Like SDYC, the New York YC knows how to host a boat race, this time it was their biannual Resolute Cup, which is the defacto Keelboat Amateur Championship of the USA. 28 all-amateur teams met in mid-September in Newport, Rhode Island (the other Newport) to battle it out in white boats & white sails, rarely exceeding the 5.2kt hull speed of a Sonar. I joke, but this really is the best part of the game of sailboat racing - 20 boats on the line, equalized sails & rigging, every team for themselves to determine the champion. It takes the SDYC Lipton Cup model and basically doubles it... quite impressive both on the water and on the social side, and a giant tip of the hat to NYYC and their team of volunteers & staff to pull it off.
The Newport weather was San Diego like perfect and winds were quite tolerable, with racing beginning Wednesday after two days of practice. Courses were very fair, utilizing a robotic starting pin, the start/finish line was always spot-on. This event used a new starting system akin to the America's Cup, where each boat had a deadly accurate GPS antenna, a dedicated iPhone, and a mast readout to alert the team to how close they were to the starting line. After several grumbles from teams during the competitors meeting, we all quickly realized the math wizards from MIT really have this figured out, and the software was nearly perfect. If your boat was over (OCS), you knew it immediately and had to restart. This kept the race committee from missing some offending boats, misidentifying other boats, and kept racing flowing instead of running start after start... We like where the sport is going on this!
Your team consisted of Jack Egan on helm, Adam Roberts on sail trim & tactics, Lizzie Russell on bow, and your author in the pit (sails up & down) + ballast management. Elite coaches say you just want to sail well enough "to be in the noise on the last day" and that's where Team SDYC was. After a bumpy day one, we strung together ten really low scores in a row to sit basically tied for third going into the final races on Saturday. The regatta format called for these races to count double, so a 14th place added 28 to your score, etc... Alas, things didn't quite go our way in the light air medal races. and we slipped back. Considering the send-your-best competition from around the USA's best clubs, we held our heads high knowing we had a shot at a podium and represented your club with honor and pride.
Thank you to the Competition Fund and your generous support, which helps keep SDYC sailors at the forefront of these important events. Without this help we certainly would not have sent a team.