Destroyer claims 2022 Yachting Cup

Jim Bailey’s ID35 Destroyer was selected as overall winner of the 50th Yachting Cup held April 29-May 1 in San Diego, CA. This was Destroyer’s first time on the water since a total refit, with Bailey and his crew handling the PHRF-3 Class in its debut.

“We came into this regatta without a lot of expectations because we just got the boat on the water. This is Destroyer’s first regatta,” noted Bailey whose crew included his three sons – Charlie, Danny, and William.

“I listen to our crew. My biggest challenge is sailing in chop and breeze. I don’t do it enough, my crew keeps reminding me.”

Luckily for Bailey’s crew, they will be getting much more practice soon. New ID35s are making their way to Southern California, so Bailey and the current ID35 owners can expect more competition in the fleet. Between Marina del Rey and San Diego, 12 new boats are on the horizon.

Class Winners
PHRF-1 – Paul Dorsey’s Fast 40 Adjudicator
ORR-1 – Roy Disney’s Andrews 70 Pyewacket
PHRF-2 – Lonnie Jarvis’ Far 400M Chronic
ORR-2 – Standish Fleming’s J/125 Nereid
PHRF-3 – Jim Bailey’s ID35 Destroyer
PHRF-4 – John Laun’s J120 caper
ORC – Neil Senturia’s Flying Tiger Leverage
J/105 – Rick Goebel’s Sanity
Beneteau 36.7 – Chick Pyle’s Kea
Beneteau 40.7 – Mark Stratton’s Lugano
Classics – CF Koehler’s 10 Meter Sally
Navigator – Dave Kettenhoffen’s Mi Sueno

After day one offered a smooth day of racing on the Pacific Ocean course, sailors were greeted on day two by a bit more wind, and notably choppier seas built by the all night southerly wind.

Honorable mention goes to Beneteau 40.7 owner Mike Stratton on Lugano, who seemed to have no difficulty navigating his way through the waves. Stratton won every race in his class. Also winning each day of the regatta was Dave Kettenhoffen’s Columbia 50 Mi Sueno in the Navigators Class.

John Laun’s J/120 caper is no stranger to the top of the leaderboard. Laun and his crew placed in the top three of the PHRF-4 class and secured an eight point lead on second place Abacus, the Flying Tiger owned by Tim Chin. The only other boat in the regatta to hold an eight point lead amongst their competitors was Chick Pyle’s Beneteau 36.7 Kea.

In the J/105 Class, runner-up Perseverance recruited junior sailor Cameron Schnoor to complete their crew.

“We had to lose weight in order to add him to the crew, but he was all over the boat from the bow to the stern and down below checking for kelp,” noted co-skipper Dave Vieregg. “He was terrific and super fun to sail with. He made sure to give us grief if we weren’t trimming correctly.”

Event information – Race details – Results