United By The Ocean edge out 11th Hour Racing to win the first Ocean Race Atlantic

Paul Meilhat's United By The Ocean has won the inaugural Ocean Race Atlantic, edging out Francesca Clapcich's 11th Hour Racing in a finish that went down to the final miles into Lorient. The French IMOCA crossed in seven days, 23 hours, 39 minutes and 11 seconds, just eight minutes and 56 seconds clear, next to nothing after more than a week at sea.

For the opening days, the six-strong fleet rode the leading edge of an easterly-moving low, hitting 30 knots-plus in lumpy seas for days. By the finish off Brittany, the wind had dropped to around 10 knots on a flat sea.

Kojiro Shiraishi's DMG MORI Global One had led for two days before 11th Hour Racing snuck past on a southerly line this morning, United By The Ocean following soon after. It was Meilhat's more northerly call in the shifting breeze that made the difference, opening a one-mile gap that held.

Meilhat also won last year's light-wind Ocean Race Europe in the same boat, then racing as Biotherm.

"The boat is not the latest [design]," he says. "It is fast, but we had some bad moments because it is not really fast in the big waves. Three days ago we had a really tough night in big waves in the wrong direction. But we know that in medium and light wind on flat water it is really, really fast. A lot of races finish in these conditions. We are a good team with this boat and that is working well."

Asked what swung it, Meilhat was low-key: "For me what is important is not the result. It's the way in which we built the result. So I prefer to keep in mind the good moments and how we can repeat them in the future."

Co-skipper Mariano Lobato was buzzing at the dock: "It's been a fantastic finish here for us against 11th Hour Racing. It's just been an incredible race, I don't have the words. We just never give up on this team. I'm super happy. It's really nice."

Shiraishi held off Boris Herrmann's Team Malizia for third, five minutes ahead. Two more crews remain out on the course, with Embrace The Challenge expected in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

UPDATE 12/9:

Oliver Heer's Embrace The Challenge crew crossed the finishing line in Lorient on Friday morning to take fifth. MSIG Europe finished in sixth, with the race committee recording an official finish time of 07:40:00 UTC on Sunday after the boat was finished on a shortened course approximately 15 miles from the line due to extremely light winds and an adverse tidal current.

The Ocean Race Atlantic Final Ranking:

• 1st: United By The Ocean 7 days 23 hours 39 minutes 11 seconds
• 2nd: 11th Hour Racing 7 days 23 hours 48 minutes 7 seconds; 8min 56sec behind first
• 3rd: DMG MORI Global One 8 days 0 hours 1 minute 40 seconds; 22min 29sec behind first
• 4th: Team Malizia 8 days 0 hours 6 minutes 40 seconds; 27min 29sec behind first
• 5th: Embrace The Challenge 8 days 11 hours 36 minutes 17 seconds; 11hr 57min 6sec behind first
• 6th: MSIG Europe 9 days 7 hours 40 minutes 00 seconds; 1 day 8hr 0min 49sec behind first