At 16h40 Skipper Sam Fitzgerald of #37 First Light made contact with Hugh Piggin, Atlantic Cup Race Director to inform Race Management that it was their intention to regrettably retire from the second offshore leg. Fitzgerald said, "Unfortunately due to significant delimitation to our main sail and further damage to both our solent and staysail my co-skipper Ashley Perrin and I have made the decision to head for Newport, Rhode Island prior to evaluating our options to see whether continuing to Portland, Maine and the inshore series is an option. We are all disappointed, however we are safe and approximately 45 miles out of Newport."
First Light is the oldest boat in the fleet, however in Leg 1 they sailed with the youngest team made up of Fred Strammer and Sam Fitzgerald. Fred and Sam sailed First Light to a fourth place finish in Leg 1.
For the second offshore leg, seasoned sailor Ashley Perrin joined Sam as the co-skipper. First Light is currently in fourth place, however with their retirement they will receive 0 points for the leg.
