Paul Meilhat’s United by the Ocean (FRA) has won the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Atlantic after a neck-and-neck battle along the French coast today with Francesca Clapcich’s second-placed 11th Hour Racing (USA), during which the two teams traded the narrowest of leads back and forth for several hours.

In contrast to the breakneck pace of the racing out in the open Atlantic Ocean earlier in the race that saw the six-boat fleet of 60-foot foiling IMOCA yachts riding the front edge of an easterly-moving low pressure storm system for several days in bumpy seas and at speeds over 30 knots – the final hours of the race were played out in around 10 knots of breeze and on a flat sea.

Having opted for a more southerly route than the other frontrunners on their last night at sea, at around 1100 CEST this morning the 11th Hour Racing crew took the lead from Kojiro Shiraishi’s DMG MORI Global One (JPN), who had led the fleet for the previous 48 hours. 

Soon after, United by the Ocean also overhauled the Japanese entry, as the bow-to-bow fight to the finish between the top two crews began.

There was nothing to choose between the leading two boats for the last few hours as their courses gradually converged over the final 10 nm to the finish line north of Lorient’s Île de Groix. Eventually though, it was Meilhat’s northerly positioning that paid dividends in the light and variable winds as the French boat slipped into a one-nautical-mile lead that they held to the finish. 

The United by the Ocean crew completed the transatlantic course in seven days, 23 hours, 39 minutes, and 11 seconds, with 11th Hour Racing finishing eight minutes and 56 seconds later.

Behind the leading duo, the DMG MORI Global One crew had to see off a fierce come-from-behind challenge from Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia (GER) – who had been 40 nm off the lead at around midday – to claim third place after eight days, four minutes, and 40 seconds of racing.

Exactly five minutes later, Team Malizia crossed the Lorient finish line to claim fourth place.

For Paul Meilhat this transatlantic victory comes on the back of his win in the same boat (then called Biotherm) in last year’s – mainly light wind – edition of The Ocean Race Europe. 

“The boat is not the latest [design],” he said. “It is fast, but we had some bad moments because it is not really fast in the big waves. Three days ago we had a really tough night in big waves in the wrong direction. But we know that in medium and light wind on flat water it is really, really fast. A lot of races finish in these conditions. We are a good team with this boat and that is working well.”

11th Hour Racing skipper Francesca Clapcich said she and the crew were frustrated to have not been able to close out the victory, but pleased with the result, nevertheless.

“It was quite epic. When you get so close to winning the race you want to fricken win it, right? But a few hours ago – six hours or so – we could not have hoped for this result. In the end, at Glénan [islands on the way to the finish line] we had the chance to win it, but we ended up second – and we are super happy. "

“Doing a transat like that of 3,000 miles and ending up just a few minutes apart is a dream. It’s why we go racing, we want to race other teams and it’s pretty cool. You get so close to the other teams that you are not even looking at the numbers anymore because you can see them. You are sailing against them, just looking at them – it’s pretty awesome.” 

DMG MORI Global One’s Samantha Davies (GBR) said the crew had been expecting the four-way battle to the finish to be close for several days. 

“It’s amazing to have such a close finish,” she said. “We saw that coming from quite a few days out. I think what is more impressive is that we crossed the ocean that close together and that there were place changes, so that it wasn’t just one person dominating. For me the interesting part was that there was a bit of boat speed, a bit of strategy, a bit of luck – so it was fun all the way across the Atlantic."

Davies said the one-week race had been a great learning process for the crew – made up of two Japanese sailors plus a Brit and a Frenchman – whose main goal was the around-the-world edition of The Ocean Race next year.  

“The best team-building exercise is taking your team out of its comfort zone and we definitely did that in this transat, because it was brutal for quite a few days. We pushed the boat and ourselves to our limits. That’s where you learn: how each person is in the team, how to support each other, and how to communicate with each other. We just saw strengths coming out of each team member and this crazy communication that we have in this international multicultural team.”

Despite having to settle for fourth place, Team Malizia’s Cole Brauer said the crew was proud of their achievement – particularly having been handicapped by damage to their port foil control system for much of the crossing. 

“We had the foil rake issue from day three or four – so the middle of the Atlantic – and then having to jury rig something and make it happen. We were in 40 knots and then no wind. So to come back after being behind 100 miles and then lose it in the last mile, I have to tell you, is very gutting."

“We pushed every inch of the way. From the moment we found out about the foil rake situation we never released the hammer. That’s why I’m a little emotional, because I haven’t eaten or slept that well and I have been sick since day one. 

“As a team, we came together way better than I could have expected us to. We all worked super well together. Justine Mettraux (SUI) and I were absolute weapons on our watch. When the going gets tough, you just put the hammer down.”

With the first four boats safely home, attention now turns to the final two teams – Oliver Heer’s fifth-placed Embrace the Challenge (SUI) and Conrad Colman’s MSIG Europe (NZL) in sixth. Heer and crew are expected to finish in the early hours on Friday, while Colman’s crew will arrive in Lorient on the weekend.