America’s Cup: Lionheart wins Superyacht Regatta in Bermuda
Lionheart came from behind on a thrilling final day of racing to claim both the J Class and overall honors in the America's Cup Superyacht Regatta, hosted by Boat International Media. The Lionheart crew started the third day behind Ranger, but a third place was enough to clinch the double in Bermuda.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
Lionheart's tactician Bouwe Bekking, a seven-time around-the-world racer, said: "We are delighted. We want to win all the races we ever do. That's why we do it, isn't it?"
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
In the fleet of six J Class yachts, Ranger eventually finished in second place, while Velsheda completed the podium in third.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
Another 14 superyachts -- spread across classes A, B and C -- made up a total of 20 crews. Maltese Falcon (pictured) finished third in Class C.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
Despite leading going into the final day of racing, Maltese Falcon was unable to hold onto first place.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
Action narrowly missed out on the overall title, but settled for victory in Class B. Double Olympic medalist and Volvo Ocean Race-winning skipper Ian Walker and two-time Olympic champion Shirley Robertson were part of an experienced crew.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
In the tightest class of the regatta, Rebecca finished just a point behind Action to take second place.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
Sojana -- launched 14 years ago -- took third place in Class B, just one point back from Rebecca.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
Class A featured just three crews and was won by Highland Fling, which was launched in 2016. "We set out to keep it as simple as possible and let the boat do the work," tactician Stuart Childerley, a past Team GB Olympian, told Boat International.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
Leopard 3 took second in Class A.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
Visione won the opening race in Class A but a later disqualification dropped her to third.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
Bequia, with former America's Cup winner Tom Whidden onboard, won Class C in impressive fashion with a second and two wins from three races.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
Meteor grabbed second by just one point from Maltese Falcon in Class C.
ACEA 2017 / Boat International Media
The winning crew celebrated by lifting the 145-year-old trophy, which dates back to 1872.