(San Diego, CA)- This coming week the San Diego YC will be hosting the
fourth of its J/105 Fall Series events, the famous Lipton Cup Trophy.
Since the first regatta in 1903, the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup has been the
most prestigious trophy contested in Southern California and one of the
most coveted in Southern California. The 98th edition of the Sir Thomas
Lipton Cup Regatta will continue the successful round-robin format
introduced in 2011. Twelve yacht clubs from around Southern California
along with three clubs invited from around America will be
participating. The competition promises to be incredibly competitive as
most clubs have selected some of their best sailors to represent them
in San Diego. On top of that, the weather forecast looks promising for breeze, in fact, it may be too good! A monster Low is spinning southeast out of the Gulf of Alaska headed across the eastern Pacific to the west coast of California. The weather system promises cloudy weather and northwesters blowing 10-15 kts Friday and 15-20 kts Saturday. The 12 boat fleet of J/105s will compete for 3 days, racing in San Diego's natural sailing amphitheater San Diego Bay surrounded by three islands- Coronado Island, Shelter Island and Harbor Island.
There
are many strong teams representing the various clubs. The host club,
San Diego YC, has J/120 champion Chuck Driscoll skippering their team
with Star World Champion Mark Reynolds as part of the crew. San
Francisco YC has recent J/105 North American Champion Chris Perkins
skippering their team that include Tom & Melissa Purdy. Southern YC
from New Orleans, LA has Tommie Meric and Kyle Smith leading their
team. St Francis YC has Russ Silvestri skippering their team, an
Olympic Medallist and champion sailor from San Francisco, along with
Nicole Breault as tactician- a top women match race sailor and four-time
All-American sailor at Yale. California YC has Bob "Peaches" Little
skippering their team that includes Whit Batchelor and Bennie Mitchell,
both champion offshore sailors. Newport Harbor YC from Newport Beach,
California has Chris Raab skippering with Bill Menninger as their
tactician, both National and North American champions in various
classes. New York YC has Glenn Darden skippering along with Jim Brady
and Stu Johnstone aboard, a formidable crew with multiple World, North
American and Key West Championships to their credit. With sailing
inside San Diego Bay, the racing will have the flavor of college-style
tactics and strategy as the J/105s are maneuvered around the course by
these top teams in remarkably shifty conditions. Plus, you can follow
them LIVE on Kattack-LIVE!! For more J/105 Lipton Cup sailing information
