Team Thunder near perfect at Baldwin Cup

Newport Beach, CA (April 11, 2015) – Sailing in light shifty breezes coming out of the south at five knots, 96 competitors raced in 31 races in the second stage of the Baldwin Cup Team Race sponsored by JPMorgan Chase. Today’s sailing was punctuated by the buzz of drones on the race course, a display of trendy blazers, the famous mai tais for which Newport Harbor Yacht Club is known and select competitors complaining of being over served the previous evening.

In the Gold Series, Team Thunder continued its near perfect score of 16 wins and one loss, with Larchmont Yacht Club coming in strong second with 11 wins and five losses and Newport Harbor Lighting tied for third with Southern Yacht Club. In the Silver Series, where a team must place first to advance to the quarter finals, Balboa Yacht Club is in first followed by Seattle Yacht Club in second and Pequot Yacht Club in third.

“We are on a pretty good roll,” said Michael Menninger Team Thunder. “Hitting the start line at full speed is really helpful. To tell you the truth, no one really knows what is going on, so it makes it a scrum at the very end, which makes it really exciting, not to mention having the weather and turning marks 100 feet off the dock – that is amazing.”

The breeze stayed relatively light all day, not shifting to the west as expected, which posted different strategic challenges compared to yesterday’s stronger breezes. The shifts off Lido Island, as well as errant drivers of the classic Duffy boats in Newport Harbor, added to the on-water encounters.

Though winning the Cup in 2013, Larchmont missed the regatta last year. Back this year to reclaim the title, Clay Bischoff of Larchmont Yacht Club said, “We are happy be in the mix and just try to keep it calm throughout the race, as many races are decided in the last minute. We make fun of each other and know how to push each other’s buttons. We love the Baldwin Cup; it’s great racing and everything is really well done.” The best-dressed competition continued between New York Yacht Club’s Garrett Woodworth and Team Lighting’s Mikee Anderson, as they battled for the most creative blazer attire.

This year’s participants include: Balboa Yacht Club (Corona del Mar, Calif.), Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, Mass.), Larchmont Yacht Club (Larchmont, New York), New York Yacht Club (New York, New York), Pequot Yacht Club (Southport, Conn.), Seattle Yacht Club (Seattle), Seawanaka Corinthian Yacht Club (Oyster Bay, New York), Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans), the St. Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco) and the Yale Corinthian Yacht Club (New Haven, Conn.). In addition to Newport Harbor Team Thunder, Newport Harbor Lightning is the second home team boat.

Event details – Photos

Report by event media. Photos by Elizabeth de Witt.