After sailing the prologue race from Newport, R.I., to New York on Thursday/Friday, the 13 competitors of the Around Alone race immediately began busying themselves with last-minute preparations for Sunday's official start of the race.
The starting gun went off as scheduled at 1215, under the shadow of the Statue of Liberty. First across the line was BTC Velocity, followed by Tommy Hilfiger Freedom America and Bayer Acensia third — all three on starboard tack.
With the rest of the fleet through the line and jockeying for position, they were all soon headed out to sea. The sky cleared a bit for the actual start, but the boats began disappearing into the fog as they passed underneath the Verazzano Narrows Bridge in a 15-knot breeze from the south.
