TRANSAT CAFÉ L’OR
LE HAVRE - NORMANDIE
Our First Transatlantic Race Under 11th Hour Racing Colors!
On October 26, 2025, Francesca will take on the longest and most demanding double-handed transatlantic race - the Transat Café L’OR. Racing her new IMOCA, 11th Hour Racing, with co-skipper, Will Harris (GBR), the duo will line up against 17 other teams. Find out more about this race and the boat they sail 4,350 nautical miles from Le Havre, France, to Martinique in the Carribbean.
The route immediately plunges crews into a fast, intense battle toward the Canary Islands. The critical strategic decision arises after passing the Spanish archipelago: skippers must choose between a risky northern route to catch powerful depressions or a calculated southern route to hook into the steady trade winds, making every mile a tactical duel, until the tricky rounding of Martinique and the finish line.
Beyond the competition, the Transat Café L’OR is a standard-bearer for sustainability. The race is deeply committed to ocean protection, decarbonization, and social inclusion. Initiatives include a mandatory return under sail and a Commitment Prize for the most deserving crew.
The legendary Transat Café L’OR
The Transat Café L’OR Le Havre Normandie is the longest and most demanding double- handed transatlantic race, following the historic ‘Coffee Route’. The biennual event is a deeply established fixture on the offshore racing calendar since 1993, and attracts the world’s best offshore sailors, with 144 sailors expected for the 17th edition.
The route connects Le Havre, in Normandy, France’s leading coffee port since the 17th century, to Fort-de-France, in Martinique, a historic coffee-growing land. The race features a diverse and elite fleet across four classes: ULTIM, IMOCA, Ocean Fifty, and Class
40, each sailing a specific course.
The IMOCA fleet is set for a high-intensity passage covering 4,350 nautical miles. The world’s fastest monohulls are expected to complete the course in approximately 10 to 14 days.
©️ Marin Le Roux - polaRYSE / Team7Sailing
The boat
The Transat Café L’OR marks a significant milestone for Francesca’s campaign - the first major racing event under the colors of 11th Hour Racing. This transatlantic race is more than just a competitive debut, it will serve as a critical proving ground for Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing to begin shaping its campaign for the 2028 Vendée Globe.
The race will offer a valuable opportunity to test the boat’s performance, refine team dynamics, and gather essential data in real offshore conditions in a short-handed configuration. As a high-profile race attracting top-tier competitors, the Transat Café L’OR will provide early benchmarks and insights which will play a foundational role in building momentum, optimizing strategies, and gaining confidence for the team.
After racing in the Courses des Caps and The Ocean Race Europe with Team Malizia, Francesca took over Boris Herrmann’s IMOCA Malizia-Seaexplorer in mid-October 2025, with only two weeks to go before the start of the race.
Meet Will Harris
Will Harris, born in 1994, is a British offshore sailor and professional skipper with a proven record in some of the world’s toughest ocean races. A graduate of the Artemis Offshore Academy, Will quickly established himself as one of the UK’s leading solo and short-handed sailors.
He has competed in multiple editions of the Solitaire du Figaro, the unofficial world championship of solo offshore sailing, where he was awarded Best Rookie (2016). Since then, he has raced across multiple classes including the IMOCA, Figaro, and Class 40, building a reputation for his tactical skills, resilience, and leadership at sea.
In 2019, Will joined Team Malizia as a co-skipper, campaigning sustainably while competing at the elite level of offshore sport. He went on to take part in The Ocean Race 2022–23, one of the most challenging team events in world sport, where he co- skippered the IMOCA Malizia-Seaexplorer alongside Boris Herrmann, and was awarded the Hans Horrevoets Rookie Trophy for the youngest skipper in the race. The team finished third on the overall podium after more than six months and 32,000 nautical miles of racing.
Today, Will continues to compete at the highest level of international offshore sailing, while also serving as a mentor and role model for younger sailors entering the sport.
©️ Marin Le Roux - polaRYSE / Team7Sailing