MEET THE TEAM
©Ainhoa Sanchez | Volvo Ocean Race
Charlie Enright
Skipper
Born and raised in the maritime hub of Bristol, Rhode Island, Enright was destined to sail from a young age after his grandfather – a boatbuilder – introduced him to the sport. Enright attended Brown University, where as a member of the sailing team, he met his future teammate, sailing partner and 1 Degree co-founder Mark Towill. Enright’s story has been profiled by national media such as The New York Times, Sports Illustrated, Forbes and Bloomberg while his team’s sportsmanship at sea has been lauded in features from the likes of The Wall Street Journal.
Following Enright’s college graduation in 2008, he joined the crew of the TP52 class sailing yacht Morning Light to take part in the 44th Transpac Yacht Race. The team’s participation was filmed and chronicled in the documentary released by Walt Disney Pictures “Morning Light” later that year, providing Enright his first moment in the sailing spotlight.
After some time working as a sailmaker at North Sails in Newport, RI, Enright set his sights on participation in the Volvo Ocean Race, setting up his team All-American Ocean Racing together with Towill. He participated in numerous off-shore races and attended the Volvo Ocean Race 2011-12 start in Alicante, Spain determined to be on the start line for the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15.
Together with Towill, Enright entered the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15 with Team Alvimedica, leading the campaign as skipper while featuring the youngest overall crew in the race. The team won the final leg into Gothenburg, Sweden to tie Spanish-entry MAPFRE for fourth place in the overall standings. Two years later, Enright and Towill would enter the Volvo Ocean Race 2017-18 again as co-founders of the team, this time with Vestas 11th Hour Racing. The team won the race’s opening leg into Lisbon before missing some legs due to a broken mast in the Southern Ocean, resulting in a fifth-place finish overall.
Towill and Enright are now back again hoping for a third shot at the elusive Ocean Race Trophy. This time, at the age of 34, Enright has two around-the-world campaigns under his belt and over a decade-worth of experience in offshore racing. His goal of winning the next Ocean Race comes with a mission to educate fans and followers along the way and challenge them to do their part in regards to ocean health and environmental issues. It’s this 'One Degree' of change that Charlie Enright believes can make a difference.
Mark Towill
CEO
Towill grew up sailing on the eastern shores of Oahu before racing on the sailing teams at both the prestigious Punahou School and Brown University Sailing Team.
In 2008 at age 18, Towill was selected to participate in the 44th Transpac Race aboard Morning Light, an entry into the race that was chronicled for a real-life documentary in Walt Disney’s motion picture “Morning Light.” Towill was the youngest member of the crew and his time on the open ocean with future 1 Degree co-founder Charlie Enright was instrumental is charting his future course as a professional offshore sailor.
After graduating from Brown University in 2011 with degrees in Business and Environmental Studies, Towill set up All-American Ocean Racing with his former Brown sailing teammate Charlie Enright. The two had a vision to compete in the world’s premier around-the-world sailing race for teams, the Volvo Ocean Race.
That vision was realized three years later in 2014 when Towill and Enright were at the starting line in Alicante, Spain, leading the campaign for Team Alvimedica in the Volvo Ocean Race 2014-15. With Towill taking the lead on partnerships, sponsorship and business development, Enright focused primarily on the sailing side. The team won the final leg into Gothenburg to match veteran Spanish-team MAPFRE for fourth on points in the overall standings (a tie-breaker pushed them a notch down).
Two years later, Enright and Towill returned to the race with Vestas 11th Hour Racing, winning the opening leg. After a setback with a broken mast in the extreme conditions of the Southern Ocean, the team finished fifth in the overall race standings.
With 1 Degree, Towill oversees partnerships and sponsorships and continues to build upon two around-the-world campaigns and a decade of ocean racing to put together the best possible team with the aim of winning The Ocean Race title for the first time -- while raising awareness and urging action to the sailing community and racing fans with respect to environmental issues and ocean health. Everyone can do their part to help move the needle 1 Degree.
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