Skippers announced for 2025 CDS Series Finale in Long Beach

California Dreamin' Series © Long Beach Yacht Club

The Long Beach Yacht Club has announced the eight skippers that will compete in the final stop of the 2025 California Dreamin' Series at LBYC on April 5 - 6:

• Lindsey Baab, St. Francis Yacht Club
• Nicole Breault, St. Francis Yacht Club
• Justin Law, Newport Harbor Yacht Club
• Cormac Murphy, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club
• Siena Nichols, Balboa Yacht Club
• Derek Webster, New York Yacht Club and Shelter Island Yacht Club
• Matt Whitfield, Plym Yacht Club
• Shane Young, Long Beach Yacht Club

The California Dreamin' Series events are traditionally the nation's first match racing regattas of the year and serve an important role in the development of up-and-coming match racers, with several having moved on to national competition. The Series is rated as a Grade 3 event by World Sailing.

According to Tom Camp, Chair of the LBYC CDS stop, "The competition at this final stop of the California Dreamin' Series will be intense. Any one of these eight skippers could take podium position at Long Beach. We may well see a battle to the end to determine who takes first place in the Series and will receive the invitation to compete in the 2026 Ficker Cup."

Sienna Nichols and Shane Young each took first place at one of the prior CDS stops and come into the LBYC stop tied for points in the Series. Matt Whitfield also did well in the prior CDS stops. He trails Nichols and Young by only 25 points in the Series. Comac Murphy also picked up enough points in the prior events to be a contender for the Series win.

The competitors in Long Beach include several top match race skippers based on World Sailing rankings: Nicole Breault at #17 and Cormac Murphy at #21 in the world. Three of the four female skippers are ranked in the top 35 in WS Women Rankings, with Nicole Breault at #18, Lindsey Baab at #29, and Siena Nichols at #35 as well as #11 in the WS Youth rankings.

The eight skippers and their teams will be sailing on a fleet of identical Catalina 37 sailboats designed and built specifically for match racing and donated to the Long Beach Sailing Foundation by Frank Butler and Catalina Yachts. These are the same boats that will be used later in the month for LBYC's World Sailing Grade 2 Ficker Cup April 25 - 27, which is Stage 2 of the 2025 World Match Racing Tour, and the 60th Congressional Cup April 30 - May 4, which is one of five 2025 World Championship Events on the 2025 World Match Racing Tour.

Prior stops in the CDS Series were at San Diego Yacht Club in J/22s on January 25-26, Balboa Yacht Club in GovCup 22s on February 15-16, and St. Francis Yacht Club in J/22s on March 8-9.

CDS continues to develop numerous sailors within this specialized sport as skippers seek to climb the World Sailing rankings. The quick pace and challenging maneuvers also help sharpen everyone's skills for fleet racing. The event is highly sought after by race committee volunteers and umpires thanks to the non-stop action that comes with multiple round robins and up to 28 matches each day. Spectacular close-up views of the racing will be available each day from the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier.