Atlantic Cup - Mare victorious in first leg + Video

by Jeff Pomeroy on 16 May 2012 With an unprecedented international fleet of 15 Class 40s competing in the Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing, number 115 Mare, skippered by Jörg Riechers and Ryan Breymaier, crossed the finish line first at 1:20:13 a.m. ET on Tuesday, May 15, with an elapsed time of 78:55:13 to complete the 642 nautical mile first off-shore leg from Charleston, S.C. to New York Harbor.

The race, the first carbon neutral sailing event in the United States, saw Germany’s Mare finish ahead of number 101 Campagne de France (79:16:38), followed by two American boats in Bodacious Dream (79:51:56) and Gryphon Solo 2 (80:48:05), with France’s Eole Generation – GDZ SUEZ (81:50:45) rounding out the top five.

The race began at 6:25 p.m. on Friday, May 11th from Charleston Marina with international competitors from the USA, France, Great Britain and Germany competing extremely closely for the three-day, first leg. The teams left Charleston harbor with number 116 Icarus jumping out in front of the fleet with the best start. Shortly after the start number 90 40 Degrees’ cap shroud failed leading to their dismasting and retirement from the first leg of the race.

Boats were mostly in sight of each other until they rounded Cape Hatteras, where the fleet split into two groups. One group opted to go towards the shore where the wind was forecasted to be stronger and the other half opted to sail further east into the gulfstream to take advantage of the three knot push. Forecast winds didn’t eventuate for the group headed for the shore allowing the group in the gulfstream to establish and extend the lead over the inshore path.

'It couldn’t get any better, really. So first place and the second win in the second race for the boat, which is pretty cool and I think we had a really really good race, 'said Mare skipper Jörg Riechers.

'We tried to make a plan long before the start and stick to it, and I think that helps when you don’t let other people in on what you’re going to do,' said Mare skipper Ryan Breymaier. 'The weather conditions might change a little bit, but as long as you sort of stick with the plan you know is right from the beginning, it’s all going to work out in the long run.'

Provisional Results //

Offshore Leg 1: Charleston-New York City Provisional Results

																Elapsed
		Starting Time:								Finish Time						Time	Time	Leg	Leg
Team		H		M		S		D		H		M		S		H:M:S	Difference	Position	Points
115 – Mare*		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	1	:	20	:	13		78:55:13	0:00:00	1	2
101 – Campagne de France		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	1	:	41	:	38		79:16:38	0:21:25	2	4
118 – Bodacious Dream		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	2	:	16	:	56		79:51:56	0:56:43	3	6
106 – Gryphon Solo 2		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	3	:	13	:	5		80:48:05	1:52:52	4	8
105 – Eole Generation GDF Suez		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	4	:	15	:	45		81:50:45	2:55:32	5	10
20 – Sevenstar Yacht Transport		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	4	:	19	:	56		81:54:56	2:59:43	6	12
54 – Dragon		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	4	:	42	:	55		82:17:55	3:22:42	7	14
17 – Transport Coherence		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	5	:	11	:	10		82:46:10	3:50:57	8	16
116 – Icarus		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	5	:	15	:	28		82:50:28	3:55:15	9	18
30 – Initiatives		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	5	:	18	:	52		82:53:52	3:58:39	10	20
109 – Talan Bureau Veritas*		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	6	:	44	:	20		84:19:20	5:24:07	11	20
85 – Groupe Picoty		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	6	:	55	:	26		84:30:26	5:35:13	12	20
113 – Partouche		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	7	:	28	:	32		85:03:32	6:08:19	13	20
73 Toothface		18	:	25	:	0		3	:	12	:	03	:	23		89:38:23	10:43:10	14	20
90 40 Degrees**		18	:	25	:	0		-	:	-	:	-	:	-		DNF		DNF	22

*Protest pending between Talan-Bureau Veritas and Mare. In accordance with the Sailing Instructions, the protest will be heard in Newport, R.I. following the conclusion of Leg #2.

**40 Degrees retired after suffering a broken mast.

Atlantic Cup website