Scott Shawyer takes the start of the New York Vendée

Scott Shawyer takes the start of the New York Vendée © PKC Media / Canada Ocean Racing Team

Today, Wednesday, May 29th at 2pm (EST), Scott Shawyer took the start of the New York Vendée transatlantic race off the New York coast aboard his IMOCA "Be Water Positive".

This race will take him to Les Sables d'Olonne, for a total course of 3,100 nautical miles. The skippers had to spend the night at sea to position themselves on the start line today, and the public and his team gave him a warm farewell yesterday as he left Newport.

According to the weather forecasts from his coach Nick Moloney, the starting conditions look good for Scott. The skippers will start with a light wind that should gradually strengthen over the following days with the arrival of a depression within 48 hours, which will bring strong winds. The workload will be heavy for the first 3-4 days, before some uncomfortable yet fast sailing across the mid-Atlantic sector.

Overall, a challenging weather scenario in the beginning, with a major transition on days 3-4, the Canadian skipper will have to adapt to these changing conditions while making the most of the potential of his boat for this Atlantic crossing.

A few hours before the start, Scott explained "the pressure is mounting! I feel a mix of excitement and stress. I'm quite confident, I've trained well in recent months, I know the boat well, I know the electronic systems well. I can't wait to take the start."