Night settled over the North Atlantic with six IMOCA yachts still close enough to feel one anothers presence, their crews trimming, stacking and steering through warm darkness while waiting for the weather to release the speed hidden inside their powerful boats.
Twenty-four hours into the inaugural Ocean Race Atlantic, only 54 nautical miles separated Team Malizia at the head of the fleet from the non-foiling MSIG Europe in sixth place. Between them, four further teams remained locked inside a tactical contest that could soon become a straight-line charge towards Europe.
Boris Herrmanns Team Malizia had led the fleet south-east after crossing the offshore start line near New York ahead of its rivals. The German crew used the power of its new-generation IMOCA to advantage in the unsettled sea, establishing the first meaningful lead before darkness covered the course.
Herrmann was encouraged by the early performance of a boat entering its first offshore race. Team Malizia appeared particularly quick upwind, averaging greater speed than its rivals while the crew hand-steered continuously to extract the full potential of the new design.
The lead remained fragile because the fleet had barely begun its 3,000-nautical-mile passage to Lorient. A few miles gained during the first day could disappear through one slow sail change, a missed wind shift or an unfavourable crossing of the Gulf Stream.
A Hot Night in the Gulf Stream
Conditions below deck provided an unexpected contrast to the grey water outside. The Gulf Stream carried warm water through the region, raising the temperature aboard the enclosed carbon yachts and turning their interiors into dark, humid compartments.
Francesca Clapcich reported a temperature of 29 degrees Celsius aboard Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing, describing life below as similar to sitting inside a sauna.
The heat may sound comfortable beside the traditional image of a cold North Atlantic crossing, although it presents its own problems. Sailors must manage hydration while trying to sleep inside a noisy hull, surrounded by damp equipment and the constant vibration of a boat being driven hard.
Modern IMOCA yachts offer substantial protection from breaking water through enclosed or semi-enclosed cockpits, yet that shelter restricts airflow. Heat generated by navigation electronics, batteries, human bodies and mechanical systems can accumulate quickly when the surrounding water remains warm.
Clapcich expected cooler conditions farther east, although forecasts near France suggested that heavy cold-weather clothing might remain packed away. Her more immediate concern was preserving contact with the new Team Malizia yacht, whose early pace had already impressed the American-flagged crew.
The First Decisive Tack
Straight-line speed occupied much of the sailors attention, but the navigators were watching a gradual change in wind direction and preparing for the first significant manoeuvre of the race.
The fleet had initially sailed south-east on port tack. At some point each yacht needed to turn through the wind onto starboard, carrying it northwards and closer to the direct route between New York and Lorient.
Team Malizia revealed its decision first, tacking at approximately 23:00 UTC. Oliver Heers Embrace The Challenge followed soon afterwards, while United by the Ocean, DMG MORI Global One and 11th Hour Racing continued farther south-east before making their turns.
That difference in timing divided the fleet across the ocean and exposed each crew to a slightly different wind angle. A gradual left-hand shift during the night delivered alternating gains and losses, preventing any leading team from settling comfortably into its position.
After slightly more than 24 hours, Team Malizia held an advantage of approximately three nautical miles over Paul Meilhats United by the Ocean. Clapcichs 11th Hour Racing occupied third, another three miles behind, while Embrace The Challenge trailed the leader by 19 miles.
Kojiro Shiraishis DMG MORI Global One sat fifth, 39 miles from the lead, with Conrad Colmans MSIG Europe shown 58 miles behind Malizia in the later position report.
Those distances remained modest across an ocean passage, particularly when the five foiling boats were preparing to accelerate into stronger wind. MSIG Europe faced the harder task because Colmans older yacht is the only non-foiler in the fleet, leaving it unable to match the sustained reaching speeds of the newer designs.
A Tack That Could Last for Days
Samantha Davies, racing aboard DMG MORI Global One, suggested the overnight manoeuvre might have been the fleets last tack for a considerable time if the forecast developed as expected.
Such a possibility reveals the nature of this transatlantic course. After the complicated opening, the boats could remain on starboard tack for thousands of miles, turning the race into an unforgiving test of speed, sail selection and equipment reliability.
A long passage on one tack does not remove the workload. Crews continually adjust foil settings, ballast, sail trim and movable weight to match small changes in wind strength and sea state.
Heavy sails stored below may be shifted towards the windward side to improve righting moment, while water ballast and canting keels help the boats carry greater sail area. Each adjustment brings a physical cost because sail bags are large, awkward and exceptionally heavy.
The fastest setup also changes as the wind moves aft or increases. Selecting the correct moment to change from one headsail to another can gain miles, although an unnecessary change costs energy and temporarily reduces speed.
Racing Towards the Low
The leading boats were searching for stronger southerly winds forming around the outer edge of a developing low-pressure system east of the fleet.
Reaching that new breeze first could create a valuable advantage. The leading yacht would accelerate while its rivals remained in lighter air, extending the separation with every position report.
