US-based sailing team wins around-the-world Ocean Race under 'bizarre' circumstances

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The U.S.-based 11th Hour Racing Team won the around-the-world Ocean Race on Thursday, thanks to a jury that awarded the hobbled sloop the equivalent of a second-place finish in a leg it couldn’t complete because of a crash that wasn’t its fault.

The World Sailing International Jury awarded the Newport, Rhode Island, team four points for the final leg — enough for a three-point lead in the standings over second-place Team Holcim-PRB. 11th Hour Skipper Charlie Enright and his crew learned of the decision via satellite phone call a few hours before arriving with their patched-up boat in Genoa, Italy, for the traditional champagne-spraying trophy presentation.

"The circumstances of this win are a little bizarre," navigator Simon Fisher said after the decision was announced on Thursday morning. "But the news coming in this morning was a huge relief, and it is slowly sinking in that we have won the race."

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This handout provided by The Ocean Race shows the damaged 11th Hour Racing team boat after being T-boned by Guyot environnement — Team Europe during the last leg of The Ocean Race around-the-world sailing competition near Aarhus, Denmark, Thursday, June 16, 2023.  (The Ocean Race via AP)

It’s the first victory for an American boat in The Ocean Race's 50-year history. It was the third attempt for Enright, a Rhode Island native and Brown University alum who finished fifth in two previous tries.

"This race takes everything out of you — emotionally, mentally, and physically," Enright said. "I’m incredibly proud of our whole team who have worked tirelessly for three years to get to this