The Ocean Race Atlantic is going to be a wild ride at top speed from New York to Lorient

All the indications are that the foiling yachts, that make up five of the six boats taking part in this 3,200-nautical mile sprint, will be fully-powered up for most of the trip, and we could see potentially record-breaking conditions in terms of distance covered over 24 hours. 

For the four-strong mixed genders crews this is going to be a relentless test of keeping boats at full speed and ensuring they do not incur any damage as they ride strong winds and big waves towards western Europe. 

At the end of the race, however, in the final miles towards the finish off Lorient on the French Brittany coast, the leading crews may well encounter lighter winds. This could turn the endgame into a test of stamina and concentration, while giving the trailing boats the chance to catch up.

Paul Meilhat, the skipper of United by the Ocean who is sailing with Benjamin Ferré, Mariana Lobato and Sara Stone, says skippers and navigators are facing what he described as “quite a simple” weather scenario.  

© Marin LE ROUX - polaRYSE

“The idea is to stay ahead of this depression, so in the east sector of it. And if we manage to stay in the east, we’ll go very fast and it takes us all the way,”he said. But if the weather system gets ahead of the leaders, Meilhat says they might miss the bus.

“If the depression goes faster, or you’re late at the start, and as a result we find ourselves in the western sector of the system, the problem is that the sea state and the angle to wind will be much worse and we are going to go slower.”

With that in mind, the experienced French skipper says the first 24 hours of this contest could be critical in terms of positioning. In this phase the weather system that will dominate the course forms over Quebec to the north, and a smaller depression off New York, that will influence the early hours of the race, moves out of the way.

“Where there is the most uncertainty is how we will manage to position ourselves in the first 24 hours, which are almost the most strategic of the race,”explained Meilhat, who was fifth in the last Vendée Globe and fourth in the last Ocean Race.

Will Harris, the navigator on board 11th Hour Racing, who will sail alongside skipper Francesca Clapcich and crew Elodie-Jane Mettraux and Alberto Bona, says the majority of the race is going to be about pure boatspeed as the weather system tracks west-to-east.

“By the time we get to Sunday - four days after the start - the low pressure has really evolved,”said Harris. “It’s sort of become older, it’s matured, and we are going to be able to use the strong winds with our foiling boats to go really fast directly towards the finish line.”

“I think what’s really interesting,”he added, “is we’ve got some very fast foiling boats in the fleet - we’ve got two brand new boats (DMG Mori Global One and Malizia 4) - that are going to be going at full speed. Our game is to be faster than them, or keeping up with them at least, to then play with them when it comes towards the finish line.”

Harris, a vastly experienced short-handed sailor, says the finish could be fascinating after a crossing which will be more or less straightline sailing at top speed. “As a navigator I’m always looking for something a bit more exciting where it can be about clever weather strategy decisions,”he said. “But I think there are plenty of opportunities towards the finish where that can come about. I think the race is about never giving up, even if the (other) boats are a little bit ahead of us. It can really still come down to the line. It’s anyone’s game right to the finish and we’ve got to keep a really strong mentality, even if we find the newer boats are slightly faster than us.”

© Josselin Didou - Qaptur / 11th Hour Racing

Meilhat on board the 2022-vintage former Biotherm is in the same boat as it were, but says the 24-hour IMOCA distance record pace - 641.08 nautical miles - is on the cards for the leading foilers. 

“It’s a very classic situation with the anticyclone over the Azores and the pressure circulating, so it’s really the record conditions of the classic Atlantic,” he said.

Ed Gorman