Atlantic Cup - Mare emerges victorious

by Jeff Pomeroy on 29 May 2012 In the 2012 Atlantic Cup, Mare has dominated a record setting fleet of fifteen competitors, including number 118 Bodacious Dream (second place) and number 106 Gryphon Solo 2 (third place) to claim the second annual Atlantic Cup Championship and $15,000 in prize money.

Number 115 Mare (GER), skippered by Jörg Riechers, Ryan Breymaier (offshore) and Charles Euvrete (inshore), continued its Atlantic Cup dominance by winning three of the five inshore races, finishing second in the other two heats, en route to claiming The Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing over a record setting international fleet of 15 Class40 yachts. Mare was equally impressive during the offshore competition, besting the field during the first offshore leg (Charleston, S.C. to N.Y. Harbor), and coming in second behind overall Atlantic Cup runner-up number 118 Bodacious Dream (USA), skippered by Dave Rearick and Matt Scharl.

Mare finished with 11 total combined points for the offshore legs and inshore races in Narragansett Bay, Bodacious Dream finished with 27 total points. With the victory Mare claims the champion’s share, $15,000, of the $30,000 overall prize purse, one of the largest in sailing in the United States.

Only three points separated the remaining top-five finishers with Gryphon Solo 2 (USA), skippered by Joe Harris and Tristan Mougline (39 points) in third, winning a tiebreaker with Campagne De France (FRA), skippered by Halvard Mabire and Miranda Merron, (39), in fourth, and Initiatives (USA), skippered by Emma Creighton and Rob Windsor, (42), finishing fifth.

Mare co-skipper Jörg Riechers: 'I’m very happy winning, it was a great event, we thought it would be a close battle between us and Talan Bureau Veritas but as it turned out Bodacious Dream was our stiffest competition and they raced a terrific race.'

Bodacious Dream co-skipper Dave Rearick: 'This has been a terrific event, we couldn’t be happier in our first race. We will take some of this prize money and donate back to the Atlantic Cup so we can support this great event and keep racing!'

Gryphon Solo 2 co-skipper Joe Harris: 'The fact that we made third, I was thrilled, we were clinging by our fingernails and we managed to pull it out which is fantastic!'

Hugh Piggin, Manuka Sports Event Management Founder and Atlantic Cup Race Director – 'The Atlantic Cup congratulates Mare on their well-earned victory over a record-setting international field of 15 Class 40 boats. We are very proud of the top-notch sailing, ecological efforts and sportsmanship exhibited by all of the teams and appreciate the contributions from our sponsors, volunteers and staff in making the event a success on all fronts.'

The 2012 Atlantic Cup, the first carbon-neutral sailing event in the United States, featured an international fleet of 15 boats from the USA, France, Germany and Great Britain, the most Class 40s to ever compete in the United States. The teams set sail from Charleston, S.C. on Friday, May 11 at 6:25 p.m. EDT en route to New York Harbor for the second leg of the competition and a Pro-Am event (May 14 - 19) before departing on May 19 at 11:05 a.m. for the final leg of competition held in Newport, R.I. this weekend (May 26 – 27). Atlantic Cup website