11th Hour Racing unveils IMOCA 60

After 24 months of research, development, and construction, 11th Hour Racing Team has unveiled its new IMOCA 60, the first of a new era of boats designed to compete in fully crewed, short-handed and solo offshore sailboat races.

With the U.S. sponsored program focused on The Ocean Race 2022-23, the team sees this as a new era for the 60-foot class which previously had been designed specifically for shorthanded sailing.

A product of Guillaume Verdier’s design studio and built at CDK Technologies in the home of offshore yacht racing in Brittany, France, the new IMOCA 60 blends sporting performance with sustainable construction practices, and state-of-the-art boat building technology.

Where IMOCA 60s are traditionally designed for the typical downwind course of the solo Vendée Globe, the 11th Hour Racing Team boat has been optimized for the broader range of conditions expected in The Ocean Race which will cross the equator four times.

The first impression is of a hull with a super-slick aero treatment with a scow-type profile to its bow, a pronounced chine, and with a large and almost completely enclosed cockpit with minimal side decks…

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