IMOCA Articles
IMOCA Roared Back to Life as the 1000 Race Opened the 2026 Globe Series
There is no easing yourself gently back into solo offshore racing. Not in an IMOCA. Not after the Vendée Globe.
And certainly not when your first job of the new season is to disappear into the North Atlantic for a thousand miles of cold fronts, tactical traps and sleep deprivation.
That was the reality facing seven skippers as the 2026 IMOCA Globe Series opened from Port-la-Forêt with the start of the 1000 Race — a compact but demanding offshore contest stretching north to the Fastnet Lighthouse before diving south again into the Bay of Biscay.
© Martin Viezzer / disobey. / MACIF
Seven skippers. One thousand brutal miles
23-05-2026
The Ocean Race Atlantic 2026: Lorient Set as the Finish Line for a New Offshore Classic Some races follow history. Others start writing it. The first edition of The Ocean Race Atlantic was firmly in the second category — and with the finish now confirmed in Lorient, the shape of this new offshore test became very clear. This wasn’t just another crossing.
It was a statement.
New York to Lorient — A Route With Meaning The fleet was set to leave New York City on September 1st, pointing east across roughly 3,000 nautical miles of North Atlantic water — a route as historic as it is unforgiving.
17-05-2026
The IMOCA Class entered 2026 with a five-race calendar blending solo endurance and fully-crewed intensity, setting the stage for one of the most demanding and technically advanced offshore seasons yet.
16-05-2026
The IMOCA Class entered 2026 with a five-race calendar blending solo endurance and fully-crewed intensity, setting the stage for one of the most demanding and technically advanced offshore seasons yet.
16-05-2026
A 14,000-Mile Opening Statement: The Ocean Race 2027 Raises the Bar from Alicante to Auckland
With less than a year to go, The Ocean Race has fired a clear warning shot across the bows of the offshore world. When the fleet leaves Alicante on 17 January 2027, crews won’t be easing into the race — they’ll be thrown straight into the longest opening leg in the event’s 53-year history.
06-03-2026
A 14,000-Mile Opening Statement: The Ocean Race 2027 Raises the Bar from Alicante to Auckland
With less than a year to go, The Ocean Race has fired a clear warning shot across the bows of the offshore world. When the fleet leaves Alicante on 17 January 2027, crews won’t be easing into the race — they’ll be thrown straight into the longest opening leg in the event’s 53-year history.
06-03-2026
In offshore sailing, true greatness is rarely defined by speed alone. It is shaped by endurance, judgement, innovation — and the ability to keep going when the ocean, the clock, and life itself begin to apply pressure. This year, the Magnus Olsson Foundation has recognised exactly that blend of qualities by naming Charlie Dalin as the recipient of the 2025 Magnus “Mange” Olsson Prize.
04-01-2026
An IMOCA initiative designed to shift the balance in ocean racing and the wider marine industry is stepping up a gear this season, setting bold goals on the road to the next Vendée Globe in 2028.
26-11-2025
FORT-DE-FRANCE, MARTINIQUE — After nearly two weeks of relentless ocean racing, Jérémie Beyou and Morgan Lagravière aboard Charal have claimed a resounding victory in the 17th edition of the Transat Café L’OR, sealing their dominance in the IMOCA Class with a performance that will be remembered for years to come
12-11-2025
With just over 500 nautical miles remaining, the Transat Café L’OR 2025 has evolved into a high-speed masterclass in precision, endurance, and teamwork — led by Jérémie Beyou and Morgan Lagravière aboard Charal. As the pair charge westward through the rolling Trade Winds toward Fort-de-France, Martinique, the black and red IMOCA is flying, averaging speeds that have left their rivals in the wake of frothing whitecaps and disbelief.
10-11-2025
LE HAVRE, FRANCE | The final IMOCA race of the 2025 season has officially roared into life, as 18 of the world’s fastest foiling yachts crossed the start line of the Transat Café L’OR, bound for Fort-de-France, Martinique.
Stretching 4,350 nautical miles across the North Atlantic, the race marks the dramatic finale to a year of relentless competition for the IMOCA fleet — and with conditions building out of the English Channel, this one promises to be fast, furious, and full of fireworks.
05-11-2025
In the world of offshore sailing, some boats earn a reputation for being more than just fast—they become legends. This week at the Défi Azimut – Lorient Agglomération, that legend grew as British skipper Sam Goodchild, sailing with French co-skipper Loïs Berrehar, drove the IMOCA MACIF Santé Prévoyance to yet another victory.
