The six international IMOCA crews competing in the inaugural edition of The Ocean Race Atlantic left New York Harbour Tuesday after a midday ceremonial start in front of the Statue of Liberty.
The fleet of 60-foot foil-assisted high-performance racing yachts then transited through a series of marine mammal exclusion zones off New York City at low speed on their way to the official start area located around 150 nautical miles offshore.
Here the crews will switch to race mode when the transatlantic sprint to Lorient, France is scheduled to officially get under way at 06:00 Eastern Time (12:00 CEST) on Wednesday, 2 September – although expected light conditions on the way to the start area may necessitate a short postponement.
With many of the crews racing in the transatlantic race also intending to take on the around-the-world edition of The Ocean Race starting in January 2027, the 3,000-nautical-mile passage through the North Atlantic will give the teams a valuable opportunity to test their open-ocean performance relative to their rivals.