11th Hour Racing will deliver to Genoa

The Hague, Netherlands (June 18, 2023) – The Ocean Race overall leader 11th Hour Racing Team has confirmed plans to deliver its 60-foot race boat, Mālama, to Genoa, Italy, after the huge collision during the inshore section of the Leg 7 start, which saw the team forced to retire from the final leg of The Ocean Race 2023.

11th Hour Racing Team’s boat was hit by competitor GUYOT environnement – Team Europe just 17 minutes into the start of the leg, on its port side, leaving a large hole in the aft section of the boat.

The US team’s shore crew has worked around the clock since the incident on June 15 to get the boat ready to not only sail to Genoa, but also race in the final In-Port Race on July 1. The work has been completed in less than 72 hours. The earliest the team can depart The Hague is from 1800 CEST (1600 UTC) today, and will have to pass Non-Destructive Testing of the boat this afternoon, which ensures the boat is structurally sound.

UPDATE: The team departed today at 18:15 CEST.

The crew onboard for the delivery to Genoa will be the Leg 7 sailors – Skipper Charlie Enright (USA) alongside Navigator Simon Fisher (GBR), Trimmers Jack Bouttell (AUS/GBR) and Francesca Clapcich (ITA), and Media Crew Member Amory Ross (USA).

“Our shore team has worked 24/7 for three days to repair our boat and, subject to passing final Non-Destructive Tests this afternoon, we will get the green light to deliver the boat to Genoa,” commented Skipper Charlie Enright (USA).

“It has been a monumental task, but the whole team has risen to the challenge. This is a race against time, and the final hurdle will be the weather en route to Genoa, but we will do everything we can to be there for the Grande Finale and to race the final In-Port Race on July 1.”

James O’Mahony, the team’s Boat Captain, has been part of the technical crew repairing the damage to the boat. “Immediately after the incident happened, and after ensuring all crew were uninjured, the sailors’ priority was to make the boat safe and get her to the dock so the shore team could fully assess the damage.

“To do this, we had to cut back and chop out all the damage, the NOMEX core, the deck, and the foam, to strip right back to the original, undamaged structure.

“We then liaised with our designers to understand exactly what structure had to be reinstated and how many layers of laminate were needed to build everything back again. We then built the sections on a table in the team base and took them down to the boat to shape them to fit back in the boat – a bit like carving puzzle pieces to join together.

“We reinstated all the structural elements of the deck – the uni-directional fibers that stiffen the boat, the core, and all the laminate. There were many, many steps to get her not only seaworthy again but also ready to race.”

11th Hour Racing Team is leading the overall standings by two points going into the final leg over Swiss entry Team Holcim-PRB, and six points ahead of German entry Team Malizia. In addition, the team is also leading the In-Port Race leaderboard by three points over Team Malizia, and eight points over Biotherm.

11th Hour Racing Team has requested redress from the World Sailing International Jury, and a date for the hearing will be issued to all interested parties in due course.

The International Jury is appointed by the Organizing Authority – in this case The Ocean Race – and approved by the governing body of the sport – World Sailing. The Jury will hear the evidence from all sides of an incident, and apply a ruling in accordance to the Racing Rules of Sailing.

“I have been blown away by the messages of support we have had coming in – from friends, old and new, from classrooms back in the U.S., and from fans of the race around the world,” commented Enright. “We have felt the support and energy, and to know that we have thousands of hands on our backs is incredibly humbling.

“I am so proud of how our whole team has come together to push through this final hurdle. The shore team has worked tirelessly to get the boat not only seaworthy, but race-ready, and although this isn’t the end to The Ocean Race we could ever have anticipated, we will do everything we can to be on that final startline on July 1.”

With an on-time departure today, the latest routing has the team arriving in Italy on June 30.

Race details – Route – Tracker – Scoreboard – Content from the boats – YouTube

IMOCA Overall Leaderboard (after 6 of 7 legs)
1. 11th Hour Racing Team — 33 points
2. Team Holcim-PRB — 31 points
3. Team Malizia — 27 points
4. Biotherm — 19 points
5. GUYOT environnement – Team Europe — 2 points

IMOCA: Name, Design, Skipper, Launch date
• Guyot Environnement – Team Europe (VPLP Verdier); Benjamin Dutreux (FRA)/Robert Stanjek (GER); September 1, 2015
• 11th Hour Racing Team (Guillaume Verdier); Charlie Enright (USA); August 24, 2021
• Holcim-PRB (Guillaume Verdier); Kevin Escoffier (FRA); May 8, 2022
• Team Malizia (VPLP); Boris Herrmann (GER); July 19, 2022
• Biotherm (Guillaume Verdier); Paul Meilhat (FRA); August 31 2022

The Ocean Race 2022-23 Race Schedule:
Alicante, Spain – Leg 1 (1900 nm) start: January 15, 2023
Cabo Verde – ETA: January 22; Leg 2 (4600 nm) start: January 25
Cape Town, South Africa – ETA: February 9; Leg 3 (12750 nm) start: February 26
Itajaí, Brazil – ETA: April 1; Leg 4 (5500 nm) start: April 23
Newport, RI, USA – ETA: May 10; Leg 5 (3500 nm) start: May 21
Aarhus, Denmark – ETA: May 30; Leg 6 (800 nm) start: June 8
Kiel, Germany (Fly-By) – June 9
The Hague, The Netherlands – ETA: June 11; Leg 7 (2200 nm) start: June 15
Genova, Italy – The Grand Finale – ETA: June 25, 2023; Final In-Port Race: July 1, 2023

The Ocean Race (formerly Volvo Ocean Race and Whitbread Round the World Race) was initially to be raced in two classes of boats: the high-performance, foiling, IMOCA 60 class and the one-design VO65 class which has been used for the last two editions of the race.

However, only the IMOCAs will be racing round the world while the VO65s will race in The Ocean Race VO65 Sprint which competes in Legs 1, 6, and 7 of The Ocean Race course.

Additionally, The Ocean Race also features the In-Port Series with races at seven of the course’s stopover cities around the world which allow local fans to get up close and personal to the teams as they battle it out around a short inshore course.

Although in-port races do not count towards a team’s overall points score, they do play an important part in the overall rankings as the In-Port Race Series standings are used to break any points ties that occur during the race around the world.

Held every three or four years since 1973, the 14th edition of The Ocean Race was originally planned for 2021-22 but was postponed one year due to the pandemic, with the first leg starting on January 15, 2023.

Source: 11th Hour