Francesca Clapcich announces Will Harris as her co-skipper for Transat Café L'OR

by Team7Sailing 21 May 2025 02:42 PDT

Francesca Clapcich announces Will Harris as her co-skipper for Transat Café L'OR © Eloi Stichelbaut - polaRYSE

Italian-American pro offshore sailor, Francesca Clapcich, has chosen Will Harris (GBR) to join her as co-skipper for the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR Le Havre Normandie, the double-handed bi-annual race from Le Havre, France, to Fort-de-France, Martinique, in the Caribbean. The legendary transatlantic race is the first step in Clapcich's long journey to the start line of the 2028 Vendée Globe - sailing solo, non-stop around the world.

Clapcich and Harris will race the 60-foot IMOCA, 11th Hour Racing, currently sailed by Team Malizia and Boris Herrmann as Malizia-Seaexplorer, and which Clapcich will take ownership of in October 2025.

Commenting on her co-skipper, Clapcich said, "Choosing Will to be my co-skipper for my first TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR was a natural decision. He has more than 100,000 miles of IMOCA sailing under his belt with a really strong expertise in meteorology, data analysis, and, thanks to his six years of sailing with Team Malizia, a really good knowledge of the onboard electronics systems. Not only that, he's a great person too and always with a smile on his face, even if things are not going perfectly! He will be an excellent partner for my first shorthanded IMOCA race."

The TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR sets off from Le Havre on Sunday, October 26, 2025. This is the 17th edition of the double-handed race [two people onboard], with four classes of boats - ULTIMs, IMOCAs, Ocean Fiftys, and Class 40s - racing four different courses across the Atlantic, but all starting and finishing in the same places.

The IMOCA Class for 60-foot monohulls will face a 4,350 nautical mile course [5,005 miles/8,056 kilometers] which starts from the Normandy port in northern France passing a way point near the Canary Islands, then, leaving the archipelago to the right-hand side of the boat, the teams will point their bows across the Atlantic heading to the Caribbean. The race is anticipated to take between 10 and 14 days. Clapcich will be the first American woman to compete in the iconic double-handed race, and will be only the second Italian woman in the race after Cecilia Carreri competed in the Open 60 Class in 2005.

To ensure they can be on the start line, Clapcich and Harris will have to complete a 1,000 nautical mile [1,150 mile/1,852 kilometer] qualification passage together onboard the 11th Hour Racing IMOCA. They plan to complete this in June 2025.

Harris said, "I've known Francesca as an offshore sailing talent since she competed in the 2017-18 edition of The Ocean Race and I'm really excited to finally get the opportunity to sail with her.

"We've both come through the Solitaire du Figaro pathway so I know she has a strong background in short-handed sailing. Combining that with her Olympic background, her Ocean Race win with 11th Hour Racing Team in the last edition, and her very positive attitude, I think she makes a great sailor and will be a great co-skipper."

Clapcich has a busy six months ahead of her. At the end of June she will finish her role as a crew member onboard the UpWind by MerConcept Ocean Fifty and will then join Team Malizia for three months as co-skipper for The Ocean Race Europe, a five-leg tour of the continent in August and September.

At the end of the race, the Malizia-Seaexplorer IMOCA will return to its home base in Lorient, France, for a small refit and rebrand, emerging In early October in the colors of Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing.

Clapcich concluded, "This is the first event for me as Team Francesca Clapcich Powered by 11th Hour Racing, and with the new boat, so it's a very important race for our new team. Competing gives me qualification points for the Vendée Globe so a key objective is to finish the race and get some points on the scoreboard and I will also be able to learn about the boat and focus on performance. It's a short turnaround from the end of The Ocean Race Europe and before the TRANSAT CAFÉ L'OR but we will do everything possible to get her ready and be there on the start line ready to go."