Coming of Age at the Atlantic Cup
Midway through the final race of the inshore portion of the 2018 Atlantic Cup, the three boats in the lead—Mike Dreese’s Toothface 2, Mike Hennessy’s Dragon and Oakcliff Racing, representing the Long Island Sound-based sailing school of the same name—suddenly broke free from the pack. Next thing we knew we had a dogfight on our hands.
Back and forth they went, tacking and gybing, bobbing and weaving round the waters off Portland, Maine, under sunny skies in a building sea breeze. One minute, the and stuck with their A-sails, and suddenly was surging ahead while the other two struggled to stay on their feet. Moments later, though it was turn to grit its teeth as the others turned on the afterburners at the subsequent gybe mark.
