Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing in The Ocean Race Atlantic - Day 7
by Ed Gorman / Team Francesca Clapcich 9 Sep 11:08 BST
9 September 2026
"The finish can be really tricky"
With just over 500 nautical miles to go on the seventh day of The Ocean Race Atlantic, Francesca and her crew on 11th Hour Racing are still right in the battle for the podium, and possibly more, as they sail fast towards the finish off Lorient.
The race has seen a remarkable competition between the top four boats - DMG Mori Global One, 11th Hour Racing, United by the Ocean and Team Malizia - who at one stage on Tuesday were all lined up with just a few miles between them.
This morning it is still incredibly close, with DMG Mori benefitting from being 30 miles further south and to windward of 11th Hour Racing in second place, around 10 miles behind her. United by the Ocean, meanwhile, has lost ground on Francesca's crew in the last few hours and has gone from being in visual contact to more than 10 miles behind, with Team Malizia still in fourth place, 34 miles behind DMG Mori.
A born racer, Francesca is relishing this fight and has been pleased with the way she and her crew - Will Harris, Elodie-Jane Mettraux, and Alberto Bona - have held their own over the last 12 hours. "It's exciting, you know," she said this morning from a cockpit humming with fast boatspeed but, thankfully, no slamming. "We are not many miles from Lorient. We are all still stacked in a line and it's pretty exciting to be fair, having four boats that can still win the race at 500 miles from the finish is always pretty cool. And I hope it is also pretty cool for the people at home following the race."
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She said they have enjoyed their battle with Paul Meilhat and his crew on United by the Ocean over the last couple of days, when the boats have been racing side-by-side on the open Atlantic. But she has also enjoyed building a lead over them. "It's been quite a fight with them and we seem to have achieved pretty good pace in the last 10 hours, so we are happy about that. During the day we could see United by the Ocean and race alongside them - it's always exciting when you have a visual on another boat - it makes it super-close."
The final stages are going to be where this race is won and lost and Francesca and navigator Will Harris are now focusing on the endgame and trying to make sure they do not lose out as they sail into lighter winds as they approach the French coast.
"The finish can be really tricky," explained Francesca. "We still have really good breeze, but we need to check if we are getting caught by the pressure behind us, or we are actually just staying in front of it. But then, as we get close to Lorient, we need to go through another ridge and it's going to be an interesting finish, with a light patch when anything can happen."
Reflecting on the boat's performance, the skipper said she is happy with the way it compares with their rivals in this race. "Overall, it seems a pretty good all-round boat," she summarized. "Even in displacement mode [non-foiling], we know that we have good pace. We struggle in early foiling conditions - that's where maybe the new boats have a bit of leverage over us - but overall, our boat is pretty quick, so we are pretty happy with that."
As she signed off, she added: "I'm just trying to get this thing to go fast...and enjoying it!"
The leaders are expected in Lorient Thursday afternoon, September 10.