2022 Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup at San Diego Yacht Club - Day 1
by San Diego Yacht Club 29 Oct 2022 03:22 BST
October 28-30, 2022
After day one of the 2022 Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup, it's clear this weekend is going to see extremely tight racing.
All eleven yacht club skippers and their crews sailed within moments of each other for all five of today's races, however, there are a few key players in the fleet that earned themselves a spot on tomorrow's hit list amongst the competitors. New York Yacht Club in particular seemed to have traveled the 2,500 miles just to show the Southern California teams who the competition is. Besides NYYC, SoCal teams are dominating the leaderboard going into day two.
The current standings have New York Yacht Club (Skipper Peter Levesque) in first with 15 points, Coronado Yacht Club (Skipper Scott Harris) in second with 17 points, and San Diego Yacht Club (Skipper Tyler Sinks) in third with 23 points.
The day started just as Race Committee had hoped - with plenty of breeze and no postponements. As a special commemoration, restored 1902 yacht Butcher Boy performed a faux start prior to the beginning of the first race. Butcher Boy was a participant in the very first Lipton Cup back in 1905.
Once the official start commenced, the whole fleet sailed a tight race to the first weather mark. NYYC and CorYC led downwind to the leeward mark, with CorYC ultimately crossing the finish line first. While SDYC and Newport Harbor Yacht Club saw their own match race for third place, SDYC was the team to make it to the podium.
When asked what the secret to CorYC's success today, Skipper Scott Harris answered, "I have the best crew out there. These guys are all really good sailors and I'm lucky enough to sail with them. To manage a regatta with this many races, you just have to get off the starting line. Like Robbie Haines and Vince Brun would say, you have to start, and go as fast as you can." Harris is sailing with his son Pike Harris, Chuck Eaton, Patrick Powell, David Hochart, and River Pacquin.
Southern California continued to show their home-region status in races two and three. Long Beach Yacht Club and SDYC battled their way through race two. After a good lead by LBYC for the majority of the race, it came down to the final leg and the win went to SDYC. In race three, NHYC started strong, kept their lead, and earned the bullet. Behind NHYC was CorYC in second and east-coasters NYYC in third.
New York Yacht Club kept up their momentum in race four. With competition from San Francisco Yacht Club, they were able to keep their lead through the entire race and finish with their first bullet of the regatta. The bullet moved NYYC into first place on the overall scoresheet. After one more dock rotation, Race Committee called for a fifth race to take advantage of the good breeze. NHYC and California Yacht Club led the fleet into the final race of the day. CalYC gained speed on the downwind, kept their speed, and sailed through the gate in first place.
Levesque commented on how the NYYC team is feeling after the first day of sailing. "So far so good for us out there. We hit a couple of lucky spots, we have a great team, good speed, and we feel lucky to be where we are. The Lipton Cup is something I've wanted to do for a long time, so I'm glad to be here."
After racing, all boats were invited to a dockside social to participate in camaraderie amongst the teams. Tomorrow, competitors will be back in South San Diego Bay for the 1125 warning signal. After the racing, teams are invited to the Lipton Cup Banquet. The final races will conclude on Sunday followed by an Awards Ceremony on the SDYC Main Deck.
Spectators are encouraged to bring out their boats or hop aboard a friend's for one or all of the racing days on the water! Remember to hashtag #sdycliptoncup when posting about the event!
Look out this year at each boat sporting a brand-new spinnaker. Every four or so years, at the end of their lifespan, spinnakers are replaced with the opportunity to be branded by local businesses. We look forward to seeing your logos fly on the city front! Thank you to those who bought a spinnaker for the next term: Sharp Business Solutions, Jeff Brown Yachts, Brigantine Seafood and Oyster Bar, Ketch Brewing, Xceptional Dental, Round Feather, and South Coast Yachts.
For more information visit sdyc.org/liptoncup.
2022 Lipton Cup Results after Day 1:
| Pos | Club | Skipper | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | R5 | Pts |
|---|
| 1 | NYYC | Peter Levesque | 2 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 15 |
| 2 | CorYC | Scott Harris | 1 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
| 3 | SDYC | Tyler Sinks | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 23 |
| 4 | NHYC | Justin Law | 9 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 25 |
| 5 | LBYC | Keith Ives | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 25 |
| 6 | CalYC | Will Petersen | 8 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 26 |
| 7 | SFYC | Shawn Bennett | 4 | 9 | 8 | 2 | 11 | 34 |
| 8 | STYC | Bill Zartler | 10 | 6 | 6 | 11 | 3 | 36 |
| 9 | AmYC | Dwight Greenhouse | 5 | 11 | 7 | 9 | 9 | 41 |
| 10 | ChiYC | Will Holz | 6 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 43 |
| 11 | DRYC | Chris Weis | 11 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 10 | 45 |