Speeds among the five foilers had already risen towards 20 knots as the influence of the system began reaching them. Those figures were expected to climb if the wind strengthened and moved towards a more favourable reaching angle.
Navigators faced a familiar offshore calculation because sailing the shortest route to Lorient might not provide the quickest passage. A longer course towards stronger wind can produce a much earlier arrival when a foiling IMOCA is capable of covering more than 500 nautical miles in a day.
The boats nearest the low may find greater pressure, but they could also encounter rougher seas and increased structural loads. Every crew must decide how hard to drive while the finish remains more than 2,500 miles away.
Clapcich Claims the Second Sprint
The second daily Super Sprint brought an early reward for Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing.
Each sprint measures the distance covered by the boats over the same 20-minute period, creating a separate speed contest within the transatlantic race. Clapcichs crew recorded the greatest distance on the second day, beating Team Malizia and United by the Ocean.
Malizia had won the opening sprint, with Herrmann hand-steering the new yacht to an immediate victory. Clapcichs response demonstrated that her established IMOCA retained the speed required to challenge the German boat under the correct conditions.
The Super Sprint rewards pure performance rather than progress towards Lorient, meaning a boat can win the contest without necessarily improving its position in the main race. It nevertheless provides a revealing comparison when yachts experience similar wind and sea states.
Clapcichs boat also carries a distinguished record. Under its previous identity as Malizia Seaexplorer, it set the standing fully crewed IMOCA 24-hour distance record of 640.91 nautical miles during The Ocean Race in May 2023.
The opportunity to challenge that mark could arrive if the developing system produces the anticipated high-speed passage. Sustaining record pace will require more than favourable wind because the sea must also allow the crew to drive hard without repeatedly crashing into the wave ahead.
Fifty Years of Ocean Racing Development
The Ocean Race Atlantic belongs to a tradition that began with the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1973, when 17 boats departed Portsmouth on a four-leg circumnavigation through Cape Town, Sydney and Rio de Janeiro.
Ramon Carlins Swan 65 Sayula II won the first race on corrected time, creating an enduring story of an unlikely Mexican campaign overcoming more experienced and heavily financed rivals.
The Whitbread gradually became more professional, introducing purpose-built maxis and later the Whitbread 60. Peter Blakes Steinlager 2 delivered one of the events defining performances in 1989-90 by winning every leg of the circumnavigation.
Volvo became title sponsor in 2001, presiding over the VO60, VO70 and one-design VO65 generations. The VO70 era produced extraordinary speed, although escalating costs and structural failures eventually encouraged the move towards identical VO65 yachts.
IMOCA boats joined the round-the-world race in 2022-23, connecting the French solo offshore tradition with the fully crewed heritage of the former Whitbread and Volvo events. Charlie Enrights 11th Hour Racing Team won that edition after one of the closest and most dramatic conclusions in race history.
The Atlantic race represents another significant change. It is the first standalone point-to-point event within the organisations 50-year history, while every four-person racing crew contains two women and two men.
That gender-balanced structure builds upon the legacy of sailors such as Tracy Edwards, Dawn Riley, Dee Caffari and Sam Davies, who helped demonstrate that opportunity rather than ability had been the limiting factor for women in professional offshore racing.
Six Crews, Six Different Races
Team Malizia carried the pressure associated with a new boat showing immediate speed. Herrmann, Justine Mettraux, Cole Brauer and navigator Julien Villion must learn the yacht while simultaneously defending the lead.
United by the Ocean remained close behind with Meilhat and Mariana Lobato leading a crew containing experienced American offshore sailor Sara Stone. Their second position reflected a patient opening and kept the French campaign firmly attached to Malizia.
Clapcichs team held third while drawing confidence from its Super Sprint victory. Embrace The Challenge and DMG MORI remained within striking distance, particularly if later tactical decisions compressed the fleet.
MSIG Europe occupied a different contest. Colmans non-foiling boat could not be expected to match the newer yachts in fast reaching conditions, although reliability and weather positioning might still create opportunities across a passage of this length.
The official Ocean Race Atlantic information confirms the six-team fleet, the 3,000-nautical-mile route and the balanced crew format being used for the inaugural event.
The Long Drag Race Begins
The first night contained repeated tactical decisions, but the coming days could offer a simpler and more brutal examination. If the fleet connects with the southerly wind as forecast, the race may become a prolonged test of which boat can maintain the highest average speed without breaking.
Team Malizia owns the lead and the early psychological advantage, while United by the Ocean and 11th Hour Racing remain close enough to punish the smallest hesitation.
Fifty-four miles is little more than spray across a 3,000-mile ocean. The fleet remains compact, the new low is still forming and Lorient lies more than 2,500 nautical miles beyond the bows.
The opening battle lines have been drawn, although the North Atlantic has not yet revealed which of them will matter.
