After leaving the docks in New York on Tuesday, May 28, Nicolas Lunven quickly found himself alone on board to cover the 100 miles (185 kilometers) separating the Moonbeam marina from the starting area. At 8:00 PM (French time) last night, the 28 IMOCA boats set off for this solo transatlantic race towards Les Sables d’Olonne. This departure took place under unprecedented circumstances, "behind closed doors," with no spectator boats or cameras to capture the moment due to a starting line located far from New York. This measure was implemented by the race organization to respect a biodiversity protection zone and the presence of marine mammals in the area.

The start was given in very calm and sunny weather conditions. Nicolas Lunven, aboard Holcim-PRB, will first head towards a mandatory virtual point located southeast of the starting area, aiming to move the fleet away from the many cetaceans present in this part of the North Atlantic, as identified by scientists. "We have just crossed the starting line of the New York – Vendée. The weather is very favorable, sunny, and we have eight knots of wind. I hope this will hold up because the weather files predict very little wind for the next few hours," Nicolas Lunven said in a video sent to his team a few minutes after the launch of this second edition of the New York - Vendée.

The challenge in these early hours of the race will be to maintain the pace despite the lack of sleep. Indeed, in these light wind conditions, Nicolas Lunven will need to stay alert to make the most of a fading breeze and try to catch a southwest wind that could carry the boats to the Azores. Sleep hours will be scarce because if the sailors fail to catch this wind, the door will close, and the boats could remain in this calm wind zone for a long time before having to deal with very difficult weather conditions under the influence of a depression forming later in the week along the American coast. Nicolas Lunven could take about ten days to reach Vendée.