Seven international teams have departed Genova on the fifth and final leg of The Ocean Race Europe 2025, a demanding 1600-nautical mile passage threading through the Mediterranean and into the Adriatic Sea before finishing in Boka Bay, Montenegro. With an estimated eight days of hard racing still ahead, the 1500 CEST start sent the four-person, mixed-gender crews straight into a pressing tactical puzzle.
Montenegro's Minister of Maritime Affairs, Filip Radulović, was on the dock in Genova to farewell the fleet, promising a warm welcome when the yachts arrive in Boka Bay.
That first puzzle centred on wind. Would the breeze favour boats hugging the shore, or those pushing offshore? Several skippers admitted that morning they were still weighing the choice. Boris Herrmann, skipper of the German entry Team Malizia, called the opening conditions "challenging" while keeping his strategic intentions firmly under wraps.
"After the start today [the question will be] whether we will get the wind patch along the shore or offshore," Herrmann said. "I suspect the leg could be decided nearly right at the start, between those who go offshore and those who stay inshore. We will see."
The leg 5 course is anything but simple. From Genova the fleet heads south, passing through a Scoring Gate at the latitude of Sardinia's Santo Stefano, then weaves around a series of waypoints taking the yachts past Corsica, Sardinia, and Sicily, before rounding a waypoint west of Greece and turning north into the Adriatic toward the Boka Bay finish. Herrmann offered a frank assessment of the weather awaiting them.
"It's a long zig-zag of eight or nine days through the Med with a lot of curves and local effects and local winds, not a huge wind field but little patches here and there," he explained.
At the top of the overall standings, Paul Meilhat's Biotherm carries a 12-point cushion into this final leg, making the French entry the clear frontrunner for overall honours. Yet with 16 points still on the table, two at the Scoring Gate, seven for the stage win, and a further seven for the Coastal Race in Boka Bay on September 20, Meilhat and co-skipper Amélie Grassi know the title is far from secured.
Biotherm also heads into leg 5 with a crew change, Spanish Mini sailor Carlos Manera stepping in for Britain's Sam Goodchild. Meilhat was candid about what the swap means for the team.
"You don't replace a Sam with another Sam!" he said. "Carlos has a different profile, but one that suits us perfectly. He ticks a lot of boxes: Mini sailor, foiling, experience both in crewed and solo sailing.
"The solo sailing aspect is essential, because with four people on an IMOCA, everyone needs a high level of autonomy. Carlos is very versatile, and the idea is also not to put pressure on him but to keep him confident.
"For this leg, it will therefore naturally be Amélie who takes on the responsibility for navigation and strategy."
Chasing Biotherm through the Mediterranean are four boats locked in a tight contest for the remaining podium places: second-placed Paprec Arkéa, third-placed Team Holcim - PRB from Switzerland, fourth-placed Allagrande Mapei Racing, and Team Malizia.
The fleet crept away from the start line in barely-there conditions, ghosting across in a sub-five-knot breeze at speeds of just three to four knots. Leg 4 winner Ambrogio Beccaria aboard Allagrande Mapei Racing was quickest to find his feet, leading the fleet over the flat water in the opening exchanges. For this leg, the Italian yacht is also carrying The Ocean Race's Nature's Baton, presented to Beccaria by Genova Mayor Silvia Salis before departure.
Mayor Salis spoke warmly about what hosting The Ocean Race Europe has meant for the city.
"These events are fundamental for promoting the city. With The Ocean Race we share the values of sustainability, of protecting and respecting our seas and, of course, all the values of sport, which are universal," she said.
"When I meet the athletes, for me it's like diving back into the past: I love their lifestyle, their way of facing the future, their strength. This is the power that sport transmits. To the athletes I wish fair winds, but I also want to tell them to have fun. Sport is a very important driver: these major events are fundamental to attracting quality tourism..."
Marco Bucci, President of the Region of Liguria and the former Mayor of Genova who first brought The Ocean Race to the city, echoed her enthusiasm with ambitious plans for sailing in the region.
"Liguria is making a major effort to become the most important region in the Mediterranean for sailing sports. With The Ocean Race we have important development plans for the future, and therefore The Ocean Race will be part of our sporting events in the coming years and will involve all of Liguria, even if Genova will continue to play the main role. We are working to ensure that the event has even greater importance and reach across our territory, because we want sailing, which is extremely important for our region, to be one of the main sports practiced here."
Race Chairman Richard Brisius added his own tribute to Genova as the fleet prepared to depart.
"Genova has again proved to be the ideal home for our teams, welcoming us with warmth and enthusiasm. On behalf of The Ocean Race, I thank the city for its incredible hospitality.
"Before this final leg of The Ocean Race Europe, Mayor Silvia Salis inspired us with her vision for Genova's future. We're excited to support her and the city in building on our shared values: a passion for sport, an international outlook, and a commitment to sustainability, solidarity, and protecting the Ocean.
"These are the same principles that have guided The Ocean Race for over 50 years. Genova and Liguria are true partners who share our forward-thinking vision. This partnership will continue in November with The Ocean Race Summit Youth Genova, dedicated to the ocean and youth. It will be an opportunity to reinforce that sport can be a platform for change to create a more sustainable tomorrow."
Beccaria heads into leg 5 buoyed by that Leg 4 victory but clear-eyed about what the Mediterranean demands. He reflected on the tactical complexity ahead.
"This is a Mediterranean race and we have proved that we are good at it, so we just have to stick to the plan and see what is going to happen," he said.
"There are always a lot of tactics in this race because the weather in the Mediterranean is so unstable and unpredictable that you can't be 100 per cent sure of your options.
"So it is very important to watch the other boats but then also I think it is very important to be sure of your plan: to try to have a strategy and then have the tactics to apply that; to try to not do only what the other boats are doing, because then you have no strategy and that is not always good."
Allagrande Mapei Racing made a confident start to leg 5, with Beccaria and his crew looking at home in the tricky Mediterranean conditions from the gun.
Provisional leaderboard, The Ocean Race Europe
1 - Biotherm -- 41 pts 2 - Paprec Arkéa -- 29 pts 3 - Team Holcim PRB -- 27,3 pts 4 - Allagrande Mapei Racing -- 19 pts 5 - Team Malizia -- 18 pts 6 - Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive -- 13 pts 7 - Team Amaala -- 7 pts
