The Charleston, SC to New York City leg of the Atlantic Cup is over- won by Mare sailed by Jorg Riechers and Ryan Breymaier. Mare took three days, one hour and twenty minutes to sail the 648 mile course which finished right off Manhattan's North Cove Marina on the lower west side. The next twelve boats finished in the next six hours, proving just how even the performance of the Class 40s are, especially considering that the designs of eight naval architects were represented and three generations of these box rule boats.
The crucial tactical decision of the race was whether to go offshore to catch the favorable Gulf Stream current or sail the shorter course along the coast where better winds were expected. In the end, the stronger winds inshore did not materialize until near the end, so the boats that took the offshore option dominated the results. The winds were mostly light and near the end mostly southerly, so gybing angles for the asymmetric spinnakers and playing the shifts seperated the winners and losers. The first three boats finished within an hour.
US sailors did well, considering the number of top European crews involved. Mare sailed with a German and American crew. The other top finishers were a French/English team in second and American teams in third and fourth.
The next leg starts Saturday, May 19. It is again double handed, and starts just off Ellis Island. The course goes outside Long Island and finishes in Newport, RI. More information can be found at the Atlantic Cup website.
