The finish line off Lorient is about to settle one of the tightest ocean races in years. After 3,000 nautical miles from New York, it may come down to boat lengths rather than miles.
By early afternoon, Paul Meilhat's United by the Ocean appeared to be nosing ahead of Francesca Clapcich's 11th Hour Racing, but only just. The two boats had sailed in what amounted to a dead heat for most of the morning, and the gap remained razor thin as they closed on the French coast.
An hour earlier, it had been 11th Hour Racing holding a lead of less than half a nautical mile over United by the Ocean, with Kojiro Shiraishi's DMG MORI Global One in third, fewer than four nautical miles adrift. Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia sat fourth, ten nautical miles off the pace.
The southerly breeze along the final 25 to 30 nautical miles of the course was behaving unpredictably as the fleet neared shore. Nobody could call the podium with any confidence.
Six nautical miles separated first from fourth at one stage, a margin so slim that a shift in local wind could swing the result entirely. United by the Ocean held the smallest of leads over 11th Hour Racing at that point, though the two boats were sailing different angles into the finish. Meilhat's crew looked to have the quicker line, but a touch more breeze for Clapcich's team could easily undo that advantage.
DMG MORI Global One and Team Malizia couldn't be written off either. In conditions this fine, a few minutes in a patch of stronger wind can rewrite the leaderboard.
Earlier on Thursday, at 0630 CEST, DMG MORI Global One had held a slight edge, with less than 25 nautical miles covering all four leading boats. Light winds around Lorient were expected to compress the fleet again before the finish, and that's precisely what happened.
There had been genuine lightness aboard the boats the previous day, despite the tension of the closing stages. Justine Mettraux and Julien Villon on Malizia burst out laughing after winning the Super Sprint. Samantha Davies, sailing on DMG MORI Global One, reported that "everything is going well" onboard, while Mariana Lobato of United by the Ocean said "with more wind and bigger waves, these would be dream conditions."
"Four boats can still win this race, with four different strategies," was how Benjamin Ferré summed it up.
Francesca Clapcich was clearly enjoying the contest too. "The fleet is still very tightly bunched and it's thrilling. It's great to experience, and I hope it's just as enjoyable for everyone following us back on land."
Boris Herrmann wasn't ready to concede anything either. "We're giving it everything we've got, hanging in there, and the race won't be over until we cross the finish line. We'll see if we can still pull off a surprise."
Nicolas Lunven, aboard early leader DMG MORI Global One, put his finger on why the placings kept changing: "The wind is dropping, so the fleet will close up again before the finish. We may be in the lead right now, but everything could still change."
Further back, Embrace the Challenge in fifth and MSIG Europe in sixth were 330 and 550 nautical miles adrift respectively. Their more southerly line had kept them in decent breeze, prompting Conrad Colman to note, "Overall, things are looking good, and we mainly have wind all the way to the finish."
The inaugural running of The Ocean Race Atlantic, from New York to Lorient, looked set to be decided in the final stretch rather than out on the open ocean, a fitting finish for a fleet that had stayed locked together across an entire ocean crossing.
