June 5, 2024 – Portland, M.E. – The final stage of the Atlantic Cup, a two-day coastal series kicked off today after a brief postponement to allow the breeze to fill in. The course was 22 nautical miles that took teams out of Portland Harbor and around Outer Green Island before returning into the harbour for a spectacular finish.
It was Alberto Riva and Jean Mare’s day to shine again on Acrobatica as they sailed into another first place. With today’s win they clinched the overall Atlantic Cup, however much is left to be determined for the remainder of the podium. Heading into tomorrow’s racing Everial and Vogue Avec un Crohn are separated by 1/2 point with dékulpe, Sign for Com and La Manche separated by 1/2 point as well.
Nicolas Jossier and Pierrick Letouze on La Manche Evidence Nautique had a near perfect day on the water capturing a second place which has been their best finish thus far in the Atlantic Cup.
Alberto Riva, on Acrobatica, who with their win today clinched the overall Atlantic Cup “It was good conditions today 10-15 knots. We played well with the current and we were on the right side for the shift. We did not have so many mistakes but this class is very tight. We did the count [and know they won the Cup] so we could hang out tomorrow at the bar but we like to sail and we would like to see if we can get a pocket of aces.”
Hugh Piggin, Race Director commenting on the day, “The day started with very little gradient wind, but after a postponement to wait for the sea breeze to kick in we got a great race in today. The crews were busy with sail changes at every mark, the current and geography played a big part. I’m very impressed with the dominance of Acrobatica, but the rest of the teams were fighting hard including the oldest boat in the fleet, Nestenn [Entrepreneurs Pour La Planete], who didn’t give an inch to the newer boats. All in all it was a demanding day on the water, tactically challenging in unknown conditions, plus extremely physical for the teams with sail changes at every corner. I look forward to seeing how it all finishes tomorrow!”
Tanguy Leglatin, on Everial, who are currently 1/2 point out of 2nd place “The race today was really nice, we both know we don’t really have a good boat for this kind of inshore racing because it is not good upwind. It does not sail really high so it was a bit harder for us, but we did quite good maneuvers and jibes around the little islands. We were very close with Nestenn. We finished downwind and the timing was perfect to have a little more wind. It was a very fair race, and so beautiful to sail in and around Portland. For tomorrow the best [scenario] is to only have one boat between us and them [Vogue Avec un Crohn].”
Pierre Louis Atwell, on Vogue Avec un Crohn, who are currently in 2nd place “Today was really hard, lots of mistakes for us. We took a terrible start and a few difficulties to figure out in the beginning. We had a few difficulties to find the rhythm when we were downwind. But then we came back in the second half, and figured maybe we can figure out something to finish it. We did the job. We are going to fight our hardest for second-place tomorrow, we have a little gap right now, but we are so close”
Dekuple’s, William Mathelin-Moreaux will not sail the third stage of the race as he will be carrying the Olympic torch for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in his home city Paris, France. In lieu of Mathelin-Moreaux Ryan Barkey has joined this year’s fleet. Barkey holds a wealth of professional sailing experience as a member of the Canada Ocean Racing Team. Notably, he became the first-ever Canadian to finish the Transat Jacques Vabre in 2021 and earned 15th-place in the 2022 Normandy Channel Race.
The final stage of competition concludes tomorrow, June 5th in the second day of the coastal series. The remaining podium and overall rankings will be decided upon racing that will begin roughly around 11:00 a.m. off Munjoy Hill.
While racing, tracking can be found at: http://atlanticcup.org as well as on the YB Tracking website for desktop/laptop users and app for those using mobile devices.
Team updates will be posted on the race’s social media channels at: Facebook and Instagram.
ABOUT THE ATLANTIC CUP
The 2024 Atlantic Cup starts in Charleston, S.C. on May 25th, stop in Newport, R.I. May 29th through June 1st, and culminate in Portland, Maine, June 3rd -June 6th. The race is free and open to the public. With over 1,000nm of ocean racing, the Atlantic Cup is the longest offshore race in the Western Atlantic and is also the United States’ only short-handed offshore race dedicated to the Class40. Four countries and eights teams comprise the talented field of competitors spanning vast generations and experience.
For more information on the Atlantic Cup please visit http://www.atlanticcup.org/.
