NEWPORT – The last weekend of the Ocean Race stopover is at hand, with organizers expecting a significant turnout up to and during the May 21 finale when the five teams depart on their 60-foot IMOCA class sailboats for the trans-Atlantic trek to Europe.
Totaling 32,000 nautical miles, the fifth leg of the around-the-world competition will go from Newport to Aarhus, Denmark. The race is slated to end in Genova, Italy at the end of June.
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One wild card facing the stopover is the weather forecast, which calls for heavy rain on Saturday before clearing off to a 70-degree Sunday with gentle winds.
Kevin Escoffier’s Team Holcim-PRB currently holds the lead over 11th Hour Racing Team and Team Malizia. Escoffier’s team is recovering from a dismasting leg 4 and has used all of its energy and resource to be on the starting line in Newport, with a lead intact, after retiring from the previous leg.
“If we are still here in Newport leading The Ocean Race, it is due to the technical and logistics team who have done such great work,” Escoffier said Friday. “It’s a small miracle to be able to be here. The boat is great, the (replacement) mast has the same performance standard we were looking for. It’s nice to have the boat back here, in a good shape as well.”
Charlie Enright, skipper of 11th Hour Racing Team, salvaged a challenging first half of his around the world campaign with a win into his hometown of Newport on May 10. The victory vaulted the team right back into contention on the leaderboard.“It was an amazing leg for us obviously,” Enright acknowledged. “We are the 11th Hour Racing Team and in some ways we were in the 11th Hour, from a competive standpoint, so there was no time like the present to get our first victory. The finish itself was almost like it was scripted, like a fairy tale – hundreds of boats, thousands of people. It was really amazing and personally it was a dream come true.”
Ashley Lemire, director of Operations & Events at Audrain Hospitality Group, which is running food and beverage operations for the stopover, said that Friday attendance was “lower than expected,” though the team is expecting a weekend boost.
“I’m hoping to see a surge on Sunday to send off the boats on their next leg of the race,” she said.
Lemire said they’ve required about 30 staff members a day to handle operations including the multiple food trucks on site, as well as to run the two VIP ticketed events this weekend.
“It’s really such a beautiful location and just a great time to come out and have fun with your family,” she said. “Our hospitality staff is having such a great time out here and we look forward to this weekend.”
The 11-day stopover included numerous activities at the Ocean Live Park village, from interactive educational programs to live music. One of the most anticipated events is Saturday’s in-port race in the East Passage of Narragansett Bay.
The Sunday send-off begins at noon when the sailors will parade through Ocean Live Park before sailing a short course through the bay before the official race start time scheduled for 2:10 p.m.
Executive Director of the Fort Adams Trust, Jim Miller, said he has been impressed with the coordination between the nonprofit Sail Newport, the state of Rhode Island, and 11th Hour Racing.
The 2023 stopover marks the third time the Ocean Race has come to the city since 2015. One of the major differences this time around, said Miller, is the focus on environmental sustainability. There have been dozens of school field trips to the village this week, with more planned for Friday.
“This has been a tremendous event,” he said. “I’ve seen more kids this year than I’ve ever seen. Which will be very impactful. I think the message is finally penetrating.”
Another major draw has been the “Exploration Zone,” presented by Bank Newport, an all-ages attraction combining sailing with education on oceanic sustainability. Unfortunately that will be closed on Saturday due to the rainy forecast.
Michael Healey, spokesperson for the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, the agency which manages the state park system including Fort Adams, said he attended the Ocean Summit on Tuesday, which featured over 150 government, nonprofit and private sector representatives who participated in a forum on “the inherent rights of the ocean,” according to the event’s website.
“There was a terrific crowd,” he said. “Including hundreds of schoolchildren participating in activities at Ocean Live Park, learning about ocean ecology and climate change and just having fun.”
Newport officials said on Friday the multi-agency coordination has been well managed so far. City spokesperson Thomas Shelvin said many attendees are taking advantage of the water taxis from downtown Newport or riding their bikes to the fort.
“We haven’t had to implement any significant detours like those that are put in place for the Folk and Jazz Festivals, but that could certainly change should they be required over the weekend,” he said. “Newport is used to hosting these types of events and our Police Department has been working closely with the event organizers to ensure that traffic is moving as freely as possible throughout the stopover.”
Total attendance numbers for this year’s stopover were not immediately available. A 2015 economic impact report by Performance Research found that year’s festivities attracted more than 137,000 visitors.
The park opens at 10 a.m. daily and will close at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday.
(Update: Adds Exploration Zone will not be open Saturday due to weather in 17th paragraph)
Christopher Allen is a PBN staff writer. You may contact him at Allen@PBN.com.
