Noroton Yacht Club dominates Hinman Trophy Team Race

by NYYC on 22 Aug 2016 2016 Hinman Trophy Team Race - Sailors often say it’s the little things that make the difference between winning and lose. This was the case for Noroton Yacht Club as they won the Invitational Team Race Regatta for the Commodore George R. Hinman Masters Trophy for the second straight year, though maybe not in the way you’d expect.

“We have to thank the espresso beans,” said team captain Scott MacLeod. “We all have chocolate covered espresso beans before each start. It’s our performance-enhancing drugs.”

Hosted at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court, the Hinman Trophy is one of the most prestigious masters-level team racing events in the United States. The racing took place on Narragansett Bay in the New York Yacht Club's fleet of 21 identical Sonar sailboats, which were designed by NYYC member Bruce Kirby, with each crewed by three or four sailors. Skippers must be at least 45 years of age and each crew member must be at least 40 years of age.

Espresso beans or not, Noroton Yacht Club was the defending champion and came in as one of the favorites. That said, good preparation never hurts.

“We sailed against the younger guys at our club so that really helped us a lot,” said Macleod. “And we have sailed together for the last two years as a team, so we have it pretty dialed in.”

Noroton Yacht Club was almost perfect on the first two days of the regatta, winning 15 races while losing just one. With a five-point advantage over second, Noroton needed just one win in its final six races to clinch the title. They kept the drama to a minimum, winning today’s first race. And then winning the remaining five for good measure.

“We always say that you could lose a race to any team here, so that is why we took each race one at a time,” said MacLeod. “We actually don’t try to flag people, stay out of protests basically and sail clean. Our crew work is incredible, we have a lot of fun and we take it pretty casually, joking around a lot.”

While first place seemed a foregone conclusion, the battle for second was anything but. Six teams started the final day’s Gold Round Robin within two points of second place. Southern Yacht Club had the best day of any of the teams fighting for second, but that was not enough to overcome the two-point deficit they started with. St. Francis Yacht Club took second with Southern Yacht Club in third.

2016 NYYC Hinman Masters Team Race

1. Noroton Yacht Club, Darien, CT, (21 points)
2. St. Francis Yacht Club, San Francisco, CA (14)
3. Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, LA (13)
4. New York Yacht Cub, NYC (11)
5. Texas Corinthian Yacht Club, Kemah, TX (11)
6. Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Oyster Bay, NY (10)
7. Eastport Yacht Club, Annapolis, MD (10)
8. Riverside Yacht Club, Riverside, CT (4)
9. Indian Harbor Yacht Club, Greenwich, CT (2).