The Atlantic Cup: It’s an inshore year

(May 13, 2013) – As The Atlantic Cup reaches the end of the daylight hours on day two of the doublehanded leg from Charleston, SC to New York, NY (648 nm), the Class40 teams have gone through a second major transition, and this one, has caused a shakeup.

Around midday today the boats that were leading towards the coast, Bodacious Dream (Dave Rearick/ Matt Scharl), Icarus (Ben Poucher/ Tim Fetsch) and 40 Degrees (Peter Harding/ Hannah Jenner) fought their way through a brutal light patch and have managed to catch the left hand shift close to shore. As a result they have started pulling away from the rest of the group. #121 Lecoq Cuisine also managed to squeak through but seemed to struggle in the lighter air more than the rest of the lead pack and has hemorrhaged some miles, but still is part of the lead pack.

With less than 200nm now remaining, tonight will be very stressful for all the teams as they continue north along the Delaware and New Jersey shore and try to figure an approach to New York Harbor.

Also temperatures are supposed to drop to the mid 30’s,which may begin to sap the energy of all the teams on their third night at sea. Still very much anyone’s game with plenty of room for play as they approach the Statue of Liberty.

Background: The Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing is a dedicated professional Class 40 race held annually in the U.S. The 2013 edition starts with a doublehanded leg on May 11 from Charleston, SC to New York, NY (648 nm), and another doublehanded leg on May 18 from New York to Newport, RI (260 NM). The event concludes on May 25-26 with inshore fully crewed (six people on board) buoy racing in Narragansett Bay. – www.atlanticcup.org