Hare relishing chance to be part of The Ocean Race Europe
The Ocean Race Europe 2025 poses a very different challenge though, with the Hare joining Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive for the 4,500-nautical mile multi-stage offshore race from Kiel to Boka Bay in Montenegro.
And while she admits there was some nerves about relinquishing some of the control to which she has grown accustomed as a single-handed yachtsperson, the freedom of working in a team has been a joy.
She explained: 'I'm used to racing these boats solo, racing with a crew is a different dynamic, there is a lot more intensity, you tend to get more focused on the details than you do alone on the boat and I'm loving that change.
'It's a brilliant opportunity personally as an athlete to learn from my peers which you don't get in solo racing. The course itself is absolutely fantastic, it's a really cool concept to link the west and the east of Europe via the sea, it's going to be very fast-paced, it's incredibly challenging with different weather systems and navigation and the stopovers are short.
'That has been the real happy revelation for me because I was a little bit trepidatious about how I would integrate into a full team.
(Image: Lloyd Images / The Ocean Race Europe 2025) 'Naturally as a solo sailor you are used to doing everything and being in control of everything. So sometimes it's a little difficult to give that up but our team is fantastic.
'It's so collaborative and the most wonderful thing is the first time you realise you can totally and utterly trust someone it just feels incredibly liberating.'
Hare has been integral to putting the team together, working under skipper Scott Shawyer. But she acknowledges that Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive are a little way behind some of their rivals in terms of preparation time, having spent much less time together to gear up for the race.
She added: 'We're still quite a new team, we've only had the boat for three months and it's a very technical piece of equipment. Learning the boat takes a long time and we've just been time poor through the whole campaign.
'Trying to have the balance of the technical preparation, all the necessary maintenance and upgrades, and pulling a team together from places around Europe to actually have solid training sessions together, we've really been juggling our schedules.
'Out of all the teams, we're one of the ones that has had the least practice probably. We have to go in with realistic objectives. We've got a fantastic boat with an incredible pedigree, but we are a new team.
'These boats are not plug and play, they take a while to learn. We are racing against teams with boats of a similar calibre, but they have had their boats for three or four years, so they know every tiny detail, they know exactly when to change sails, how to drive the boat.'
Seven international teams, seven stopovers, 4,500 nautical miles, racing for the ocean. The Ocean Race Europe comes to Portsmouth 14 - 17 August - the city where the race first began in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Pip Hare delighted to return to North Sea sailing roots
A leading British sailor taking part in one of the world's most prestigious yacht races said it was "fantastic" to be competing in the waters where she learned her Hare, 51, lived in Huntingdon in Cambridgeshire and learned to sail on the River Deben in part of the Canada Ocean Racing team, she is taking part in The Ocean Race Europe, with the first of five legs seeing sailors travel from Kiel in Germany to Portsmouth."I grew up sailing here [in the North Sea]. We don't often get to race in this part of the world, so it's really nice to come back to my roots," said Hare. The event began on 10 August, with sailors expected to arrive in Portsmouth on leaving Britain, the second stage will see the race head to Cartagena, Spain from will ultimately hope to reach the Adriatic Sea and Boka Bay, Montenegro, where the race is due to finish next month. Hare, who is now based in Dorset, said Canada Ocean Racing were "new kids on the block", having been formed just two months year, she experienced heartbreak as her attempt to become the first woman to finish a 24,300-mile (45,000km) solo race around the world for a second time was ended when the mast of her yacht suffered a dismast about 800 nautical miles (1,480km) south of Australia during the Vendée Globe race and required two weeks to reach on the experience, she said it was "the most devastating part of my sporting career to date".She said: "Even thinking about it now hurts... when you're a solo sailor you don't have any choice just to sort yourself out and get yourself to safety. To be the solution to the problem." About 200 sailors have taken part in the Vendée Globe over the years, but only 114 have actually managed to cross the finish line due to the extreme sailors follow a route south past the continent of Africa and then head east toward then sail around Antarctica, before sailing close to the tip of South America and up through the Atlantic Ocean towards said she was often asked if she got lonely during her sailing."I always say in answer to this question there is a massive difference between being lonely and being alone," she said."I choose to be alone; nobody chooses to be lonely."I know I have my friends, my family, the people who follow the race; I know there are so many people thinking of me, wishing me well, and I know they're going to be there when I get home." Follow Suffolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- South Wales Argus
Harris hopes for surge in interest as Ocean Race heads to Portsmouth
