> US SAILING Media > Latest News > 2010 > New York Yacht Club’s Silver Panda Wins Fifth U.S. Team Racing Championship
New York Yacht Club’s Silver Panda Wins Fifth U.S. Team Racing Championship
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Jake Fish
US SAILING Communications Manager
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or
Kurt Koehne
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SEATTLE, Wash. (October 3, 2010) – New York Yacht Club’s Silver Panda found themselves in a familiar position on Sunday at the final round of the U.S. Team Racing Championship. Silver Panda won their fourth Hinman Trophy in five years and their record fifth overall. After losing in the final series last year to Team Extreme, 3-2, they won this year’s finale over the perennial power house from Great Britain, the West Kirby Hawks.
The final series was deadlocked at 2-2. Due to darkness and significant wind shifts, the fifth and deciding race could not be finished. They started race five in a southerly wind, but during the sequence a northerly pushed down the lake. The race was immediately blown off at that point. This type of wind shift is not uncommon on Lake Union. Light southerlys ruled most of the day. The shifty winds required a lot of course adjustments.
The tie-breaker edge on margin of victory in the finals went in Silver Panda’s favor. Silver Panda went 2-0 against West Kirby during the round robin races. They were a perfect 7-0 in the final eight-team round robin and 17-3 in the first two round robin stages.
Silver Panda won this US SAILING Adult National Championship in 2008, 2007, 2006, and 2002. They qualify for the United States at the 2011 ISAF Team Racing World Championship next August in Ireland.
Silver Panda, the 2009 ISAF Team Racing World Champions, returned four of the six competitors from last year, including Amanda Callahan (Canton, Mass.), Colin Merrick (Portsmouth, R.I.), Peter Levesque (Tiverton, R.I.), and Carrie Amarante (Wayne, N.J.). They were joined this year by Caroline Hall Levesque (Tiverton, N.J.) and re-joined by Clay Bischoff (Newport, R.I.) .
“Against such a talented fleet, this is a great accomplishment. So many races were decided by inches,” said Bischoff. “We needed to communicate well and sail with patience. We really put our fleet racing skills to use.”
The 2009 Wilson Trophy winners, the West Kirby Hawks were in search of their first U.S. Team Racing Championship. They sailed with the same six sailors from that championship, including skippers Ben Field (Sevenoaks, Kent GBR), Dom Johnson (Orpington, Kent GBR), and Andy Corhah (Sevenoaks, Kent GBR). They were joined by crewmates Debs Steele (Southampton, Hampshire GBR), Hamish Walker ( Southampton, Hampshire GBR ), and Tom Foster (London, London GBR). West Kirby was 5-2 in the final round and 12-8 in the round robins.
Last year’s champions, Team Extreme finished third after defeating the Woonsocket Rockets 2-0 in the petit finals. They were 4-3 in the final round and a fleet best 19-1 in the round robins.
The U.S. Team Racing Championship routinely attracts the top teams in the country. Sixteen teams representing three countries sailed Vanguard 15s on Lake Union for three days of racing.
Team racing is a unique form of racing. In each match, two teams of three boats are pitted against each other on an “N” shaped course. It is the cumulative points of all three boats that determine the winning team, which may or may not include the winning boat.
The 2010 U.S. Team Racing Championship was hosted by the Seattle Yacht Club and the Center for Wooden Boats. The event is sponsored by Rolex Watch U.S.A., LaserPerformance, Dry Creek Vineyard, and Gill North America. Please visit the event web site for final results, daily reports, photo galleries, Sailgroove videos, and more.
About US SAILING
The United States Sailing Association (US SAILING), the national governing body for sailing, provides leadership for the sport in the United States. Founded in 1897 and headquartered in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, US SAILING is a 501(c) (3) non-profit organization. US SAILING offers training and education programs for instructors and race officials, supports a wide range of sailing organizations and communities, issues offshore rating certificates, and provides administration and oversight of competitive sailing across the country, including National Championships and the US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics. For more information, please visit www.ussailing.org.
About Rolex Watch U.S.A.
Since Rolex Watch U.S.A. first presented timepieces to America's Cup defenders in 1958, the company has consistently recognized and encouraged excellence in every important arena of competitive sailing, including US Sailing Team AlphaGraphics preparation, US SAILING championships, disabled sailing, offshore, one-design and women's events.
About LaserPerformance
LaserPerformance is a global company formed from a merger between Vanguard Sailboats and Performance Sailcraft Europe. LaserPerformance is the world’s largest supplier of recreational and high performance sailboats. LaserPerformance products include the Sunfish and the Olympic class Laser, two of the most recognized brands in the sailing world. LaserPerformance has offices in Portsmouth RI (US), Long Buckby (UK), Melbourne (AU), Middle East (UAE), and Hong Kong. For more information on LaserPerformance, call 401-683-0960 or visit their web site at www.laserperformance.com.
About Dry Creek Vineyard
Founded in 1972 by David S. Stare, Dry Creek Vineyard is located in the heart of Dry Creek Valley, just outside of the charming wine country town of Healdsburg. The winery is known for producing some of California’s finest Fumé Blancs and Zinfandels. In addition to these “flagships,” Dry Creek Vineyard is also known for excellent Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. In 1997, the family released a new vineyard designated Cabernet Sauvignon from their estate Endeavour vineyard. Then, beginning with the 2004 vintage, the family introduced a new proprietary blend called The Mariner. Each wine has redefined the concept of terroir as the winery continues shape their portfolio for future success. Dry Creek Vineyard owns over 200 acres of vineyard land, primarily in Dry Creek Valley and the Russian River Valley. For more information on Dry Creek Vineyard please visit www.drycreekvineyard.com.
About Gill North America
Gill NA, with headquarters near Atlanta, GA is the sole distributor and licensee of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America including Caribbean, Central America, US and Canada. Gill is an apparel and accessories leader in the worldwide marine industry for over three decades and specializes in high tech, breathable waterproof clothing. The company tests, designs and markets a variety of performance-oriented, award-winning apparel and accessories for virtually every type of boating activity with product lines that include foul weather gear; interactive layering systems; footwear; gloves; bags; junior gear; scholastic gear and team wear. Available through hundreds of dealers nationally, Gill NA is the sole distributor and licensee of Gill-brand foul weather gear in North America, where it is the top selling yachting clothing brand. For more information on Gill NA, visit the company website at http://www.gillna.com/or contact Lance Jones at Gill NA, (678) 730-5581/e-mail: lance@gillna.com.