Twelve Class40 Teams for Atlantic Cup 2016

The fleet size for the 2016 Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing has grown by four additional teams to bring the international field of Class40s from the USA, France, Spain, Sweden, Canada and Great Britain to twelve teams. The four teams announced include: 65-Carac, 147-Campagne de France, 141-Eärendil, and 102-Privateer.

The recent entries include two-time British Olympic team meteorologist and accomplished Volvo Ocean Race sailor, Libby Greenhalgh (Oakcliff – USA). Her co-skipper, Canadian, Liz Shaw is Canada’s youngest National Race Officer. The duo is competing in the first leg of the race; Hobie Ponting (Oakcliff – USA) and a yet to be named co-skipper will sail legs two and three. Louis Duc (Carac – FRA), 2015 Transat Jacques Vabre third place finisher; Jeffrey Brock (Pleiad – USA), former Volvo Ocean Race sailor and French pair Halvard Mabire and co-skipper, Miranda Merron (Campagne De France – FRA) are new additions to the race, shaping up for a tough field of competitors in the fifth edition of the Atlantic Cup.

“I am really looking forward to competing in this year’s Atlantic Cup and excited to be teaming up with Liz to race as the first all-female team to compete in the Cup,” said Greenhalgh. “This race will be challenging with the strong competition, tough course and also a new experience for me racing short-handed. I think it is important to have good role models out there for young women to see the pathway in sailing and it will be great to make a little bit of history and challenge more to follow us!”

The doublehanded Class40 teams will set sail from Charleston, S.C., on Saturday, May 28 at 12 p.m. ET en route to Brooklyn, N.Y., for the second leg of the competition and a Pro-Am event, May 31-June 3, before departing on June 4 at 12 p.m. ET, on the final leg of competition. The biennial event culminates in Portland, Maine, with two days of full crew inshore racing and the Atlantic Cup Festival, June 10 and 11.

The list of boats competing in the 2016 Atlantic Cup is as follows:

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 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.