Max warp speed for days on end! Pip Hare will be joining Canada Ocean Racing for The Ocean Race Europe\u00a0– she explains what she’s looking forward to this summerBritish IMOCA skipper Pip Hare has announced that she\u2019ll be racing alongside Canadian skipper Scott Shawyer on Shawyer\u2019s Be Water Positive campaign for the 2025 edition of The Ocean Race Europe.
\nPip will be onboard as part of the four-person team for every stage of The Ocean Race Europe, which is a crewed multi-stage race that begins on 10 August 2025.
\nShawyer\u2019s team is shortly about to take possession of their new foiling IMOCA yacht (details to be announced soon) on the next stage of his working towards the 2028 Vend\u00e9e Globe.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s a nice development,\u201d she told Yachting World. \u201cI\u2019ve been speaking with Scott ever since he started his campaign. I remember what it was like coming into the class and kind of feeling a bit isolated \u2013 so I always try to check in with him, see how he\u2019s doing, see if there\u2019s anything I could support him with.<\/p>\n
Hare and Shawyer in the foiling \u2018Canada Ocean Racing\u2019 IMOCA \u2013 details to be unveiled soon.
\n\u201cThen after my dismasting (in the 2024 Vend\u00e9e Globe) we started talking about what a collaboration might look like, whether I could support him with stepping up into a foiling boat.\u201d
\nHare\u2019s own IMOCA is currently being shipped back to Europe after dismasting in the 2024 Vend\u00e9e Globe. She is currently seeking a new title sponsor for her own Vend\u00e9e Globe 2028 campaign.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s one of the really positive things about being able to collaborate within the class.
\n\u201cWe\u2019re all out there on our own with our own projects and very much in competition, particularly at the moment. Trying to find sponsorship is very hard for everyone. So all pulling together to maintain our knowledge, to keep driving performance while still trying to look for our own projects is going to be a really important thing for quite a number of sailors.
\n\u201cI\u2019m going to be kind of driving the sailing programme over the next two months. I\u2019m really looking forward to the opportunity of sailing with some other IMOCA sailors and learning from them about how to manage the boat fully crewed \u2013 this idea of being able to sail a foiling IMOCA at max warp for days on end, the power of collective minds and strength. That\u2019s really exciting to me.
\n\u201cI\u2019m just really pleased that Scott and I have been able to work something out. And it\u2019s going to be exciting to see another non-French team making an impact.\u201d
\n\u201cI think we\u2019re going to have a lot of fun over the summer.\u201d
\nThe course for The Ocean Race Europe \u2013 Leg 2 will be a monster!
\nOcean Race Europe course
\nHowever, she points out that the course for the Ocean Race Europe is going to be tough.
\nThe race starts from Kiel in Germany, with stage finishes in Portsmouth, UK, then a \u2018flyby\u2019 at Matosinhos in Portugal before finishing the long Leg 2 in Catagena, Spain. Leg three takes the fleet onto Nice, then they race to Genova, before hooking around Italy to finish in Montenegro.
\n\u201cHaving taken part in the Ocean Race Europe in 2021, I know about the challenges of the Mediterranean \u2013 particularly the massive frustrations as well of wind shadows and parking up.
\n\u201cLeg two is going to be enormous and then the leg from Genoa to Montenegro is a complete unknown for me, that\u2019s an area in the Med that I haven\u2019t been to before.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be an intense race \u2013 the stopovers aren\u2019t very long.\u201d
\nScott Shawyer shortly after announcing his IMOCA campaign \u2018 Canada Ocean Racing\u2019. Pictured here training on the team\u2019s first run offshore with his original boat and mentor Alex Thomson. (Photo by Lloyd Images)
\nShawyer, a successful businessman and lifelong amateur sailor, announced his Vend\u00e9e Globe ambitions in 2022. He has since worked with Vend\u00e9e veterans Alex Thomson and Nick Moloney as he builds experience and preparedness for the 2028 race.
\n\u201cPip is a ruthless competitor with a huge heart,\u201d he said. \u201cShe brings a rare mix of tenacity, experience, and humanity to the team. Her ability to dig deep and lead through action will be a huge asset to us.\u201d
\nThe post Max warp speed for days on end! Pip Hare on joining Canada Ocean Racing for The Ocean Race Europe\u00a0 appeared first on Yachting World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Max warp speed for days on end! Pip Hare will be joining Canada Ocean Racing for The Ocean Race Europe\u00a0– she explains what she’s looking forward to this summerBritish IMOCA skipper Pip Hare has announced that she\u2019ll be racing alongside … <\/p>\n