Newport, Rhode Island, August 14 – After thirteen days at sea, 11th Hour Racing Team have arrived home to Newport after a successful delivery from Concarneau, France. Their refurbished 60-foot monohull, skippered by Charlie Enright (Bristol, RI), slipped into Fort Adams just after 0830 ET this morning.
The Atlantic crossing has been a dual opportunity for the team to test the boat and new foil after an extended refit in France due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as support two scientific projects onboard.
“That [the crossing] was a reminder of what crewed life is like on board an IMOCA 60!” commented skipper Charlie Enright (pictured) as he docked at Fort Adams. “Going from east to west in the Northern Atlantic at this time of year is like watching a parade, but walking against it! Everything comes at you pretty fast, you experience twice as much weather than if you were going in the other direction, with a series of fronts and ridges from 0-35 knots [0-45 mph] and constantly sailing shifts upwind. It was really uncomfortable at times due to the wind conditions and sailing at very tight angles: we will need to figure out how to make the livability onboard comfortable for extended periods of time with six crew.”
Photos: Stephen R Cloutier
