Fleet to race to NY Harbor until Pro-Am on May 18, followed by Final Leg to Newport, RI on May 19 and In-shore Series, May 26-27
Racing is double-handed in Class 40 boats
by Julianna Barbieri
Seven teams from the United States and England started the 2013 Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing at 2:05 ET today in a southwest 10-15 knot breeze. With an upwind start, #54-Dragon crossed the line first, but for the second year in a row local Charleston team #116 Icarus led the first mark rounding. After the mark rounding the course became a broad reach to the exit to Fort Sumter and a fetch out of the jetties when teams turned the corner and hoisted their spinnakers. #118 Bodacious Dream was the first team out of the harbor. The fleet is still tightly packed with Icarus being the northern most boats as they make as they head west to get into the Gulf Stream.
The 7 teams will continue en route to New York Harbor. Models are showing an estimated arrival time of sometime early Wednesday morning, May 15 The second leg of the competition departs on May 18 at 2 p.m. The annual event culminates in Newport, R.I. with two days of Inshore racing (May 25-26).
During racing tracking will update every five minutes and can be found at: http://atlanticcup.org/race-day/leg-one-tracking/
SCORING SYSTEM
Points & Prize Money
Scoring for the 2013 Atlantic Cup will be based upon a “High Point” scoring system. Each boat’s overall score will equal the total points earned in both offshore legs plus points earned from the inshore races. At the conclusion of the event, the boat with the total highest score will be declared the winner.
To determine the podium winners, the “High Point” scoring system combines all three legs of the race into the boat’s overall score. The points for individual race scores are based upon the number of entrants (unless disqualified or retiring after finishing). The points for each leg are allotted as follows; 1st place will be awarded points equal to the number of entrants, 2nd place points equal the number of entrants minus 1, 3rd place points equal the number of entrants minus 2, 4th place points equal the number of entrants minus 3, and so on.
Close racing at the start. Image copyright Priscilla Parker.
For two the offshore legs, points awarded will be weighted by a factor of 2. For each inshore series, points will be weighted by a factor of one. The inshore series will consist of a maximum of five races, should four or less inshore races be completed; all races will count toward the boat’s overall score. If five inshore series are completed, a boats overall score will consist of the four best inshore races. In the event of a score tie between two or more boats, the tie will be broken in favor of the boat with the most points earned amongst the two offshore legs.
The competitors have a chance to win prize money in all portions of the race. The $15,000 purse will be split between the three legs with $5,000 available per leg. The prize money for each leg will be divided as follows: 1stwill receive $2,000, 2nd, $1,500, 3rd, $1,000 and 4th place receives $500.
Start of the Atlantic Cup 2013. Image copyright Dan Valoppi
About The 2013 Atlantic Cup
The Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing is a dedicated professional Class 40 race held annually in the U.S. with a focus on running an environmentally responsible event. The 2012 edition of the Atlantic Cup starts Saturday, May 11th in Charleston, South Carolina and will showcase some of the top Class 40 sailors in the world as they race a 648 nautical mile off-shore leg double-handed from Charleston around the infamous, Cape Hatteras then north to New York City. Once in New York there will be a brief stopover before competitors start the coastal leg of the race. The coastal leg will take competitors along the same course as the past two years: 231 nautical miles, south out of New York to a turning mark off the New Jersey coast before heading north to Newport. Once in Newport, competitors will race a two-day, inshore series with a crew of six. The combined overall winner of both stages will be the Atlantic Cup Champion. The prize purse will be $15,000, making it again one of the largest purses for sailing in the United States. For more on the Atlantic Cup and its Green Initiatives, visit www.atlanticcup.org.
