Home / Sports / United by the Ocean Crew Snatches Dramatic Win
United by the Ocean Crew Snatches Dramatic Win
10 Sep
Summary
- Paul Meilhat's crew won the inaugural Ocean Race Atlantic.
- They overtook the leader in the final miles of the race.
- The race sailed 3,000 nautical miles from New York to Lorient.
Paul Meilhat and his United by the Ocean crew have triumphed in the first-ever Ocean Race Atlantic, a new transatlantic sailing event. They secured a dramatic victory by overtaking American skipper Francesca Clapcich's 11th Hour Racing in the final miles off the Brittany coast.
The French IMOCA 60, featuring a mandatory gender-balanced crew, seized the lead late in the race after sailing neck-and-neck for hours. This voyage covered approximately 3,000 nautical miles from New York to Lorient, taking eight days to complete.
Light and shifting winds significantly impacted the race standings in the final 24 hours. Other competitors, including Kojiro Shiraishi's DMG MORI Global One and Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia, were expected to finish later. Some boats, like Embrace the Challenge and MSIG Europe, opted for a more southerly route and were anticipated to finish in the coming days.
The Ocean Race Atlantic utilizes fully crewed IMOCA yachts, which are high-performance 60-foot ocean-racing vessels. These boats are designed for long-distance offshore racing, including the solo Vendee Globe. This event serves as a standalone race between the main round-the-world Ocean Race editions.
