Will Harris: “There is a lot of work ahead"

Will Harris is a man caught between two exciting worlds. On one side, he is looking forward to this summer’s The Ocean Race Atlantic on board Team Francesca Clapcich powered by 11th Hour Racing. On the other, the 2027 edition of The Ocean Race around the world with Team Malizia next year. 

For most sailors, one would be enough. For Harris, the overlap feels like an opportunity.

"Frankie asked me to take part in The Ocean Race Atlantic as part of a bigger crew and I jumped at the chance," says the 29-year-old, who has been part of the Malizia setup since 2019. "I thought it was a really good opportunity to get back out there.”

It's a balancing act he embraces with open arms. The learnings he picks up racing with Team Francesca Clapcich, currently sailing the IMOCA that was the Malizia boat he raced around the world in 2023, can feed directly back into preparations for the new Malizia 4, which is set to be launched at the end of June. "We can bring across all the experience we're learning and apply that to the campaign," he says. "It works really well."

Don't underestimate the North Atlantic in September

The Ocean Race Atlantic - the first edition of this exciting new format - will see the fleet race from New York to Lorient, and Harris is clear-eyed about what that passage demands.

"We shouldn't underestimate it," he says. "It's the North Atlantic in September. You can get some really strong storms. You've got the Gulf Stream to deal with and it's a really challenging part of the world to sail in.”

He knows this better than most. In the last round-the-world race, the transatlantic crossing was among the race's most defining passages. "That was probably the most intense seven days of the entire race for me," he recalls.

But the North Atlantic also holds unique potential. Harris is excited about the prospect of chasing records on those waters, where fast-moving depressions and the relatively flat sea states that the Southern Ocean rarely offers can produce extraordinary speeds. "In the last edition of the race, we were really lucky to have perfect conditions. Between us and Holcim PRB, we were fighting each other for the outright monohull record." With the new, faster boats arriving on the circuit, he believes those marks could be pushed even further.

A monster of a first leg in 2027

Speaking during a visit to Race Headquarters in Alicante, one thought keeps returning: the sheer scale of what awaits in the round-the-world race. The first leg at over 13,000 miles, has every sailor's attention right now.

"It's an absolute monster of a leg. It's more than halfway around the world," Harris says. "Definitely when I think about comparing it with a leg in the last race, it has to be leg three, from Cape Town to Itajai, which was basically the whole Southern Ocean, and we're going to be at sea for five weeks.”

The key, he says, is reliability. Reliability of the boat, of the team, and of the relationships on board. "We've got to be 100% sure our boat's reliable, our team's reliable, that we're all going to get on, and that we're going to be able to race as hard as possible."

Goosebumps and a long to-do list

For all the logistical complexity of being in two campaigns simultaneously, Harris says he is energised by being back in Alicante. Walking those familiar streets, past the Ocean Live Park location along the waterfront and sitting in Race Control, brings the upcoming challenges. to life.

"It gives me a bit of excitement, a bit of goosebumps," he admits. "But it really hits home that when I’m back at the team base in Lorient, we've got a lot of work ahead of us.”

Having done every single leg of the last around-the-world race, Harris understands now what it takes to arrive at the start line in the sharpest possible shape. This time, Team Malizia will share the racing across a broader sailor pool, allowing key crew members to rest and return more motivated. "To really have the most ready and most competitive team, you have to take breaks," he says.

The new Malizia 4 is being prepared in Lorient. The Ocean Race Atlantic is on the horizon. And the visit to Alicante, as always, has done its job, reminding Will Harris exactly what he's racing towards.

Will Harris will race with Team Francesca Clapcich powered by 11th Hour Racing in The Ocean Race Atlantic 2026 and will co-skipper Team Malizia in The Ocean Race 2027.