Photo courtesy of Amory Ross/11th Hour Racing
Earlier this week, 11th Hour Racing Team’s new IMOCA 60 Mālama finally arrived at an American dock for the first time, signifying the start of some exciting summer programming for America’s ocean racing home team.
On Monday, the team will kick off a week full of oceanic programming at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, Rhode Island, dubbed ”#OceanHour Week.” The event will include numerous installations and interactive exhibits, including an immersive hologram experience that allows visitors to explore under the sea’s surface and a “Trash Trailer” exhibit, which will display debris uncovered in a local dredging project. And, of course, it wouldn’t be an 11th Hour Racing Team event without the boat itself, which stateside visitors can get a close-up look at for the first time—when Charlie Enright and company aren’t out training of course. Attendees may even get a chance to hear from team principals themselves about the boat, stories from onboard, and how they integrate sustainability into performance.
#OceanHour Week will be open 1400 to 1800 on Monday, June 13 through Thursday, June 16, and from 1000 to 1800 on Sunday, June 12, Friday, June 17 and Saturday, June 18.
On the 15th, the team’s documentary on the Transat Jaques Vabre, Under the Hull, will premiere at NewportFILM. For anyone not local, you can also stream it on the team’s youtube channel.
Then it’s off to the races, quite literally, to compete in the Newport Bermuda, which begins on June 17—so don’t expect to see Mālama if you visit #OceanHour Week on the final Saturday. The Newport Bermuda constitutes an important piece in the team’s racing schedule since it will be one of the final opportunities to race offshore before the start of The Ocean Race in early 2023. As will undoubtedly be explored further in the documentary, the team’s last major race was a difficult and exhausting one, with significant equipment failures and plenty of lessons learned. A successful Newport Bermuda would be a major boost for the team prior to their big event.
For more on 11th Hour Racing Team see the June issue of SAIL Magazine or visit 11thhourracingteam.org.
