Emily Nagel and her 11th Hour Racing Team colleagues have completed a gruelling transatlantic training sail from France to Newport, Rhode Island.The team’s 60-foot monohull arrived at the home of sponsor, 11th Hour Racing, early yesterday morning after spending 13 days at sea sailing in challenging conditions.“It’s always a great feeling to arrive safely in port, but extra special to be coming home here to Newport,” skipper Charlie Enright commented on the team’s website. “Not only is it where I grew up, it’s also the home of our sponsor, 11th Hour Racing, so looking forward to sharing with them the developments on the boat.”En route to Newport the team sailed against the prevailing trade winds through Gulf Stream currents and low pressure systems.“Going from east to west in the Northern Atlantic at this time of year is like watching a parade, but walking against it!” Enright added. “Everything comes at you pretty fast, you experience twice as much weather than if you were going in the other direction, with a series of fronts and ridges from 0-35 knots [0-45 mph] and constantly sailing shifts upwind. “It was really uncomfortable at times due to the wind conditions and sailing at very tight angles. We will need to figure out how to make the liveability on-board comfortable for extended periods of time with six crew.”The team kicked off a two-year preparation plan for the next instalment of The Ocean Race in 2022-23 after departing from Concarneau, France on August 1.En route to Newport the team tested the boat and new foil after an extended refit in France due to the Covid-19 pandemic and also supported two scientific projects on-board.The team will now remain in Newport and train out of Fort Adams over the coming months.“It will be a chance for us to spend some time sailing in home waters and also reconnect with the local communities here in Rhode Island after a long period away in Europe,” Enright said.Bermudian Nagel is among a trio of new additions to 11th Hour Racing Team that also includes five-times The Ocean Race veteran Simon Fisher and America’s Cup and SailGP winner Kyle Langford.The start of the next edition of The Ocean Race was postponed until the Fall of 2022 due to the outbreak of Covid-19.Naval Architect Nagel made her debut in prestigious race in 2017-18 as a member of Team AkzoNobel.