Record circumnavigators Boris Herrmann and Pierre Casiraghi present their Vendée Globe campaign in front of the spectacular backdrop of the Elbphilharmonie.

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.