After a 360-nautical mile race from Newport to Portland it was mere minutes separating first and second place. The Italian/French duo of Alberto Riva and Jean Marre on Acrobatica captured line honors when they crossed the finish line at 08:56:52 a.m. EST. The Italian duo also won the first leg from Charleston to Newport cementing their place atop the leaderboard.
Just 7 minutes and 31 seconds after Acrobatica crossed the line, Pierre-Louis Attwell and Maxime Bensa on Vogue avec un Crohn took second place which puts them in a tie for second overall in the race.
The battle for third-place proved even tighter entering Portland Harbor, as Dékuple's William Mathelin-Moreaux and Pietro Luciani narrowly got past Everial's Erwan Le Draoulec and Tanguy Leglatin at 09:05:33 to round out the podium. Everial crossed the finish just 25 seconds later for fourth-place.
The nearly two-day race challenged the teams as they wind on multiple occasions would drop off creating a restart and nearly all the teams were within sight of each other throughout the race. Upon arrival to Portland, the teams reflected on the challenging, intense competition:
First Place Finisher Acrobatica's Jean Marre said, “It was crazy intense because we were all together all the time. We could see each other the entire race. [With the weather] we had to restart multiple times and we had to fight a lot! It was really hard, but fun.”
Second Place Finisher Pierre-Louis Attwell on Vogue avec un Crohn said, “It was a great leg two. We had lots of transitions and sometimes it was a bit hard for us because we have a small gennaker but we had a good last night, we were expecting to win until these guys [Acrobatica] decided to that they want to win, so next time."
Dékulpe's Pietro Luciani on squeezing out a third place finish , “I think if there is a god of sailing boats, it gave us the third place because we had a very good race but we managed to lose all of our advantage mainly due to our weather forecast was less wind in front. Everybody came back on us and then we had a couple of little mistakes, but at the last minute as we came into Portland we were able to pull ahead."
Atlantic Cup Race Director, Hugh Piggin said, “It was a very challenging leg tactically for the teams with a weather system moving across the course. Today was one of the best legs in Atlantic Cup history. There were several lead changes throughout the race and even inside the harbor approaching the finish line where dékuple edged ahead of Everial for third place. With the system moving across the course, the teams dealt with breeze southwest to the northeast. They had periods where teams were flying their spinnakers doing 15-16 knots, and then they had a period sailing in very light breeze— fighting to keep moving. The lead pack of teams were within sight of each other the entire race, so there was not much rest for everyone. Portland has turned on a glorious spring day for us though, we really are happy to be here and put on some great coastal racing to come.”
The remaining seven teams will be in Portland through Thursday, June 6th. The Atlantic Cup culminates with a two-day coastal series Wednesday and Thursday that will take them into Casco Bay and the surrounding waters. The boats are docked at Fore Points Marina and visible from the Eastern Promenade. The race starts and finishes for the coastal series on June 5th and 6th are just off Munjoy Hill. Tracking will be available on atlanticcup.org and the YB Races app.
Leg 2 results:
1. Acrobatica
2. Vogue avec un Crohn
3. Dékuple
4. Everial
5. La Manche Evidence Nautique
6. Sign for Com
7. Nestenn Entrepreneurs pour la planète
DNS. Scowling Dragon
General ranking after leg 2:
1. Acrobatica - 2pts
2. Everial - 6pts
2. Vogue avec un crohn - 6pts
4. Dékuple - 8pts
5. Sign for Com - 9pts
6. La Manche Evidence Nautique - 11pts
7. Nestenn Entrepreneurs pour la planète - 14pts
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