A Utahn tries to become the first woman to compete in a challenging trans-Atlantic sailboat race

PARK CITY —  On Sunday October 26, 2025, sailors from around the world will set off from France on a nearly two week journey across the Atlantic in the Transat Café L’OR.  The race runs from Le Havre, France, to Martinique, in the Caribbean.

Olympian Francesca Clapcich was originally born and raised in Italy and her childhood memories are filled with sailing and sailboat racing. 

“I grew up in a small town really close to the water to the ocean, and my family had a small sailing boat. We were spending a lot of the time in the summer, just sailing around and cruising around. So I got exposed to the sport really early on.”

About ten years ago Clapcich left Italy and now lives in Utah. 

“We just kind of decided that Utah and Park City, Kamas area was a great place to call home. We love the outdoors. We love the fact that it’s really seasonal,” said Clapcich. “I sail a lot around the world and a lot of races, and for me, it’s really refreshing to just be able to come back home and see the mountains, enjoying the mountains, the trails, and be a little bit far away from the ocean for a while.”

Clapcich sailed in the 2012 and 2016 Summer Olympic Games. After the 2016 Olympics she switched her career to offshore racing. Leading her to sail around the world twice. And in 2023 she won the Ocean Race with her 11-hour racing team. 

“Now I’m really embarking in this new journey towards the Van der Globe in 2028 that is the race around the world solo non-stop. So it’s a big challenge, that’s for sure. But at the same time, I do love challenges and I think it’s a good moment in my life and in my career,” Clapcich. 

 

Getting ready for the  Transat Café L’OR

 

For the Transat Café L’OR, Clapcich and her co-skipper will be piloting a 60-foot, foiling sailboat. Each boat is different with their own designer and engineer working within the set rules and limits. The boats are able to fly on top of the water but not catching as much air and flying like one might see in the Louis Vuitton America’s Cup Louis Vuitton in Italy. 

“We have lot of sales on board that we can we can adjust, but we can also change depending on the condition. If the wind is really strong, we can reduce our sales. If the wind get lighter, we can put bigger sales to try to be faster.”

Clapcich says the boat can reach speeds close to like 40 miles per hour.

Clapcich expects the race to take between 12 and 14 days, but that will depend on the weather. 

“You never really know exactly if you end up in a bit stronger wind or lighter wind, it might become faster or slower, but I would say that a good average is probably around 12 days.”

Clapcich says with the new forecasting technology and faster modern boats storms are more easily avoided. And if you’re pushing the boat hard you can even out run a storm and avoid getting sucked in. 

On the boat there’s not a lot of comforts, a small bunk to take turns sleeping in and a small galley to grab a bite are pretty much it. No bathrooms, no showers on board. 

“Sometimes I kind of think about it [like] a bit of a extreme camping on the ocean and you know the comfort is limited, but the adventure is massive and the experience that we can have on the oceans are really amazing,” said Clapcich.

Clapcich and her co-skipper use what they call a watch system to take turns sleeping and steering. Diving up the 24 hours in the day so each person can get some rest and eat. 

“It’s quite a lot of like trying to manage yourself [and] making sure you take care of the other person on board.”

Clapcich says getting enough rest is important to really be able to be refreshed and functioning so not too many mistakes are made. 

You can monitor her progress through the race on her website.

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