The Baldwin Cup is considered to be one of Newport Harbor Yacht Clubs premier events of the year. NHYC spares no expense. The moorings are dropped, the harbor is cleared out, and extra docks are put in for additional spectating. It is the true idea of what arena sailing should be.
The event structure is unique in the way that it’s still team racing but it adds one more boat to each team, making the races 4v4. SDYC has sailed the event in the past but for many of the team members, this year was a first. Once the weekend commenced it became evident that the key to having solid races was as simple as getting all four boats off that line. As I learned over the weekend it was much easier said than done.
The first two days of racing SDYC sailed in some light and tricky conditions which made sailing the heavy Harbor 20 quite difficult. At the end of the first two days of sailing SDYC was sitting tied for second with only 3 losses in the first round robin. This kicked us into a gold silver round where the top six teams sailed one another and the bottom six teams sailed one another. The bottom team in gold gets bumped down to silver and the top silver team gets bumped up to gold.
The Gold/Silver round proved to be extremely difficult with each race being won and lost with unstable combos. SDYC weathered the storm of the double gold/ silver round robin and made it through to the quarter finals where we faced Larchmont Yacht Club where our scores were cleared from the previous sailing. It was a series of first to two wins and SDYC was pushed into a three-race series where we prevailed into the final four. We were slated face St. Francis Yacht Club who had been leading the whole event.
Both final four races were extremely close but St. Francis came out on top therefore advancing into the finals. Although the road may have ended with SDYC placing 3rd at the 2017 Baldwin Cup. The team racing team will be competing in more highly completive events as the year progresses.
Our Team (Jake La Dow, Greg Reynolds, Adam Roberts, Ty Reed, Tyler Sinks, Matt Reynolds, Erik Shampain, Jake Reynolds) would like to thank NHYC for putting on a masterful event, as well as our host families Gregg and Devon Kelly as well as Bob and Ellie Yates. Lastly, we want to thank the Competition Fund for their strong support in SDYC’s Team Racing Team and we look forward to coming back next year with a trophy in hand.