Riva and Acrobatics scream, first win (with record) comes at Atlantic Cup

The Class 40s continue to speak Italian, and it is again Alberto Riva with his Acrobatica, after the record in the 24 hours at the Niji 40, who gets an important result. Riva, paired with Jean Marre, won the first leg of the Atlantic Cup from Charleston to Newport, 704 miles, also setting the record on the leg with a time of 2 days, 19 hours, 46 minutes, 16 seconds. For the Italian sailor it is the first victory aboard his Class 40, the Musa 40 Guelfi/D’Angeli design, with which he began his new ocean campaign last fall.

Atlantic Cup – The thrill of the whale for Alberto Riva

Racing at the Atlantic Cup are eight Class 40s; the regatta will continue with the 250-mile Leg 2 from Newport to Portland, then conclude with two days of coastal racing. The level of the fleet is high, as there are only the latest Class 40s in the regatta.

Riva’s victory thus carries a high specific weight, following the second place at Niji, but it did not come without some thrills. When he was dominating the stage, not far from the finish line, Acrobatics probably bumped into a large cetacean: the boat went from more than 10 knots of speed to almost 0 in an instant, the unfortunate man disappeared into the darkness (the accident occurred at night), no damage was reported on board, apart from a cut on Jean Marre’s eyebrow that was medicated on board.

For Riva, this is a top start to the season after a bad leg injury suffered at the Transat Jacques Vabre, which kept him five months away from his Class 40 project and Acrobatics. The Class 40 season is a busy one, and after the Atlantic Cup on June 30 it will be the turn of the Quebec-Saint Malo, with all the big names in the fleet lined up for the start.