On the weekend of April 4-6, SDYC sent a team comprise mainly of College All Americans, National Champions, America’s Cup Sailors and former US Sailing Olympic Team members to compete in the 2014 Baldwin Cup. The Baldwin Cup is one of the preeminent keel boat team race regattas hosted by Newport Harbor Yacht Club in Harbor 20’s every April. The regatta attracts high caliber teams representing different yacht clubs hailing from all across the United States and the UK. Team SDYC was fortunate enough to field an incredibly talented team made up of: Michael Anderson-Mitterling, Nick Martin, Brad Rodi, Commodore Chuck Sinks, Brian Haines, Brian Stanford, Tyler Sinks and Melanie Roberts.
The Baldwin Cup, like other top tier team races, is known for its stiff competition and nail biting racing and this year was no different. On the first day of racing team SDYC came out of the gates hot boasting a 3-1 record during the first half of the day. As the day wore on and the racing intensified, the team dropped some tough races. In 4 vs. 4 team racing, every race is a battle to the end with the primary objective to either break away with a 1,2,3,X or drive the opponents into the 7,8. The magic number with 4 vs. 4 team racing is 17, 17 total points or less wins. This style of team racing differs from the traditional 3 vs. 3 and it requires a lot more math (The USC alums found this to be the biggest challenge of the weekend, fight on).
After a strong start in the first round robin, the team took some tough losses and quickly found themselves with their back against the wall. The top 6 teams would advance to the gold round as the bottom 6 would fight for 7th in the silver round. After some questionable umpire calls, poor communication and lousy team racing execution, team SDYC sealed their fate with a loss to Royal Thames Yacht Club. In heartbreaking fashion, the team missed the gold round and was relegated to the silver flight to duke it out for 7th.
Missing the gold round was a huge disappointment. The team worked hard to prepare and posted strong finishes in the lead-up regattas and scrimmages prior to the event. Had we not prepared enough? Were we over confident? Did we just have bad luck? We tried to find answers, but one thing was clear; if you’re complacent, you will be passed.
Looking ahead, I’m excited about the future for Team SDYC. We have world class facilities, a fleet of boats, some of the best sailors in the world, the full support of the club and their resources and we have perfect weather to train year around. I know the team is excited and hungry to come back next year more prepared and better equipped. We learned a lot of really great lessons and took notes for the years to come.
On behalf of the 2014 Baldwin Cup Team, we’d like to thank the competition Fund for your support. The Baldwin Cup would not have been possible without your resources and support.
Until next time,
-Tyler Sinks