Vintage Gold Cup in Michigan

by Paul Cayard on 29 Sep 2017 Twelve incredibly well restored Stars are racing in the first Vintage Gold Cup here in Michigan. The boats and the creation of this event, are the passion and dream of Jon Vander Mullen and Don Parfet.

Most of the boats are over 50 years old and all are wood. They have been updated with Aluminum masts and currents sails.

The regatta will take place from today through Saturday September 30.

I am sailing Gem IX, Sir Durward Knowles Gold Medal winning boat from the ’64 Olympics in Tokyo with Brian Fatih crewing. Obviously Durward tuned her up pretty well for us because we won the first two races. This was such a great day for me. Durward has been a mentor for me in the Star Class since 1982 when I first stayed at his home during the Western Hemisphere Championships that were held down in the Bahamas every even numbered year.

I won my first major championship in Nassau in 1984 and repeated that three more times over the following 20 years, always while staying in Durwards home.

Arther Anosov, sailing Magic, with Dave Julius Ceasar, is in second over all with a 3, 2. Jon Vander Molen sailing his Heather, with Rick Burgess crewing, are in third place with a 2, 7. Mark Reynolds, in Flapper, with Michael Brundage are in fourth.

There races are scheduled for tomorrow and two on Saturday. To say the winds were shifty is an understatement. Today, things just went our way. I am quite sure tomorrow will be a different story. So I am enjoying the moment!

There is an award for a combined gold/sailing score so some of us golfed in the morning today and will play the back 9 on Saturday morning.

The evening events are pretty spectacular too. Last night was a big dinner for 150 on the lawn at Don and Anne Parfet’s home on the lake and tonight is a dinner and visit at Gilmore Car Museum which is amongst the best car museums in the world with over 450 vintage cars in pristine condition. I even drove a ’58 Corvette and they have my first car, a ’70 Chevelle SS in the same color!