24-10-2025
The Boka Bay Coastal Race, sailed against the dramatic backdrop of Montenegro’s mountains and calm turquoise waters, was the perfect finale to this summer’s edition of The Ocean Race Europe 2025. It had everything: close-quarters duels, tactical brilliance, and one last show of dominance from Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm, who sealed overall victory with yet another flawless performance.
08-10-2025
Paul Meilhat’s French-flagged IMOCA Biotherm has crowned a masterclass campaign with victory in the fifth and final leg of The Ocean Race Europe 2025, securing an emphatic overall championship win in the five-week, 4,500-nautical-mile sprint around Europe.
22-09-2025
The Ocean Race Europe 2025 fleet four days into the gruelling fifth leg, a 1,600-mile Mediterranean marathon from Genova, Italy to Boka Bay, Montenegro — and the battle at the front is as intense as ever.
20-09-2025
The Ocean Race Europe fleet has finally shaken free of the light airs that dogged their departure from Genova, Italy, and now the competition is back at full throttle. With fresh Mediterranean breezes filling in overnight, the IMOCA fleet has sprung into life, powering south at speeds of over 30 knots. For the French entry Paprec Arkéa, skippered by Yoann Richomme, it’s been a near-perfect start to Leg 5 — and their early efforts were rewarded at the crucial Santo Stefano Scoring Gate, where they crossed first to claim two vital bonus points.
17-09-2025
The stage is set for a finale worthy of The Ocean Race Europe 2025. Seven hardened IMOCA crews, battle-tested from weeks of light-air duels, bone-shaking sprints, and sleepless nights, now line up for the ultimate test: a 2,000-nautical mile marathon from Genoa, Italy to Boka Bay, Montenegro.
13-09-2025
It was the finish Ambrogio Beccaria had dreamed of since the start: an Italian skipper, sailing an Italian-flagged IMOCA, flying into his home waters of Genova under the glare of floodlights and the roar of a midnight crowd. After 600 hard miles, Allagrande Mapei Racing delivered the goods, claiming victory in Leg 4 of The Ocean Race Europe 2025 and proving that sometimes, yes, fairy-tales do come true.
12-09-2025
The Gulf of Genova has become the stage for high drama in The Ocean Race Europe 2025. After more than 400 nautical miles of pressure-cooker racing on Leg 4, the fleet is compressing once again. And right at the heart of the action – in home waters – is Italy’s own Allagrande Mapei Racing, fighting tooth and nail for the lead.
11-09-2025
The Ocean Race Europe 2025 has reached its penultimate chapter, and it opened today in pure Mediterranean style. Nice delivered a sun-splashed send-off, the Bay of Angels shimmering as seven IMOCA crews unfurled their Code Zero sails and slipped the lines for Leg 4, a 550-mile loop around Corsica before the grand finale in Genova.
09-09-2025
After a long, sticky night of light airs downwind sailing close along Mallorca’s rugged northern shoreline, Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm (FRA) has emerged with an 11-nautical mile advantage over Holcim-PRB (SUI), the pair locked together for much of the night in a bruising battle of patience and precision.
03-09-2025
In the early hours of Saturday morning, under the faint glow of dockside lamps, Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm ghosted across the finish line in Cartagena. The time was 04:53 local, the crew exhausted yet elated, as they completed Leg 2 of The Ocean Race Europe 2025 with a clean sweep of every scoring opportunity on offer.
01-09-2025
The Mediterranean has once again lived up to its trickster reputation, turning the charge to Cartagena into a drifting match. Only hours after blasting through Gibraltar at 30 knots, Paprec Arkéa were wallowing along at barely one – watching Biotherm and Holcim-PRB slip north and the chasing pack roar back into contention.
31-08-2025
Portsmouth turned on the sunshine this evening as seven IMOCAs thundered off the Royal Yacht Squadron line at 17:00, launching the second leg of The Ocean Race Europe 2025. Ahead lies 1,400 nautical miles of hard running to Cartagena, Spain, with a midweek fly-by off Matosinhos-Porto to keep things lively.
23-08-2025
Upwind pace isn’t usually the party trick of an IMOCA, but Paul Meilhat’s Biotherm has been proving otherwise in Leg One of The Ocean Race Europe – and it’s giving them the edge.
15-08-2025
Strap in for six weeks of offshore mayhem. Seven of the fastest, foiling, fully-crewed IMOCAs on the planet — and their multination, mixed-gender crews — are setting out from Kiel this weekend on a 4,500-nautical mile sprint-slugfest to Boka Bay, Montenegro.
11-08-2025
Onboard Reporters in the Course des Caps: up close with the sailors and enjoying the challenge of bringing the race to life
09-07-2025