Hamburg/Munich. Successful yacht “Malizia” in front of the
Hanseatic city’s iconic symbol, the Elbphilharmonie: One week after
the victory at the Atlantic Anniversary Regatta, skipper Boris
Herrmann presented Team Malizia’s Vendée Globe campaign to the media
in his home city today. It was the first time that the IMOCA 60
racing yacht was on display in Hamburg, the “gateway to the world”.
In 2020, Herrmann will become the first German to take on one of the
greatest and toughest challenges in yachting: 25,000 nautical miles
around the globe, solo, nonstop, and without external support. BMW
is on board as team partner with their automotive construction
expertise and experience of transferring technology to competitive
sailing. The “Malizia” sails under the standard of the Yacht Club de
Monaco (YCM). The vice president of the YSM, Pierre Casiraghi, is
the youngest son of Princess Caroline of Monaco, regularly sails
with Herrmann and was also present in Hamburg.
Herrmann and Casiraghi presented the “Malizia”, an almost 20-metre
Open 60 class racing yacht, to children, sailing fans, journalist and
sponsors in detail, spoke about the great challenge of the “Vendée
Globe” and presented the climate research and educational project
“Malizia Ocean Challenge”.
“Today is a very special day in my sailing career, because this very
special yacht is in my home city for the first time. The fact that our
yacht is in front of this iconic backdrop makes us very proud,” said
Herrmann. “Hamburg is no world metropolis like Berlin, for example,
but it is the gateway to the world and very cosmopolitan. Which is an
excellent match for the Vendée Globe.”
In the evening, the “Malizia” was hoisted out by crane and placed in
front of the spectacular Elbphilharmonie building in the “Platz der
Deutschen Einheit” (German unity square). BMW and the Elbphilharmonie
have enjoyed a cooperative, long-term collaboration for many years.