A special group of fans watched Newport-based 11th Hour Racing claim The Ocean Race crown
NEWPORT – As the 11th Hour Racing Team glided into the port of Genoa, Italy, a raucous cheer went up on the grounds of Fort Adams State Park.
About 50 kids enrolled in Sail Newport’s summer programs were glued to the projector screen during the break between their morning and afternoon sessions skippering Optis around Newport Harbor, watching their hometown team arrive in Italy to claim victory in the 2023 Ocean Race, a six-month, around the world affair which some say is the most extreme racing event in the entire sporting world.
At the conclusion of 11th Hour Racing Team crew member Francesa Clapsich’s television interview in Genoa one of the television commentators presciently observed that somewhere, somebody watching might be inspired to launch their own sailing career.
It was as if he knew that 9-year-old Eva Renee was watching. A New Yorker who has been coming to Newport to sail every summer for three years now, Renee described her love of sailing to the Daily News.
“I love the way you feel so free on the waves… I keep thinking, ‘Oh, this is the life,’” Renee said.
Renee said she loves reading, and first learned about The Ocean Race while reading a book about sailing. A sailor after 11th Hour Racing Captain Charlie Enright’s own heart, she said, “I love how they’re all so perseverant – they never give up, keep going, keep pushing, no matter how hard it gets.”
11th Hour Racing Team was knocked out of the final leg of the Ocean Race in a collision, but still won the overall competition
Eva was spot on – the 11th Hour Team did not achieve victory in the manner they had envisioned, but persevered through some adversity to claim the title.
The team sailed from Brazil into Newport ahead of the rest of the fleet on May 10, claiming victory in the fourth leg of the race in front of a jubilant hometown crowd. However, they encountered some challenges after setting sail from Newport for Europe.
First, they likely struck a marine mammal while traveling at high speed on the trans-Atlantic crossing to Denmark, causing somewhat serious but non-life-threatening injuries to two crew members. Two legs later, a mere 10 minutes into the start of the final leg from The Hague in the Netherlands to Genoa, the 11th Hour Racing Team was struck in a high-speed but accidental collision by another member of the fleet, forcing them to retire from the final leg with a gaping hole in their carbon fiber hull while trailing the leading team by a single point.
The other team took responsibility for the collision and also retired from the leg, and 11th Hour Racing successfully appealed to the World Sailing International Jury for redress. They were awarded average points for the leg they were unable to compete in, enough to overtake the leaders and win the race.
“When we launched our campaign in 2019, we never could have anticipated that it would finish in this way," Skipper Charlie Enright said from onboard Mālama as his team delivered the boat to Genoa. "Any sailor will tell you that they want to win races on the water and not in the jury room, and after winning three legs back to back we felt exceptionally strong and confident going into the final leg. We are pleased with the jury’s decision, although we wish we had had the chance to battle it out for this final leg on the water as Holcim-PRB have been exceptional competitors and pushed us all the way.”
Sail Newport’s youth programs empower and inspire the next generation of sailors
Logan Butler, 10, of Portsmouth has already been sailing for four years. He said watching The Ocean Race was, “Cool – awesome, sick. They’ve been sailing for six months. Ninety days (on the water), a long time, and they accomplished their goal.”
His buddy Ben Walsh, an 8-year-old sailor who summers in Newport, said he was especially excited for Newport native Amory Ross, the 11th Hour Racing Team’s media crew member and a role model he knows personally.
“Having the kids come in and watch all these adult sailors; it shows them possibilities of sailing and where they can go next. Charlie (Enright) talked about how he started sailing when he was five – all of these kids pretty much started when they were five, so it’s a great example of what you can accomplish as a sailor,” said Cortney Kingsley, Sail Newport’s education programs manager, has been running the youth sailing program alongside head instructor Wyatt Fogg for five years.
Sailing in Newport: 12 America's Cups. 3 Ocean Races. Is there any doubt Newport is the US Sailing Capital?
She said their programs, which are offered for kids aged 5–18, start kids in single-handed Optimist dinghies. Those who wish to continue with the sport can go through Sail Newport’s Brenton Cove Racing Program and start racing in local regattas.
This article originally appeared on Newport Daily News: SailNewport hosts youth sailors to view 11th Hour Racing win Ocean Race
