Charlie Enright’s 11th Hour Racing team placed second without their skipper due to testing positive for Covid, during the In-Port Race in Alicante, Spain on Sunday as the Ocean Race gets under way with the start of the first leg set for January 15. Team Malizia of Germany won the race, after a frenetic battle that saw four of the five IMOCA boats hold the lead at some point during a highly unpredictable and nerve-wracking contest, said an Ocean Race report. 

A smaller J2 headsail choice worked well for 11th Hour Racing team, skippered by Simon Fisher, due to Enright’s positive Covid test earlier in the week. The 11th Hour Racing team skipper watched his crew take second across the finish line.

"Obviously, I would rather have started today with Charlie onboard,” said Fisher after the race. “He's a really important part of this team and he’s worked so hard to make this project happen. I was wishing with all my heart this morning that he would be with us, but sadly it didn’t work out that way. But I’m very happy that we did a good job for him and we've left one more spot on the podium to aim for when he comes back."

Although in-port races do not count towards a team’s overall points score, they do play an important part in the overall rankings as the In-Port Race Series standings are used to break any point ties that occur during the 14th Ocean Race which starts on January 15.

The 11th Hour Racing crew line-up for the In-Port Race was Simon Fisher as designated skipper, Jack Bouttell, Francesca Clapcich, Justine Mettraux and Amory Ross of Newport. 

Enright was still testing positive, eight days after first testing on his arrival in Alicante. He has been under close medical supervision and is following direction from the team’s doctor and medical experts. After a few days of a heavy cold, he is feeling back to normal and has no symptoms of the virus.