Weybridge sailor Will Harris hopes a growing British influence in The Ocean Race Europe can ultimately result in a team being based on these shores. The 31-year-old is co-captaining Team Malizia in the 4,500-nautical mile multi-stage offshore race which began in Kiel this week and ends in Montenegro on September 20. Harris is one of seven British sailors taking part and will have the chance to sail on home waters, with Portsmouth marking the end of the first leg on August 14 before the second leg begins from there three days later. He moved to France to pursue his sailing dreams but hopes more British investors and commercial partners come on board to make a UK-based team a reality. 'It is really good to see that we are finding pathways into this top level offshore racing world,' Harris said. 'But we really need to see a British team on the start line. That is the next step and hopefully that will happen at some point in the future. 'We need to find some backing from the British market. We are really trying to encourage the British population to follow the sport, get behind what we are trying to do and try and win some of these big and famous races. 'If we can do that, hopefully we'll get these British companies or partners to sponsor a team to go and try and win The Ocean Race. 'The other one is the Vendée Globe, the solo around the world race which was made quite famous in the UK by Ellen MacArthur about 20 years ago. 'We have never won that race so that would be a historic moment. If we could manage that, it would be massive for any company associated with it.' Harris was part of the Malizia crew who finished third in The Ocean Race two years ago and is particularly excited to be heading on to British waters for this instalment. 'It is really cool to bring the boats to Portsmouth and show people what this race is about,' he said. 'It is the top level and most exciting offshore racing that we have now. 'It will be a challenging race and we will have to adapt quickly. But we are going to some really cool places and finishing in Montenegro will be a whole new experience.' Sustainability is one of the key aspects of The Ocean Race Europe and it is also a topic close to the heart of Harris, the holder of a degree in Oceanography. 'We do our own scientific research,' he said. 'Wherever we are sailing, we have sensors on board collecting ocean data such as CO2 levels and temperature. 'We submit this to different scientific institutes we are partnered with, they can treat the data and put it into their models to see how they oceans are changing both naturally and due to human impact. 'Each time we do a race, we can see how things are changing and hopefully this can help us better understand our impact and see what we can do to improve and regenerate the oceans as well. 'It is basically free research - we don't have to send out a research vessel, we can do it while we are racing and it doesn't hinder us in any way at all. 'The Ocean Race are very involved in inspiring and educating the next generation about why our oceans are so important. 'We get to sail in very remote parts of the ocean and we really rely on our oceans so if we can show what is in them, what we experience while we are out there, we can use that as a tool to inspire and educate, as well as how we can make changes in our day to day life to help protect them.' Seven international teams, seven stopovers, 4,500 nautical miles, racing for the ocean. The Ocean Race Europe comes to Portsmouth 14 - 17 August - the city where the race first began in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race
South Wales Argus
4 days ago
- South Wales Argus
Hare relishing chance to be part of The Ocean Race Europe
The 51-year-old, who grew up in Huntington and now calls Poole home, has been sailing for three decades completing legendary races like the Vendée Globe and the Route du Rhum over that time. The Ocean Race Europe 2025 poses a very different challenge though, with the Hare joining Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive for the 4,500-nautical mile multi-stage offshore race from Kiel to Boka Bay in Montenegro. And while she admits there was some nerves about relinquishing some of the control to which she has grown accustomed as a single-handed yachtsperson, the freedom of working in a team has been a joy. She explained: 'I'm used to racing these boats solo, racing with a crew is a different dynamic, there is a lot more intensity, you tend to get more focused on the details than you do alone on the boat and I'm loving that change. 'It's a brilliant opportunity personally as an athlete to learn from my peers which you don't get in solo racing. The course itself is absolutely fantastic, it's a really cool concept to link the west and the east of Europe via the sea, it's going to be very fast-paced, it's incredibly challenging with different weather systems and navigation and the stopovers are short. 'That has been the real happy revelation for me because I was a little bit trepidatious about how I would integrate into a full team. (Image: Lloyd Images / The Ocean Race Europe 2025) 'Naturally as a solo sailor you are used to doing everything and being in control of everything. So sometimes it's a little difficult to give that up but our team is fantastic. 'It's so collaborative and the most wonderful thing is the first time you realise you can totally and utterly trust someone it just feels incredibly liberating.' Hare has been integral to putting the team together, working under skipper Scott Shawyer. But she acknowledges that Canada Ocean Racing - Be Water Positive are a little way behind some of their rivals in terms of preparation time, having spent much less time together to gear up for the race. She added: 'We're still quite a new team, we've only had the boat for three months and it's a very technical piece of equipment. Learning the boat takes a long time and we've just been time poor through the whole campaign. 'Trying to have the balance of the technical preparation, all the necessary maintenance and upgrades, and pulling a team together from places around Europe to actually have solid training sessions together, we've really been juggling our schedules. 'Out of all the teams, we're one of the ones that has had the least practice probably. We have to go in with realistic objectives. We've got a fantastic boat with an incredible pedigree, but we are a new team. 'These boats are not plug and play, they take a while to learn. We are racing against teams with boats of a similar calibre, but they have had their boats for three or four years, so they know every tiny detail, they know exactly when to change sails, how to drive the boat.' Seven international teams, seven stopovers, 4,500 nautical miles, racing for the ocean. The Ocean Race Europe comes to Portsmouth 14 - 17 August - the city where the race first began in 1973 as the Whitbread Round the World Race.
