Atlantic Cup - Bodacious Dream claims victory

by Julianna Barbieri on 28 May 2013 In the 2013 Atlantic Cup, number 118 Bodacious Dream (USA), skippered by Dave Rearick and Matt Scharl, held on to first place overall after a tight weekend of inshore racing that saw Bodacious Dream and number 121 Lecoq Cuisine trading places.

The weather over both days delivered wind speeds consistently in the upper teens and twenties with gusts up to 30 knots, making for a challenging two days of inshore racing in Narragansett Bay. Number 116 Icarus dominated the inshore series by winning three of the five races, finishing second in the other two, en route to securing third overall.

Bodacious Dream was equally impressive during the offshore competition, besting the field during the first offshore leg (Charleston, S.C. to N.Y. Harbor), and second leg (N.Y. Harbor to Newport, RI). Bodacious Dream finished with 51 total combined points for the offshore legs and inshore races in Narragansett Bay, Lecoq Cuisine finished with 45 total points. With the victory Bodacious Dream claim $5,500 of the $15,000 purse, one of the largest in sailing in the United States.

Bodacious Dream co-skipper Dave Rearick: 'We are ecstatic. We really wanted to win the racing and do well in the inshore series…today was a bit of a challenge with the high winds, but we managed to hang on. Obviously Lecoq Cuisine was our closest competitor and we really wanted to best them, which we did today, so that was terrific. '

Ken Read, North Sails President and Former Volvo Ocean Race Skipper for Puma Ocean Racing, who sailed on board Icaurs Racing today said, 'These guys sailed this boat very, very well, so it’s pretty easy just to go along for the ride. It was good fun and this is what sailboat racing is supposed to be all about. These race courses were fantastic…but it’s just fun to sail with a bunch of young guys who are really into the sport and just go rip around the race course, it doesn’t get any better than [The Atlantic Cup].'

Hugh Piggin, Manuka Sports Event Management Founder and Atlantic Cup Race Director – 'We are very proud to have a terrific team with us to put together another successful event. A huge amount of effort goes into making this event a success from all of our sponsors, volunteers and staff. This year exhibited extremely tight racing in both the offshore and inshore legs with final positions not decided until the final minutes. We congratulate all of the competitors especially Bodacious Dream in winning one of the closest grand prix regattas in the U.S.'

The 2013 Atlantic Cup, the first carbon-neutral sailing event in the United States, featured an international fleet of seven teams with competitors from the USA, France, New Zealand and Great Britain, the most Class 40s to ever compete in the United States. The teams set sail from Charleston, S.C. on Saturday, May 11 en route to New York Harbor for the second leg of the competition and a Pro-Am event (May 15-17) before departing on May 18 for the final leg of competition held in Newport, R.I. this weekend (May 25-26).

Complete Results can be found here

www.AtlanticCup.org" target="_blank">Atlantic Cup website