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The 2016 Atlantic Cup presented by 11th Hour Racing marks the second largest fleet in event history. Hailing from 5 different countries including the USA, France, Spain, Sweden and Great Britain and representing some of the top offshore racers around, it’s hard to say exactly who’s the favorite. However, some of the highlights and who to watch include:
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Portland's Team
Portland, Maine based #127 - Amhas will be a top team to watch in 2016. Amhas will be sailed by Rob Windsor, one of only two sailors to have competed in every edition of the Atlantic Cup and Brown University alum and Maine native, Micha Davis. The boat itself is fast and the crew is exceptionally motivated for a podium finish. As for the name, Amhas, it comes from an old Galeic word for Gannet, the sea bird that can be found around the North Atlantic.
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The Spaniards
#123 - Tales II - Skippered by Spaniards Gonzalo Botín and Alex Pella, Tales II is one of the teams to watch in the 2016 Atlantic Cup. The duo has 11 Trans-Atlantic crossings and what is considered to be one of the fastest boats in the Class40. Gonzalo and Alex have already said they sail to win, but they've never sailed in U.S. waters.
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Boston's Team
#128 - Toothface II - Atlantic Cup veterans Mike Dreese and Tristan Mouligné are teaming up for the first time for the 2016 race. This will be the first time Mike has raced his new boat in the Atlantic Cup. Tristan is a veteran of two previous Atlantic Cups and a lot of Bermuda 1-2s.
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First All Female Team
America's Next Generation
#118 - Oakcliff Sailing is dedicated to putting American sailors back on top of the international leaderboard. In Leg 1, Oakcliff's own Liz Shaw is teaming up with Volvo Ocean Race Veteran Libby Greenhlagh. In Leg 2, it's the guys turn and Hobie Ponting will team up with a yet to be named co-skipper.
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The New Guys
#143 - Longbow is one of the newest boats in the fleet and considered to be the wild card for this year’s Atlantic Cup. The Day brothers (FK & Linc) are on the learning curve and will be looking for a solid performance in their first event.
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The Veterans
#54 - Dragon Ocean Racing is the only boat to have competed in every edition of the AtCup! She'll be skippered by Mike Hennessy and Owen-Clarke designer Merf Owen. Always a top contender you can be sure to see Mike & Merf fighting hard for the win.
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The Quiet Performers
#39 - Pleiad Racing returns for the 3rd time and will be skippered by Connecticut native Ed Cesare. His leg 1 co-skipper is extremely experienced former VOR sailor, Jeff Brock. His Leg 2 co-skipper will be Chad Corning who Ed has sailed with in the prior two editions of the Atlantic Cup.
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The Swedes
Sailing in the Atlantic Cup for the first time, Mikael Ryking is looking to make a big impression. #95- Talanta, the only Swedish boat in our fleet is a second generation Class40 and will have tough competition with some of the newer boats, but Ryking is prepared for the task ahead.
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The Frenchmen
#65 - Carac Advanced Energie, skippered by Frenchmen Louis Duc and Yves Sale, is one of the top teams in the Class40. Most recently Louis Duc led Carac to a 3rd place finish in the 2015 Transat Jacques Vabre which is a 5,000 nautical mile race across the Atlantic. Although their boat is an older generation Class40, you can expect this team to be well prepared and looking for a win.
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The New Yorkers
#102- Privateer is looking to make a good first impression in their first race. This is a race of firsts for co-skippers Richard Fleischman and David G. Hommel. Fleishman and Hommel have teamed up many times before, however this will be the first time they’ll be racing in a Class40. The boat is the sister ship to Oakcliff and was brought over from South Africa this past winter.
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Extreme Experience
Halvard and Miranda bring together an enormous amount of ocean racing experience to their brand new boat #147 - Campagne de France. Halvard Mabire has over 30 years and 300,000 miles of offshore racing experience, with five Whitbread Round the World Races and 32 transatlantic races, including The Artemis Transat and OSTAR to his name. Miranda has been sailing professionally for the past 14 years. She has won the Transat Jacques Vabre and Round Britain & Ireland races and placed 6th in the 2014 Route du Rhum.
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Lord of the Rings
#145 - Eärendil is one of the newest boats in the fleet. She’ll be skippered by the French duo of Catherine Pourre and Antoine Carpentier who have steadily been moving up the Class40 ranks. Eärendil means ‘Lover of the Sea’ in Tolkien’s invented language of Quenya. The Lord of the Rings happens to be Catherine’s favorite movies as well.
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