Attrition Continues for Atlantic Cup

Nine Class40 teams representing the U.S., Canada, Sweden, England, France and Spain will start the 2016 Atlantic Cup on May 28. Originally set for 12 teams a month ago, and then 10 teams a week ago, the latest drop out was Louis Duc’s Carac which suffered damage in The Transat race.

The fifth edition of the race begins with a 648-nm doublehanded leg from Charleston, SC to Brooklyn, NY. From there, the second doublehanded leg starts June 4 for 360 nm to Portland, ME. The final stage on June 10-11 will have 6-person teams complete an inshore series of races in Portland.

The race’s first female duo is Oakcliff Racing’s Liz Shaw and Libby Greenhalgh. “We have had an excellent prep session, we are feeling really prepared with only have a few loose ends to tidy up,” remarked Shaw. “The competition is incredible, the organizers have done an incredible job of gathering competition from all over the world. It’s a dynamic fleet and we’re really excited to get on the course.”

For more on the Atlantic Cup: AtlanticCup.org

About The Atlantic Cup
The Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing is, at 1,045 nautical miles, the longest offshore in the Western Atlantic. The Atlantic Cup was created and is owned by Manuka Sports Event Management. It started in 2011 as a concept event and grew to a multi-stage race. Since its inception, the Atlantic Cup has aimed to be the most environmentally responsible sailing race in the United States. The race is sailed solely in Class40s, a monohull race boat designed for shorthanded racing.

The first doublehanded leg takes the fleet 648 nm to Brooklyn, NY, with the second doublehanded leg starting June 4 for 360 nm to Portland, ME. The final stage on June 10-11 will have 6-person teams complete an inshore series of races in Portland.

The Atlantic Cup ran annually in May from 2011 through 2014. After 2014, the race moved to a biennial event. The course in 2011 was a sprint from New York to Newport with an inshore series in Newport. From 2012-2014, the race was a three-stage event that started in Charleston, South Carolina included a stop-over in New York City and finished in Newport, Rhode Island. In 2016, the Atlantic Cup will continue to comprise of three legs, with stop-overs in Charleston, S.C., Brooklyn, N.Y., and for the first time, Portland, Maine.