2 Sep 2026
Location
New York - Lorient
Date/Time
2nd September 2026 6:00am local time
The Ocean Race Atlantic starts 1 September, sending six fully-crewed IMOCA teams from New York to Lorient, France, on a transatlantic sprint of roughly 3,600 nautical miles. It's the first point-to-point race in the event's 50-year history – no stopovers, just a straight dash across the Atlantic, with every boat carrying a mandatory 50-50 crew split plus an On Board Reporter (OBR).
The race sits deliberately in the calendar. It follows last year's Ocean Race Europe out of Kiel and doubles as a shakedown for the next round-the-world race, starting from Alicante in January 2027 – a live test of pace, crew rotation, and communication before the bigger campaign begins.
Confirmed entries include Hermann's Team Malizia, Kojiro Shiraishi' DMG Mori Sailing Team, Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing, Paul Meilhat's United by the Ocean, Oliver Heer Ocean Racing, and Conrad Colman's MSIG Europe, with an onboard ocean science programme running throughout alongside Impact Partner 11th Hour Racing.
Several of the skippers arrive with recent transatlantic form. Paul Meilhat and Boris Herrmann both raced this stretch of ocean before, and Herrmann's crew already holds the 24-hour distance record from the last round-the-world race.