Francesca Clapcich has already sailed solo from France to the Arctic Circle and back this year. Next up: a three-week charity tour down the U.S. East Coast, followed by a 3,600-nautical-mile transatlantic race.

Clapcich, a two-time Olympian and professional offshore sailor who lives in the Kamas/Park City area with her wife, Sally, and their daughter, Harriet, will kick off her Changemakers Tour on Aug. 14 in Boston. The tour takes her team south to Newport, Rhode Island, and then New York City, visiting organizations focused on ocean health, inclusivity and the sport of sailing, according to The Ocean Race's official announcement.

On Sept. 1, Clapcich and her crew will line up for The Ocean Race Atlantic, a sprint from New York to Lorient, France. The race is the first 50/50 gender-parity crewed transatlantic in offshore sailing history, requiring two women and two men on each boat, according to Sailing Scuttlebutt.

Six teams are entered.

"The Ocean Race Atlantic is going to be my first and only crewed race of the season," Clapcich told the Park Record. "I'm really proud of the team that we put together. … I'm pretty happy to have three other sailors on board to share the load."

It will be her sixth transatlantic race.

Changemakers Tour stops

The Boston leg (Aug. 11–16) includes visits to Courageous Sailing, the Massachusetts Oyster Project and Stone Living Lab. In Newport (Aug. 17–25), the team connects with TeamFAME, Community Boating Center of New Bedford, Conanicut Island Sailing Foundation and the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The New York stop (Aug. 26–Sept. 1) features Rocking the Boat, Billion Oyster Project, Hudson River Community Sailing and Brooklyn Boatworks.

The tour also launches the team's first Believe, Belong, Achieve Internship Program. Three interns from Rocking the Boat, a Bronx nonprofit that teaches boatbuilding, environmental science and sailing to high school students, will join Clapcich's crew in Newport for hands-on experience in professional offshore sailing operations, communications and technical work. One of the interns, Jade Adon, said the opportunity is "another door that Rocking the Boat has opened for me."

Team Francesca Clapcich is powered by 11th Hour Racing, a Newport-based environmental nonprofit. Michelle Carnevale, president of 11th Hour Racing, said the tour "brings together local leaders who are proving what's possible and uses the platform of sport to share their ideas with new audiences."

Local roots

When she isn't navigating open ocean, Clapcich teaches skiing in Park City as a Level 3 USIA instructor. "Living in Park City is really special. Skiing was my first love," she told TownLift in October 2025. "When I'm home, I focus on being outdoors, spending time with my daughter, and giving back to the community."

Before departing for the tour, Clapcich completed a three-day solo backpacking trip in the Uinta Mountains, describing it as good physical and mental preparation. She noted that 11th Hour Racing also works with Protect Our Winters, a Boulder, Colorado-based nonprofit focused on environmental advocacy, drawing a connection to the Wasatch Back community's love of the outdoors.

Her long-term goal remains the 2028 Vendée Globe, a solo, nonstop circumnavigation of the globe. The Ocean Race Atlantic, expected to take seven to nine days, is one more step toward that mark. Boats are expected to arrive in Lorient around Sept. 9, with the race village open through Sept. 13.