Atlantic race begins

The Ocean Race Atlantic fleet has begun its 3,000-nautical-mile transatlantic race from New York to Lorient, with Team Malizia leading the six IMOCA crews into challenging upwind conditions.

Photography by The Ocean Race Atlantic

03 September 2026

The inaugural Ocean Race Atlantic is under way, with six international IMOCA teams racing east from New York on the high-speed passage to Lorient, France.

After a ceremonial start and parade of sail from New York Harbor, the fleet completed a speed-restricted overnight transit past a marine mammal protection area before assembling at a virtual start line around 150 nautical miles offshore.

Light overnight winds slowed the fleet’s progress and pushed the start back to 1000 EDT on 2 September.

When racing began, conditions were considerably livelier. The 60-foot IMOCAs headed south-east into a bumpy 0.8-metre sea and 17 to 18 knots of north-easterly breeze, reaching boat speeds of between 15 and 18 knots.

The Ocean Race Atlantic course from New York to Lorient includes exclusion zones designed to protect marine mammals and avoid ice.

Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing races ahead of United by the Ocean during the opening stages of The Ocean Race Atlantic 2026.

Francesca Clapcich at work onboard Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing during the transatlantic race to Lorient.

Team Malizia, skippered by Germany’s Boris Herrmann, was first across the line, with the entire fleet racing within 30 seconds of the start.

The six teams are United by the Ocean, led by Paul Meilhat and Mariana Lobato; Team Malizia, skippered by Herrmann; Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing, skippered by Francesca Clapcich; Embrace the Challenge, led by Oliver Heer; DMG MORI Sailing Team, skippered by Kojiro Shiraishi; and MSIG Europe, skippered by Conrad Colman.

Each IMOCA is racing with a gender-equal crew of two men and two women, together with an onboard reporter.

Ahead lies approximately 3,000 nautical miles of North Atlantic racing to Lorient, one of the major centres of French offshore sailing.

The next few hours after the start will be very important while the fleet is still close together,” says Sara Stone from United by the Ocean. “The small gains now could make a big difference over the next days.”

An east-moving low-pressure system developing north of the fleet is expected to play an important role in the opening stages. Crews will be looking for the best route to connect with the system, which could potentially deliver fast conditions for much of the Atlantic crossing.

“We have just been trying to go fast since the start,” says Clapcich.

“Malizia seems to be setting a different pace from anyone else, and maybe that’s the performance of the new boat. We are going to keep pushing, try to stay close, not lose contact and just go as fast as we can.”

United by the Ocean powers through the North Atlantic as the IMOCA fleet begins the 3,000-nautical-mile race from New York to Lorient.

Embrace The Challenge taking off followed by 11th Hour and United by the Ocean during the race start of The Ocean Race Atlantic, on board MSIG Europe. Photo by Georgia Schofield

Team Malizia skipper Boris Herrmann onboard his IMOCA with the New York skyline in the background ahead of The Ocean Race Atlantic start.

The opening day also marked the first Super Sprint, a new race-within-a-race based on the distance each IMOCA covers during the same 20-minute period.

Herrmann and Team Malizia claimed the first Super Sprint, with the skipper hand-steering his new IMOCA to victory. DMG MORI Sailing Team ranked second and Embrace the Challenge third after the opening speed test.

The Super Sprint results are separate from the overall race standings and will be determined through a series of speed tests during the transatlantic race.

The Ocean Race is also providing daily live connections with the fleet through its OnBoard Live Show at 1700 CEST (1500 UTC) each race day.

The Ocean Race Atlantic connects New York and Lorient in the first point-to-point race in The Ocean Race’s more than 50-year history.

theoceanrace.com