The 2013 Atlantic Cup
May 27, 2013
Hello friends-
We had a great day of racing in Newport yesterday, with the final two races of the 2013 Atlantic Cup. The forecast was for a lot of wind and it was accurate in that we sailed in winds of between 15 and 30 knots with intermittent rain squalls. The breeze was very puffy, so the sail trimmers got a good workout and the boats and crews were thoroughly tested in the big air conditions. GS2 sailed well and took a second place in the first race and a third place in the second race, but the story of the day was Icarus Racing scoring two first place finishes, so they held on to third place and we remained in fourth place where we started the day. While we were disappointed in not being on the podium and at least matching our third place finish of last year in this event, we applaud the competition and the winners- Bodacious Dream- congratulations Captain Rearick!- the second place boat LeCoq Cuisine and Icarus in third for sailing extremely well.
Despite not having the Europeans this year, it definitely felt like the level of competition was higher this year and that any boat could win in a given race if they sailed well and made the right choices. For Icarus in particular being one of the older boats in the fleet, their overall podium finish and double- bullet performance yesterday was truly fantastic and hats off to Tim Fetsch, Ben Poucher and their all-star crew (including Americas Cup and Volvo Ocean Race legend Ken Read yesterday), and to the boats designer Roger Martin who always knew the boat was fast but had to wait a while to be proven correct!
We will look forward very much to competing in the Atlantic Cup next year and hopefully for many years to come as the format of offshore and inshore, double-handed and fully crewed is a great test of boat and crew.
Special thanks to race organizers and good friends Hugh Piggin and Julianna Barbieri for doing a fantastic job both on and off the water in making this a premier event that is rapidly gaining momentum and attracting attention from far and wide.
Good stuff all around - I feel very lucky to have been able to compete in such a well-organized and fun event with a great group of competitors who have all become friends.
Thank you to all of you who have sent messages of encouragement and support along the way and I hope you will continue to tune in as we move on to the Bermuda 1-2 and then Marblehead to Halifax races, schedule allowing.
Happy Memorial Day to all-
Joe
