24 Hours Into the 2018 Atlantic Cup
The first 24 hours of the 2018 Atlantic Cup have been intense. Since leaving the beautiful maritime city of Charleston, South Carolina, the 11 Class40s competing to cross the Angola Cables Finish Line in New York City have been positioning themselves throughout the racecourse. Relatively soon after the start it was evident to see the tactics each team was using. Three groups formed with #145 Eärendil, #81 Esprit Scout, #118 Oak
HERE.
HERE. Also noticeable is First Light sailed by Sam Fitzgerald and Fred Strammer. These Class40 rookies are holding their own in the oldest boat in the fleet! To listen to their on board update, click HERE. The question mark concerning the entire race is how the team will navigate through the light airs forecasted to arrive on the approach to New York as this will be a major factor in the determining the Leg One winner. The next 48-hours are going to be extremely trying on the teams as the racing is so very close. All teams will be working the boats hard providing little rest and as they approach just after the 24-hour mark, fatigue will begin to play it's role. This is turning into a phenomenal race up the East Coast! Click Here For The Atlantic Cup Tracker!The Latest Form Onboard
Fred Strammer #37 First Light: "We've had a great angle since leaving Charleston on starboard gybe... We had issues coming into Charleston getting our autopilot to work, we had a mechanic's help to try and fix it but it currently doesn't work, so we've been steering by hand the whole time. We're feeling energized, i'm really stoked to be doing this race. We just ate some freeze-dried and we are playing some tunes and trying to go as fast as we can. I think we've had a speed advantage helming by hand because we are playing every little wave that we can and we're sailing as hard as we can!"
José Guilherme Caldas, #107 Angola Cables:"The last six to twelve hours have been very good, we have been in a big fight for first with Amhas. They are right within a few hundred meters of us. Yeah it is a match race here! The boat is well and so far we are very happy with the race."Listen To The Updates From On Board!
We've been talking with the teams to get the inside look at what's happening on the racecourse. Click HERE to take a listen to what they have to say!
One thing that sticks out is the pair punching it out for the lead being quite close, which often results in short term gains due to concentration and having someone to spar with. But, that sometimes can also cause a bit more fatigue for short-handed teams as you tend to get out of your rhythm and press a little hard until fatigue takes over. With that said, Ahmas and Angola Cables have positioned themselves well to get to the Stream easily around Hattaras and get a bit of a sling shot around the boats to the west like Toothface and First Light. Good clean fun out there. I am quite jealous. Great boats and terrific sailing and it looks like getting around Hattaras will come with little concern which is always very, very good." Photos from yesterday's start!As always a massive thank you to Billy Black for capturing these terrific images from yesterday's start!
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