First US-flagged team to win in the event’s 50-year history
© Sailing Energy/The Ocean Race
US offshore sailing outfit 11th Hour Racing Team has won The Ocean Race. The Newport, RI-based team is the first US-flagged entry to win the event in its 50-year history. The crew heard about their win via a satellite phone call from team CEO Mark Towill, as they delivered their 60-foot IMOCA Mālama to Genoa. This followed a redress hearing by the World Sailing International Jury which awarded the team four points for the final leg following a no-fault collision just seventeen minutes into the start of the final stage of the round the world race, which forced them to return immediately to port and retire.
The four points of redress put 11th Hour Racing Team three points ahead of Team Holcim-PRB in second place, with Team Malizia in third, Biotherm in fourth place, and GUYOT environnement – Team Europe in fifth.
“We’re immensely proud of the effort our team has put in, from top to bottom,” said skipper Charlie Enright (Bristol, RI) the only American skipper to lead a US team to victory in the race’s half-century history. “One thing we like to pride ourselves on is never getting too high, never getting too low, and just working through everything.”
11th Hour Racing Team was formed in September 2019 and is led by American offshore sailors Charlie Enright and Mark Towill. Supported by title sponsor 11th Hour Racing, the Team’s mission is to build a high-performance ocean racing team with sustainability at the core of all operations, inspiring positive action among sailing and coastal communities, and global sports fans to create long-lasting change for ocean health. Learn more at 11thhourracingteam.org. ■
