New York Yacht Club / Test Racing
Gray skies, intermittent rain and shifty light winds were not enough to dampen the energy and enthusiasm on Narragansett Bay for Day 1 of the Team Racing World Championship underway at Harbour Court.
Early favorites were no surprise in stage one of the four-day regatta as leaders Newport Harbor Yacht Club and Corinthian Yacht Club (Marblehead, Mass.) finished the day with six points each after six races, and West Kirby Hawks (Great Britain) sailed five races finishing with five points.
Newport Harbor Yacht Club positioned themselves well not to lose a race and maintained a consistent focus on boat handling and keeping calm. Last year their home club converted its major team racing of the year, the Baldwin Cup, to the 2v2 format so the West Coast team does have some relevant experience to draw on.
Equal in experience and tenacity to the West Coast team, the Corinthian Yacht Club team view these next few days as a warmup for the final stages of the regatta where the challenge will be at its peak.
It’s early days yet and the very experienced British team West Kirby Hawks were happy with their result on Day 1.
While there is an early pack emerging at the top level, the Argentinian team, coming in with little to no experience, took three wins today finding a steady pace amongst the middle tier teams. Pepe Bettini, head coach for the LISOT Sailing Foundation where he coaches Opti 4v4 team racing noted that today was actually the team’s first day team racing in a regatta.
The Team Racing World Championship returns after a ten-year hiatus, in large part inspired by the growth in popularity in team racing in the U.S., and more recently, a strong interest in 2v2 racing in Europe, notes former NYYC former Commodore Phil Lotz, who has been a driving force behind the growing interest in the discipline.
Racing resumes on Friday May 30, with Day 2 of the 2025 Team Racing World Championship. Current results are available here.
