Atlantic Cup: Small field, big sport - Melwin Fink and Lennart Burke before the start in America

A total of around 1,050 nautical miles have to be mastered in the Atlantic Cup. With three stages, the Class 40 competition, which started in 2011, offers its participants a varied race. Eight double-handed crews are taking up the challenge in the seventh edition of America's only offshore regatta for Class 40 yachts. A handful more registered crews had not made it across the Atlantic for the start for various reasons. The starting gun for the only US sailing marathon that takes its participants past Cape Hatteras and Cape Cod will be fired on 25 May in Charleston, South Carolina.

Atlantic Cup: one US crew and seven European duos

The field for the first edition since 2018 is small but mighty: renowned Class 40 crews such as the French Erwan Le Draoulec and Tanguy Leglatin on the Verdier design "Everial" and Jules Bonnier and Julie Simon on the Manuard design "Nestenn - Entrepreneurs Pour La Planète", the Italians Alberto Riva and Jean Marre on the "Acrobatica" and William Mathelin-Moreau with Pietro Luciani on "Dékuple" are taking part in the American East Coast race. Both "Acrobatica" and "Dékuple" come from the design office of Gianluca Guelfi.

Sailors from France, Italy, Germany and the USA are taking part in the Atlantic Cup with the eight crews. Mike Hennessy and his co-skipper Roger Junet will start the Class 40 competition under the flag of the host Americans. Their boat "Scowling Dragon" is an Owen Clarke new build from this year.

A versatile challenge

The challenge is an exciting one: the first leg takes the field from Charleston over 708 nautical miles to legendary Newport on Rhode Island, where the heart of American sailing beats particularly loudly. On 1 June, the race continues over 249 nautical miles to Portland in Maine. There, the crews will be challenged in the finale on 5 and 6 June in the varied Coastal Racing in two one-day races. Melwin Fink and Lennart Burke want to test their Verdier design from 2022 on the other side of the Atlantic in new climes against strong competition. The starting signal for the Atlantic Cup will be given on Saturday at 12 noon local time (6 p.m. German time).

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On the eve of the start of the regatta, Melwin Fink and Lennart Burke were well prepared for the Atlantic Cup in Charleston. "The weather is nice here, the atmosphere is relaxed. Of course we want to be among the front runners and would like to finish the regatta in the top third," said Melwin Fink. Fink named "Everial" and "Acrobatica" as the strongest boats, but also said: "Everyone competing here is good. We just don't really know the Americans. But they say on their homepage that they want to win."

First a lull, then a tailwind

The first 24 hours of the first leg will be a real headache for the small but mighty field: With flat winds and a counter-current, the crews will have to decide whether to head close to the coast or out to sea towards the Gulf Stream. "We first have to push through the calm. After that, we should have downwind or reaching conditions for almost the entire race. That's good for us," explained Melwin Fink.

The weather forecast is promising. The crews are expecting largely favourable conditions for the rest of the first leg. Melwin Fink says: "In terms of wind, we expect a maximum of 20, or sometimes 25 knots over the three and a half to four days of the first leg. Most of the time it will be less. So it won't be a real blast. And that doesn't mean we'll be making huge distances, but we can certainly expect a nice and exciting race." Melwin Fink has already been preparing the "Sign for Com" for a week in Charleston, while Lennart Burke was still in Germany and brought some equipment with him. For both, the starting signal can come on Saturday.

Historic German victory 12 years ago

22-year-old Melwin Fink and his team-mate Lennart Burke, who is four years older, have a well-known German predecessor in the Atlantic Cup. In 2012, Jörg Riechers from Hamburg and his co-skipper Ryan Breymaier won the Atlantic Cup with "Mare". Incidentally, Mike Hennessy - in that case with Christopher Museler - had already contested the race with a "Dragon", just like the Atlantic Cup premiere in 2011.