The outcome of The Ocean Race Atlantic will be decided Thursday. DMG MORI Global One (1st) currently holds a slight advantage over United by the Ocean (2nd), 11th Hour Racing (3rd) and Team Malizia (4th), with less than 25 miles separating the four boats as 06:30 CEST on Thursday morning.

There was plenty of joy on board the boats yesterday, and the mood said a lot about the state of mind of the sailors. Before stepping ashore this afternoon and finally taking stock of the race, the crews will have to fight hard to secure victory and determine the podium. At 06:30 this morning, DMG MORI Global One was still leading, less than 90 miles from Lorient. Kojiro Shiraishi and his crew must nevertheless contend with the threat from United by the Ocean (2nd), which was positioned slightly further south, just five miles behind, both along the rhumb line and laterally. 11th Hour Racing (3rd) was following in the leader’s wake, 13 miles behind, while Team Malizia was 25 miles back, positioned slightly further north.

This snapshot of the positions early this morning  should be treated with caution because the wind is expected to weaken as the boats approach Lorient. Winds are currently fluctuating between 5 and 10 knots along the coast of Morbihan, which should once again bring the fleet closer together. Nicolas Lunven (DMG MORI Global One) summed it up perfectly: “The wind is dropping, so the fleet will close up again before the finish.” He added: “We may be in the lead right now, but everything could still change.”

Although the gaps remain substantial — 330 miles and 550 miles respectively — the two boats at the back of the fleet, Embrace the Challenge (5th) and MSIG Europe (6th), may actually have fewer worries. The conditions are allowing them to take a more direct route to the finish, staying further south than the leading quartet. “Overall, things are looking good, and we mainly have wind all the way to the finish,” said Conrad Colman. 

The Ocean Race Atlantic is coming down to a thrilling conclusion. All that remains is to discover the order in which the six boats will cross the finish line.

 

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