Atlantic Cup to become biennial event

by Julianna Barbieri on 7 Oct 2014 Manuka Sports Event Management have announced their plans to move the premier offshore race in the United States, The Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing, to a biennial event. The fifth edition of the race will start May 21, 2016. As in the previous editions of the race, The Atlantic Cup will visit three iconic ports along the east coast of the United States. Host cities will be announced in the coming months.

The Atlantic Cup is the U.S.’ only short-handed offshore race dedicated to the Class 40. The race was created and designed to grow the audience for short-handed, offshore racing with hard fought competition and exciting shore based events while also being the most environmentally sustainable sailing race.

Manuka Sports Event Management Co-Founder and Managing Partner, Hugh Piggin, stated, 'The Atlantic Cup is the east coast’s [United States] longest offshore race with a large public and commercial component to it. After the fourth edition this past May, we at Manuka SEM, looked at various ways we could take the Atlantic Cup from where it is today to a significantly larger event. Manuka SEM decided to focus on a two-year cycle to continue to produce a first class event and time the race to coincide with the international sailing calendar. This will maximize the race experience for competitors, fans and sponsors.

11th Hour Racing, presenting sponsor of the Atlantic Cup, has been a supporter since the race’s inception and fully supports the decision to move to a two-year cycle. With 11th Hour’s help, the Atlantic Cup has become the leading example of an environmentally responsible sailing race. In 2016, The Atlantic Cup will continue to set the standard, implementing new and innovative solutions to enhance sailing performance, the race experience and protect the health of our waters.

Given the growth and strength of the Class 40 fleet on the east coast and the need for an event to bring boats north after the winter, today we are also announcing, the Ocean Race North (ORN) from Charleston to Newport. ORN will run in the odd years and the race will include the Class 40s and an ORR division. ORN is slated to start May 2, 2015.

As we look towards the future we are excited to grow the Atlantic Cup, while still providing a high quality, demanding race for the sailors and exciting event for the Event website