JeffreyMacFarlane.com wins Leg 2 of Atlantic Cup

(May 18, 2014) – The 240-mile Atlantic Cup leg from New York City to Newport, RI soon turned into two boat race, with Dragon and JeffreyMacFarlane.com in sight of each other throughout the second leg of the 2014 edition.

After their start on Saturday, the five doublehanded teams passed Block Island to the west in their approach to Point Judith, which preceded the final offwind route though Narragansett Bay.

Entering the Bay, Dragon and JeffreyMacFarlane.com were near even, matching gybes toward the finish line just off of Fort Adams. In a dying breeze with three miles to go, JeffreyMacFarlane.com claimed the lead and held on to take the Leg 2 win.

JeffreyMacFarlane.com, sailed by Jeffrey Macfarlane (Franklin Lakes, NJ) and Jake Arcand (Honolulu, HI), finished at (17:56:07). The victory eases the pain from Leg 1, where they finished fourth due to a blown spinnaker and autopilot problems.

Dragon finished in second, less than two minutes behind (17:57:27).

Race website: www.atlanticcup.org
Tracking: http://yb.tl/ac2014

Additional information from event media…
JeffreyMacFarlane.com crossed the Jamestown FiSH Finish line first with an elapsed time of 29 hours 51 minutes 07 seconds on Sunday, May 18. JeffreyMacFarlane.com beat out Dragon (29:52:27) by 1 minute 20 seconds.

JeffreyMacFarlane.com skipper Jake Arcand: “We could see Dragon almost the whole night except for after dark for a couple of hours where we could barely see their masthead. Our plan [coming into the finish] was just to cover. If they were going to go around the backside of Block Island we were going to go around the backside…At Point Judith we were not more than a boat length apart from each other.”

JeffreyMacFarlane skipper Jeff MacFarlane: “It feels great to win, especially after the last leg where we had some boat troubles.”

Comprehensive results available here: http://www.atlanticcup.org/past-results/2014-results

RESULTS FROM THE SECOND LEG OF THE 2014 ATLANTIC CUP: FINISH TIME – POINTS
1. JeffreyMacFarlane.com – USA (Jeff MacFarlane, Jake Arcand), 29:51:07, 10 points
2. Dragon – USA (Michael Hennessy, Rob Windsor), 29:52:27, 8
3. Gryphon Solo 2 – USA (Joe Harris, Patrick O’Connor), 31:40:36, 6
4. Pleiad Racing – USA (Ed Cesare, Chad Corning), 32:55:39, 4
5. Flatine – CAN (Kyle Hubley, Frederic de Mesel), Not finished, 2

COMBINED POINT STANDINGS AFTER FIRST TWO LEGS OF OFFSHORE COMPETITION: TOTAL POINTS
1. Gryphon Solo 2 – USA (Joe Harris, Patrick O’Connor), 16 points
2. Dragon – USA (Michael Hennessy, Rob Windsor), 16
3. JeffreyMacFarlane.com – USA (Jeff MacFarlane, Jake Arcand), 14
4. Pleiad Racing – USA (Ed Cesare, Chad Corning), 10
5. Flatine – CAN (Kyle Hubley, Frederic de Mesel), 2

Background
The Atlantic Cup starts in Charleston, SC on May 10 for the 685-mile doublehanded leg to New York City. Following a brief stop-over in New York City, doublehanded teams begin on May 17 to race a 240-mile leg to Newport, RI. The third and final leg consists of two days (May 24-25) of inshore racing in Newport with a crew of six. The team with the combined highest score from the three legs will be the Atlantic Cup Champion. The prize purse for the Atlantic Cup is $15,000.

Points & Prize Money
Scoring for the 2014 Atlantic Cup will be based upon a “High Point” scoring system. Each boat’s overall score will equal the total points earned in both offshore legs plus points earned from the inshore races. At the conclusion of the event, the boat with the total highest score will be declared the winner.

To determine the podium winners, the “High Point” scoring system combines all three legs of the race into the boat’s overall score. The points for individual race scores are based upon the number of entrants (unless disqualified or retiring after finishing). The points for each leg are allotted as follows; 1st place will be awarded points equal to the number of entrants, 2nd place points equal the number of entrants minus 1, 3rd place points equal the number of entrants minus 2, 4th place points equal the number of entrants minus 3, and so on.

For two the offshore legs, points awarded will be weighted by a factor of 2. For each inshore series, points will be weighted by a factor of one. The inshore series will consist of a maximum of five races, should four or less inshore races be completed; all races will count toward the boat’s overall score. If five inshore series are completed, a boats overall score will consist of the four best inshore races. In the event of a score tie between two or more boats, the tie will be broken in favor of the boat with the most points earned amongst the two offshore legs.

The competitors have a chance to win prize money in all portions of the race. The $15,000 purse will be split between the three legs with $5,000 available per leg. The prize money for each leg will be divided as follows: 1stwill receive $2,000, 2nd, $1,500, 3rd, $1,000 and 4th place receives $500.