102nd Challenge for the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup at San Diego - Day 2
by Emily Willhoft 30 Oct 2016 06:57 GMT
28-30 October 2016
Breeze fills for a full day sailing
Saturday was a picturesque day of racing for day two of the 2016 Lipton Cup. With bright, sunny skies and winds between 7 and 10 knots throughout the afternoon, Race Committee ran five races and the competition stayed equally fierce throughout each race. The San Diego Bay was packed with activity, from a Lipton Cup spectator fleet, to the Cortez Racing Association Halloween Regatta competitors, to kiteboarders practicing foiling and jumps.
Three of the twelve teams participating in this year's Lipton Cup are from the East Coast. Danny Pletsch, the skipper from Larchmont Yacht Club, is happy to be sailing in San Diego's warm weather for this event. “We’re from New York, but we love coming to San Diego- the weather, the people, the event itself. This is our second time at the Lipton Cup. We had a blast last year and were pumped to be invited back this year."
Feeding off of the great weather and the bay energy was host club San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) who were tied with Newport Harbor Yacht Club (NHYC) first first overall going into the last race. According to SDYC's skipper, Tyler Sinks, “The last race went well- we got second. We were shooting for top three, so we were pretty happy with the finish.”
That second place finish moved SDYC from second place to first place overall at the end of the day.
Most racers attributed their success to good starts and staying on the left side of the course where there was more pressure. Long Beach Yacht Club (LBYC) raced well today, finishing second in race five. After race five, skipper Shane Young reflected on his performance. "We did well. We had a tough time holding our lane off the start. The first run we caught a lot of boats, held on to the lead and stayed in the pressure. We ended up in second."
Young claims that his strategy on the downwind legs is a secret, but whatever he's doing is working because LBYC won race eight, and they are in fourth place overall after day two.
After a general recall during race six, NHYC started with a great lead, which they successfully maintained throughout the whole race to the finish line. Coronado Yacht Club, who are essentially racing in their own backyard, won race seven.
St. Francis Yacht Club (StFYC) had the most wins of the day, bookmarking their afternoon with winning race five and race nine. Perhaps StFYC skipper, Chris Raab, was trying to get off of the water as quickly as possible to get ready for one of his favorite Lipton Cup traditions- the Saturday night dinner.
Raab says, "We started with a bullet and we ended with a bullet. We had a couple things go haywire in between, but we had a good team effort across the board. It was a great day for us and now we’re excited for the greatest party of all at SDYC!”
Racing is scheduled to resume at 12pm tomorrow. Shore side viewing is available from the Embarcadero or Harbor Island. The awards ceremony will take place at SDYC following racing on Sunday.
www.sdyc.org/liptoncup
The Lipton Cup would like to thank its sponsors: Ballast Point, Helly Hansen, North Sails, Pacific Gate San Diego & Zeal Optics. And special thanks to the local J/105 owners for lending their boats to make this regatta possible.