2018 Resolute Cup - Documentary

2018 Resolute Cup © ICARUS Sports

America's sailing capital saved the best for last, and so did San Diego Yacht Club, which won the 2018 Resolute Cup with error-free sailing when it counted most.

With three strong results in the double-points medal round, the team representing the SDYC, skipper Tyler Sinks with crew Nick Martin, Nick Kaschack and Max Hutchinson, moved up the scoreboard from fourth, after the preliminary round of 12 races, to win the fifth edition of the Corinthian championship for U.S. yacht clubs.

The Resolute Cup was first run in 2010 as the U.S. Qualifying Series for the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. The biennial regatta, which is sailed out of the New York Yacht Club Harbor Court, has since developed an identity of its own as yacht clubs from around the United States send their best amateur sailors to Newport, R.I., to compete for national bragging rights in addition to a potential trip to the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, sailing's premiere international Corinthian big-boat regatta.

The 2018 Resolute Cup was sailed in the New York Yacht Club's fleet of 23-foot Sonars. With provided sails, equalized rig tune and a regular boat rotation, it's a true one-design event. The regatta took place on September 10 to 15 and was sponsored by AIG Private Client Group and Helly Hansen. The final two days of the event were broadcast live via Facebook.

Young and his crew, John Morran and 1992 Olympic silver medalist Doug Kern, did their best to make a match of it, pulling back into the middle of the pack by the final leg to the finish. But getting past a San Diego Yacht Club crew that was now content to play defense, and putting the necessary four boats in between them, was a bridge too far. Austin, in its second turn at the Resolute Cup, had to settle for second, with Eastern right behind in third. Storm Trysail Club (Larchmont, N.Y.), Larchmont (N.Y.) Yacht Club and Coral Reef Yacht Club (Coconut Grove, Fla.) rounded out the top six.

Eastern skipper Bill Lynn is both the first champion of the Resolute Cup and the only person to have sailed in all five editions. He's seen first hand how the competition has evolved from its original purpose, which was solely to qualify a team for the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup.

San Diego, one of three U.S. yacht clubs to have successfully defended the America's Cup, is no stranger to big regattas. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the club on the line for the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup next year, nor would be it shocking to see the club mirror Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans), which followed up its win in the 2016 Resolute Cup with a win in the 2017 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup.