The time has come
Ocean Race veterans Charlie Enright and Mark Towill set sights on a third race around the world with 11th Hour Racing.
05 September 2019
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Two-time Volvo Ocean Race participants Charlie Enright and Mark Towill, Co-Founders of 1 Degree, announced today that they have formally renewed their team’s sponsorship with 11th Hour Racing for a long-term and visionary campaign, with their eyes set on the 2021-22 The Ocean Race.
The team will be named 11th Hour Racing after its title sponsor – Rhode Island-based 11th Hour Racing – with the team’s primary goal to win the world’s toughest crewed round-the-world sailing race, while engaging a broad audience and sailing fans across the globe on the topics of the climate crisis, ocean health and sustainability.
The team’s campaign, headlined “what’s under the surface connects us,” will highlight how the beauty and discovery of life under the water’s surface can inspire people globally to adopt more sustainable behaviours – emphasising how the well-being of our ocean is critical to our own well-being and informing people about the impacts of climate change on the ocean.
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“The opportunity to build on the leadership that Mark and Charlie have demonstrated throughout the years, and develop a new campaign driven by a strong environmental and social ethos, is extremely empowering,” said Rob MacMillan, Co-Founder and President of 11th Hour Racing. “We can accelerate change through sporting excellence in sailing, ocean advocacy, and sustainable innovation.”
Enright and Towill are aiming for their third round-the-world race dating back to 2014 after previous campaigns with Team Alvimedica (2014-15) and Vestas 11th Hour Racing (2017-18).
“With the incredible support of 11th Hour Racing, we are already hitting the ground running,” said Enright.
“In two previous campaigns, we have never had the luxury of any long-term preparation and planning for our team, and starting to put the team together now will have a huge impact on our race readiness and pre-race training plan.”
The team’s first step in its new campaign will begin with the Transat Jacques Vabre starting from Le Havre, France, on 27 October 2019. The team will compete using the former Hugo Boss IMOCA 60 boat that has been purchased by the team, rebranded and refitted.
The 11th Hour Racing Team will do its offshore training in advance of the Transat Jacques Vabre out of Port-La-Forêt, Brittany, France, over the next two months, and maintain a training base in Brittany in the near term. The team arrives in Le Havre by 18 October.
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