(San Diego, CA)- Chris Raab and his crew from St. Francis Yacht Club
showered champagne on an 85-year-old dry spell after crossing the finish
line for the 100th Lipton Cup Challenge. The three-day regatta was a
true test of skill, with competitors completing a full rotation through
12 chartered J/105s in conditions that ranged from strong, full winds to
shifty, unpredictable breezes. While teams like Newport Harbor excelled
in the lighter winds, St. Francis demonstrated their versatility by
competing well throughout the range of wind conditions.Some of the best competition of the day didn’t come from the 12 J/105s, but from the spectators. Throughout the day a swarm of boats circled the outside of the course, each hoping to secure a front row seat as history was made on the final day of the regatta’s centennial celebration. Each of the day’s four races was filled with exciting sailing, lead changes and demanding technical maneuvers.
In
the 1st race of the day, San Francisco broke away from the fleet with
an early gybe on the first downwind leg. Though the maneuver initially
appeared premature, a wider look at the course revealed what skipper
Chris Perkins noticed: the majority of the fleet had overshot the gate
mark. San Francisco stole away with a significant lead and maintained
their position all the way to the finish line. Behind them was San
Diego, who under the direction of skipper Brad Rodi managed to pull off
the most impressive comeback of the whole regatta. Between rounding the
weather mark on the first lap and coming upwind off the gate mark, San
Diego went from the 11th position to 2nd.Four boats were OCS at the start of the next race, giving Seattle Yacht Club the opportunity to gain an early lead. With a solid race, they kept their position to finish in 1st place. Seattle repeated their victory with another 1st place victory in Race 11. Going into the final race, it was still anyone’s game with a mere six point spread separating the top three teams: St. Francis, San Francisco and San Diego.
St.
Francis held tight to third place throughout the race, finishing behind
Newport Harbor and Long Beach. They won the regatta with a total of 51
points, seven above the 2013 defending champs San Diego who finished
second. Newport Harbor’s two 1st place finishes nudged them ahead of San
Francisco for 3rd place. Both teams had a total score of 60 points.
Coronado rounded out the top five teams in 5th place with a total of 71
points.Overall, the regatta was an incredible showcase of talented, diverse sailing. Not only was the racing technical, but so was the equipment. This regatta featured the innovative RaceQs app, which allowed race fans from their home clubs to watch the action with a 3D race display online with realistic J/105 “avatars” representing each team. Race replays are available through the RaceQs.com tracking link at http://raceqs.com/regattas/lipton-cup.
Lipton Cup Chairman, Jeff Brown, also announced that, “Jay Renehan’s Seattle YC Team won the iPad-Mini courtesy of J/Boats and RaceQs for participating in the race tracking throughout the Lipton Cup weekend. Eight of the clubs participated in the race tracking all weekend, and we randomly selected the Seattle YC skipper to win the prize.”
In addition Chairman Brown commented, “we want to sincerely thank all of our supporting sponsors that helped make this regatta happen, including Sunroad Resort Marina, San Diego Boat Show, JK3 Yachts, Ballast Point Brewing, Jackson Design & Remodeling, Dixieline Lumber & Home Centers, Jones Lumber, and North Sails. Furthermore, we also want to thank all our volunteers plus our amazing Race Committee and PRO. And, finally, I want to make an extra-special thanks to the local J/105 owners for lending their boats to make this regatta possible!” For more J/105 Lipton Cup sailing information
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