Day 12 - ‘keep pushing’ is the motto from onboard … and keep safe
Approaching the end of Day 12 in the Transat Café L’OR, and Francesca Clapcich and Will Harris onboard 11th Hour Racing have firmly established themselves in second position, with just 130 miles to go to the finish at the 0700 UTC update.
Having been trailing MACIF Santé Prévoyance – co-skippered by Sam Goodchild and Loïs Berrehar – Francesca and Will first eased past her and then opened up a significant lead. This morning the gap between the two boats had widened to 34 miles, with both IMOCAs still averaging speeds in the mid-20s.
A last sunset for 11th Hour Racing © Will Harris | 11th Hour Racing
The focus onboard 11th Hour Racing now is making sure they complete the final miles without incident, including the very last part of the course up to the finish line, which takes the boats into the lee of the island of Martinique.
Naturally the crew are buzzing with excitement and during what will have been their last night at sea, they sent a video that celebrated what has been a marvellously effective racing partnership over the last two weeks.
Although Francesca and Will had not had time to sail together much double-handed before the start, this match-up has worked superbly well. They have dealt with everything that this challenging race has thrown at them, from wild conditions in the early stages to calms and then a full-on Trade Wind ride west to the Caribbean.
Along the way, they have sailed against and got the better of some high quality IMOCA crews not least MACIF, but also Allagrande MAPEI sailed by Ambrogio Beccaria and Thomas Ruyant, Teamwork-Team SNEF raced by Justine Mettraux and Xavier Macaire, and Sam Davies and Violette Dorange on Initiatives Cœur.
In a video sent overnight, it’s pitch black outside, the boat is making a lot of noise – as it has been almost throughout the Trade Wind run – and you can hear Francesca having a bit of fun.
“Well Will, last night of the race. Are you happy to, like, get rid of me finally?” she asks him.
“Get rid of you?” replies Will. “Frankie, I don’t know what I’m going to do without you now …”
They are both laughing. “Ah, we’re going to have, like, a couple of days in Martinique … we need to find a pool party I would say …” adds Francesca.
“Sure,” replies Will, before his words are lost behind the general background noise. “Maybe a little rum … but first we’ve got to get to the finish first, before MACIF – keep pushing!” The phrase that has been their motto throughout this race.
Francesca adds: “Yes, keep pushing. Now Will is in charge of the big beast. I am getting some food and then there are going to be more gybes of course, so just get ready for it.”
Charal, skippered by Jérémie Beyou with co-skipper Morgan Lagravière, was the first IMOCA to cross the finish line at 05:15 local time (0915 UTC), taking IMOCA line honors, completing the course in 11 days, 19 hours, 45 minutes, and 18 seconds. The ETA for Francesca and Will on 11th Hour Racing is between 1000-1200 local time (1400-1600 UTC).
Ed Gorman