The third leg of The Ocean Race Europe 2025 got underway Tuesday afternoon in Cartagena, Spain under sunny skies and scattered clouds.
The seven teams – representing six countries – spent four days in Cartagena after completing the race’s 1,400-nautical mile second leg from Portsmouth, UK – via a Fly-By at Matosinhos / Porto in Portugal – marking the first time The Ocean Race has visited the ancient Spanish city.
After a closely contested start in 12-17 knots of north-easterly breeze the the crews were immediately into upwind mode, with the boats crisscrossing tacks against the wind as the fleet made its way along the spectacular Spanish coastline towards the scoring gate at Cabo de Palos.
An early split in the fleet saw Team Malizia and Allagrande Mapei Racing stage a breakaway offshore move in the south while the other five battled it out closer to the coast in the north.
Half an hour into the race, Team Holcim PRB had a narrow advantage with the gate still 8 miles away. With upwind conditions expected to continue overnight in the region, the sailors look to be in for a testing first night at sea.
UPDATE: Biotherm win 2 points for leading through the Cabo de Palos scoring gate; Paprec Arkéa earn 1 point for second place
The course for Leg 3 takes the Ocean Race Europe fleet past the Balearic Islands and around the French island of Giraglia at the northern tip of Corsica on the way to Nice on France’s Côte d’Azur, where the leaders are expected to arrive on or around 29 August.
