11th Hour Racing Team announced the addition of several high-profile sailors to its training crew this week with five-time Ocean Race veteran Simon Fisher (UK) joining the team in France, along with past America's Cup and SailGP winner Kyle Langford (AUS) and 2017-18 Ocean Race participant Emily Nagel (Bermuda).
The trio has come together in Brittany with Skipper Charlie Enright, onboard reporter Amory Ross, and Justin Shaffer, who oversees special projects, to prepare for the team's upcoming transatlantic. The departure from Concarneau, France to Newport, Rhode Island, is scheduled for Saturday as 11th Hour Racing Team kicks off its two-year preparation plan for the next edition of The Ocean Race in 2022-2023.
Nagel is a trained naval architect who had her first taste of The Ocean Race in 2017-18 as part of Team AkzoNobel. Hailing from Bermuda, Nagel has worked for America's Cup teams and SailGP on the technical and design side and has also represented Great Britain at European and World Championship sailing events. She currently resides in Weymouth, UK, where she campaigns her foiling moth in her spare time.
"We have pulled together a wealth of experience and talent for this transatlantic," said 11th Hour Racing Team Skipper Enright. "We are obviously itching to get miles and offshore training under our belts with the delays we've had this year. This is an experienced crew and a dynamic training group that brings together a broad range of skills as we look ahead to 2022."
Langford, Ross and Enright were together for the team's transatlantic sail from Brazil to France late last year. The addition of Fisher, Shaffer, and Nagel creates a new mix of six sailors for this training in which the team will put to the test a next-generation wing foil and other new systems from the boat's recent refit.
"We have built a foil with the latest generation of technology," said Team CEO Mark Towill. "The new T-foil design basically does two things: it creates lift and reduces leeway. During the transatlantic, we will be testing out the new rake system with different sail combinations."
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