2014 Challenge for the Lipton Cup - Southern California gets advantage

2014 Challenge for the Lipton Cup Cynthia Sinclair

2014 Challenge for the Lipton Cup © Cynthia Sinclair

Skipper Rick Harris wouldn’t let Coronado stay there for long, and with a perfect start they worked their way upwind to gain a large lead on the rest of the regatta. Harris and his crew grew the gap even further on the downwind stretch to the gate mark, ultimately finishing the regatta minutes before the second place finisher. Practically racing in their own backyard, the Coronado team's performance in race two demonstrated how well the local team can handle light, unpredictable breezes.

The Southern California home field advantage played out for more teams than just Coronado in race two, with four of the five top finishing clubs based in the region. San Francisco Yacht Club was the only club from outside of Southern California who finished in the top five, taking second place. St. Francis Yacht Club, the other team based in San Francisco, struggled in the second race and ended up with a ninth place finish, but scores of second and third brought them into third place overall at the end of the day.

2014 Challenge for the Lipton Cup © Cynthia Sinclair

The skies remained calm, but the competition began to ramp up. A flurry of over-eager boats prompted a general recall at the start of Race three. With winds finally filling in, the competition began to pick up. Skipper Dustin Durant from the Long Beach Yacht Club led his crew to fourth place in race three and second place overall for day one’s racing. St. Francis Yacht Club, Coronado Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club rounded out the remaining top five positions.

Today was the calm, but competitors hope that tonight brings the storm. Weather reports expect that tonight’s rainstorms will bring steady winds of about 12-15 kts during tomorrow’s racing. The racing is scheduled to resume at 12pm tomorrow. Shore side viewing is available from the Embarcadero or Harbor Island.

2014 Challenge for the Lipton Cup © Cynthia Sinclair

Using the RaceQs app, most of the competitors had live tracking enabled on their boats allowing race fans from their home clubs to watch the action with a 3D race display online. Check out the race replays available at the end of each day through the Tracking link.

Complet Results:

LP: