The Ocean Race: 'Back in the game' - Biotherm skipper Paul Melilhat confident after leg 3 delay
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Published 28/02/2023 at 11:54 GMT
A dramatic start to the third leg of the 2023 Ocean Race saw two teams forced to suspend racing amid changing wind conditions. Paul Melilhat, the skipper of Biotherm, one of the teams forced to return to the shore before resuming the race, is confident his crew have ironed out all their issues and are ready to compete on the journey from Cape Town to Itajai, Brazil.
'A good opportunity to come back' - Meilhat on Biotherm's complicated start to leg 3
Paul Melilhat says his Biotherm team are "back in the game" following their delayed start to the third leg of the Ocean Race.
Biotherm were one of two teams, along with 11th Hour Racing Team, who were forced to suspend racing at the start of the gruelling 12,750-nautical mile journey from Cape Town to Itajai, Brazil.
After wind conditions played havoc with the start, a breakage to the strop on their mainsheet saw Melilhat and Biotherm head back to the shore.
Back in the race, the team are currently in last place; however, the skipper confirmed the necessary repairs had been made ahead of their resumption and the team are ready to make an impact.
“After a delayed start, we started more than nine hours behind the others at midnight yesterday from Cape Town to fix the problem,” Melilhat told Eurosport.
“After a hard night along the coast of the Cape of Good Hope, a windy night, a busy night and this morning, we are in a ridge and the other boats stopped a bit more than us.
“So it was a good opportunity to come back, and now, just before the sunset, we saw 11 Hour Racing Team. So that is a good thing. We are not far away and are back in the game.
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'We broke the loop' - Paul Meilhat explains exactly what went wrong on Biotherm boat
“It is a light wind tonight, and tomorrow we enter a low pressure that is quite deep.
“So the idea is to find a good way to have a good speed, not too much wind and not too much weight.”
Holcim-PRB lead ahead of GUYOT environment Team Europe, with 11th Hour Racing Team in third. Team Maliza are fourth ahead of Biotherm.
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The Ocean Race - review of the drama so far, from drag race to fascinating duels
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You will be able to watch live coverage from every leg of The Ocean Race 2023 with Eurosport and discovery+.
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