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Francesca Clapcich // The 1st Italian to Win The Ocean Race
March 3, 2026 · 1h 10m · 139 views
What this video covers
Francesca Clapcich, the first Italian to win The Ocean Race (2023), describes her path from Olympic 49er sailing and a decade in the Italian Air Force to professional offshore racing, and outlines her campaign for the 2028 Vendée Globe with title sponsor 11th Hour Racing. She quit the Air Force without a salary guarantee to try out for Dee Caffari's Turn the Tide on Plastic team for the 2017–18 Ocean Race, joining with no offshore experience.24:29 The interview, recorded in July before the Ocean Race Europe, covers her plan to co-skipper four of five legs with Team Malizia aboard Malizia III — the same IMOCA she intends to race in the 2028 Vendée Globe — specifically to accumulate miles and learn the boat's characteristics from experienced teammates.6:49 She also discusses skippering the all-female Ocean 50 trimaran campaign Upwind by Mare Concept, a subsequent second-place finish with Will Harris on the Transat, and her advocacy for gender diversity and equal opportunity in offshore racing.7:43 Clapcich credits Caffari's willingness to select an inexperienced but talented dinghy sailor as the decision that made her career possible.21:55
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