As the 14th edition of The Ocean Race drew to a close in Genova, Italy, it was amidst the most unexpected tension that the overall winner was declared. This was a 32,000nm race around the globe where, on more than one of the seven gruelling legs, mere minutes had separated the five cutting edge contenders in the foiling IMOCA 60 class. Yet the climax was played out not on the finish line, but in the protest room. The winner, 11th Hour Racing was confirmed as such after receiving redress as she drifted into the final port two days after her competitors.
Skipper Charlie Enright and his USA-flagged 11th Hour Racing had sought the jury’s decision after damage caused by a collision at the start of the final leg forced them to retire; the perpetrator, Guyot Environnement – Team Europe skippered by Benjamin Dutreux, was also damaged and unable to continue.
As the remaining three IMOCAs raced on, playing a 2,200nm game of cat and mouse over the final leg from The Hague to Genova, every made hasty repairs, determined to re-join the fleet in Genova for the final in-port race, which meritoriously they won, (albeit the points did not count towards the overall series).
