Francesca Clapcich onboard 11th Hour Racing crosses the finish line of the Vendée Arctique in fifth place
© Maud Helfgott - polaRYSE / 11th Hour Racing
Italian-American offshore sailor Francesca Clapcich onboard 11th Hour Racing has finished the Vendée Arctique-Les Sables d'Olonne in fifth place, after 8 days, 20 hours, 31 minute, and 11 seconds of racing to the Arctic Circle and back from Les Sables d’Olonne, France. This was the longest solo race Clapcich has ever completed, and a milestone in her learning curve with her 60-foot foiling IMOCA.
The nine competitors contended with a huge variance of conditions from strong winds and four-meter high waves around the west coast of Ireland, freezing temperatures at the turning point of the course at 66 degrees north - the Arctic Circle - and then a high of 86 degrees Fahrenheit [30 degrees Celsius] through the Bay of Biscay with very light winds on the final 24-hour stretch.
On arrival in the Vendée town that lends its name to her ultimate goal - the 2028 Vendée Globe, racing solo, non-stop, and unassisted around the planet - Clapcich said, “I'm really tired … exhausted … but it's, it's a good feeling to be able to finish the race, and I don't have damage on the boat. I’m right at the start of my IMOCA campaign but the Vendée Arctique has given me a really big boost of confidence going forward.”
Clapcich’s completion of the Vendée Arctique-Les Sables d’Olonne qualifies her for the Route du Rhum, the next solo race in the IMOCA Globe Series annual calendar of events - the equivalent of the World Championship of offshore sailing. The iconic transatlantic race sets off from the port of Saint-Malo, France, on November 1, destination Guadeloupe.
Reflecting on the 3272 nautical mile [3,765 miles | 6,059 kilometers] race she had just completed, Clapcich said, “I have proven to myself that I was able to race in really big conditions, and I have started to be really confident in myself and with the boat, and that's a massive step for my campaign. I was with the front pack as well, but always just behind them, so I need to do something to be in the race more. But overall, it was good learning.
“I think I have the capacity to race at the front and for me that's important,” she concluded.
The Vendée Arctique was won by fellow Italian, Ambrogio Beccaria onboard Allagrande MAPEI, and the Milan native came to the dock to welcome Clapcich - who was born in Trieste - home with a huge hug. “I’m super happy for Bogi [the nickname for Beccaria], he was always, always in the pack, always racing, always strategically really sharp. He has amazing knowledge of the weather and how to position himself with the weather, and he totally deserves this win.”
Next up for the Park City, Utah resident will be The Ocean Race Atlantic, a race from New York City, USA, to Lorient, South Brittany, France. The fully crewed race starts on September 1, 2026 and Clapcich will be joined by co-skipper Alberto Bona, Elodie-Jane Mettraux, Will Harris (who finished second with Clapcich in last year’s Transat Café L’OR.