Eärendil first to cross the Angola Cables finish in NYC capturing Leg 1 in the 2018 Atlantic Cup

Eärendil - 2018 Atlantic Cup © Billy Black

With a fleet of 11 Class40s competing in the Atlantic Cup, the French team #145 Eärendil skippered by Catherine Pourre and Pietro Luciani, crossed the Angola Cables finish line first at 17:02:46, with an elapsed time of 77h 02m 46s, to complete the 648 nautical mile first offshore leg of the Atlantic Cup from Charleston, S.C. to New York City. The race, the most sustainable sailing event in the United States, saw France's #145 Eärendil finish 1 hour 31 minutes and 27 seconds ahead of #127 Amhas (78h 34m 13s).

The race began at 12:00pm on Saturday, May 26th from the Charleston Maritime Center, where teams representing nine countries battled throughout the just over three day leg. The teams left Charleston Harbor in sunny skies and a 15-knot southwest breeze with a large number of spectators both on land and on the water.

Eärendil - 2018 Atlantic Cup - photo © Billy Black

Eärendil moved into the lead after a long, intense battle with #127 Amhas on Monday, May 28th. The French/Italian duo played the conditions perfectly allowing them to gain a tactical and speed advantage after gybing in from the Gulf Stream to race alongside the New Jersey shore.

Catherine Pourre #145 Eärendil skipper said, "It was a more difficult situation when it was windy and we were downwind. We had to hand steer because the autopilot wasn’t good in tough winds. And then we were racing with Amhas, and wanting to stay with them until the end. We didn’t know we were going to have so much time between us."

#127 Amhas - 2018 Atlantic Cup - photo © Billy Black

Micah Davis #127 Amhas skipper said, "It was great, it was fun race, we saw a little bit of everything and it was fun to be next to Eärendil and try to stay next to Eärendil and Angola at the beginning. It was fun, but it was hard."

Rob Windsor #127 Amhas co-skipper said, "It's really hard to do well in all three legs. I think that boat [Eärendil] is really fast. But, number two we're in a good position and there is a lot to be sailed and who knows what the next leg will bring. We might not be able to reach for too long and it might not be their conditions."

Provisional results are listed below. The remaining nine teams are still en route to New York with expected arrival times to run through the evening and into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Follow the race tracker for the most current boat positions: atlanticcup.org

Current Standings