Atlantic Cup: Tales and Eärendil top leaderboard

Portland, ME (June 10, 2016) – With a northwesterly 7-10 knot breeze, a total of three races were held in the third and final leg of the inshore Series in the The Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing. Seven teams battled for additional points in picturesque Casco Bay just off of Fort Allen Park in Portland, Maine. Boston based Toothface II had a strong performance, which helped them edge into third overall, but it was Spanish team Tales II who was able to remain nearly perfect winning two of three races on the day. Racing starts at 12:30pm tomorrow, with two currently scheduled.

Tristan Mouligne, Co-Skipper Toothface II: “We did have a good day, it was a lot of fun, we know each other well and have sailed with each other for a long time. It was a incredible amount of work out there on the race course today, but it was fun. We’d love to finish on the podium overall for the event, but to do that we need to continue to have good starts, good speed and keep it simple in the maneuvers.”

Eärendil was able to edge ahead of Tales in the final race of the day and hand Tales their first defeat in the Atlantic Cup, Catherine Pourre said, “It was ok, we were lagging behind a bit, especially in the first race, as it was very tricky, shifty winds and we always made the wrong tactical decisions. So we finished fourth in the first race. The second race was a bit better but we still finished fourth. The last race was absolutely gorgeous because we were in front of Tales, which is what we wanted from the beginning!”

The only two sailors who have competed in every edition of the Atlantic Cup are currently tied for fifth place on different boats: Mike Hennessy on Dragon and Rob Windsor on Amhas. Mike Hennessy skipper of Dragon said after today’s racing, “Our performance was inconsistent: we had some moments of brilliance and we had some real screw ups. I think we maintained our place in the pack, maybe put a little separation on Amhas in terms of point score. But that is not a bar that was high enough for us, so hopefully we’re gonna come back tomorrow and knock out a couple of races that help [our placing].”

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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 starting May 28 takes the fleet 648 nm from Charleston, SC 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.

Source: Atlantic Cup