage, is a victory in itself in my view. They’ve learnt to get to know one another better and Paul has managed to really get to grips with the boat. I’m incredibly proud of all that they’ve accomplished. In-house at Biotherm, we were monitoring how the boat was doing in every leg and we had a debriefing every morning about it when we got to work. It was the hot topic of conversation every day. All fifty or so of Biotherm’s employees will be with us tomorrow to celebrate this success, to meet the team and to discover the boat.”