Detroit Cup at Bayview YC begins August 18

by Luiz E. Kahl on 18 Aug 2011 The Grand Slam Series will continue on August 18th with the Detroit Cup where twelve teams from five nations will be converging at Bayview Yacht Club. The Detroit Cup which is an ISAF Grade 2 event, will take place from August 18-21.

Raced in equally-matched Ultimate 20's, the event will feature exciting one-on-one match race sailing on courses set in the Detroit River by Principal Race Officer Marcia Everingham and her team. Keeping the teams within the rules will be Tina Ortendahl and her team of umpires from Sweden, Canada, Great Britain and the US.

The competing teams are as follows, in order of ISAF ranking:

Reuben Corbett, from New Zealand, at 13th is the highest-ranked skipper at this event. Among many victories, his Aon Racing team won the qualifier this year to the World Match Racing Tour's Korea Match Cup. Reuben will sail with Adrian Short and Thomas Bentham.

Laurie Jury is from New Zealand is ranked 25th in the world. A product of the RNZYS youth training program in 2002, Laurie has been match racing around the world ever since. Coming off last weekend's Chicago Grade 2 Invitational as runner-up, he is ready to take on the field here with crew Logan Fraser and Michael Edmonds.

Will Tiller is from New Zealand and ranked 27th in the world. He has numerous victories to his credit throughout Australasia and beyond, and is another recent product of the RNZYS Youth training program. Tiller is coming off a third place at last weekend's Chicago Grade 2 event, and is sailing with Brad Farrand and Daniel Pooley.

Dave Perry is from Connecticut, and has an ISAF ranking if 28th. As the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics match racing coach, Dave is one of the most experienced match racers in the field, having been competing for over 20 years, and is a three time US Champion. Dave's crew will be Will Cyr and Mike Rehe.

Taylor Canfield, from the US Virgin Islands, ranked 29th in the world. Taylor is the 2010 winner of the Grade 2 Trifecta, numerous Grade 3 events, and a US Intercollegiate Champion. Taylor will have Tod Reynolds and Alden Reid as crew.

Chris Van Tol from Detroit is ranked 46th in the world. The highest-ranked skipper of the region, Van Tol has won the next stage in the Grand Slam, the Knickerbocker Cup, and placed well in numerous other match race events throughout the US and Bermuda. Chris will have Stu Argo and Eric Vigrass as crew.

Jordan Reece from Australia is ranked 61st in the world. At 19, Jordan is the youngest skipper here, but has been successful in numerous Youth and Open events already around the world. He is coming from the Chicago Grade 2 event last week, and his team will include Henry Kernot and another crew TBA.

Nicolai Sehested from Denmark is ranked 69th in the world. He was the Danish Youth champion in 2008 and 2009, and has placed well in numerous match race events in the Baltic region ever since. Coming from the Chicago Grade 2, he will be racing with Thomas Heldegard and Søren Secher.

Matthew Steven is from New Zealand and is ranked 112th in the world. Like Jordan Reece, Matthew is one of the youngest skippers at the event and a product of the Youth training programs and events Down Under. He will be sailing with Jono Clough and Chris Jones as crew.

Kent Colpaert, from Detroit, ranked 255th in the world. Kent has been match racing since 2006 in numerous classes and events as both skipper and crew, and is a training partner to the Van Tol Match Racing Team. Mike Hoey and Todd Jones will be racing with Kent.

Shawn Ryan is from Louisiana and is ranked 351st in the world. Ryan was active in the US Intercollegiate circuit until graduating from Tulane last year, and has won the Detroit Cup qualifier to attend this event. Coming also from the Chicago Grade 2, he will have Norman Vallette and Andrew Eyring as crew.

Brad Funk is from Florida, and has an ISAF Ranking of 518. Brad is one of the USA's top Laser sailors and is training now for the 2012 Olympics, along with his wife and crew Anna Tunnicliffe, a Gold medalist from 2008. Brad's third crew is TBA.

Racing will be held from 10 AM each day, with a press conference open to the public held 30 minutes after racing on Thursday and Saturday, and a prize giving on Sunday. On Saturday a Big Brothers and Big Sisters Fleet Race will be held from 12:00 - 1:00, with match racing to resume afterwards.

Spectating opportunities will be at the lawn in front of the Bayview YC, and live commentary on site as well as on the internet will be provided by veteran commentator Dobbs Davis.

Detroit Cup website