Poole holds early lead at Detroit Cup

Detroit, MI (August 23, 2018) – Chris Poole from New York and his Riptide Racing team is leading the pack of ten teams after the first day of racing at the 11th annual Detroit Cup.

Eight flights were raced today under beautiful sunny skies and light to moderate winds with three flights and one match remaining to complete the first Round Robin tomorrow. Racing will be held daily through Sunday, August 26th, with two Round Robins planned, followed by the Semi-Finals and Finals.

Poole is tied on 5 points in six matches sailed with one of two local Bayview YC favorites, Ryan Seago, but in having defeated Seago in their match he wins the tie-break in the current standings. Nick Egnot-Johnson and his team from New Zealand is also on five points, but he too lost to Poole in their match.

“We had a good day, but got unlucky in the first flight and off to a rough start,” said Poole. “My team rebounded really well to read the race course and the conditions, and they got us around the track with few problems.”

Poole can be a fiery competitor, but earned only one penalty from the umpires in his match with Seago, which he managed to shake free before finishing ahead.

In that first flight Poole got off the start line in a strong position to windward and ahead against his match rival, the other local favorite Will Cyr, when Cyr suddenly sailed out from under Poole and passed with ease. Poole immediately recognized the problem and went head to wind to stop the boat and back down to shed a patch of weed on the keel. Their pace through the water improved but they were unable t0 chase down and catch Cyr in the light conditions.

The westerly breeze was shifty and varied widely in strength, but it never completely shut down, and PRO Becky Ashburn and her team kept shifting the course to keep the racing as fair as possible. Besides the breeze, the ever-present current of the Detroit River also kept competitors on their toes.

Tomorrow similar weather is expected but the breeze will shift from the west to the south, making for more interesting and challenging conditions here on the Detroit River.

The 11th annual edition of the 2018 Detroit Cup is the second of four events of the US Grand Slam Series. Held in Ultimate 20s, the ten teams from Australia, New Zealand, and the USA will compete on August 23-26 in Detroit, MI.

Standings after 8 flights:
1. Chris Poole (USA) 5-1
2. Ryan Seago (USA) 5-1
3. Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL) 5-2
4. Will Boulden (AUS) 4-3
5. Pearson Potts (USA) 3-3
6. William Curtiss (USA) 3-4
7. Finn Tapper (AUS) 2-4
8. Clare Costanzo (AUS) 2-4
9. James Wilson (NZL) 2-4
10. Will Cyr (USA) 1-6

Event details – Results – Facebook

Winning Skippers, Detroit Cup:
2017 – Harry Price (AUS)
2016 – Harry Price (AUS)
2015 – Sam Gilmour (AUS)
2014 – Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA)
2013 – David Gilmour (AUS)
2012 – Josh Junior (NZL)
2011 – Jordan Reece (AUS)
2010 – Dave Perry (USA)
2009 – Anna Tunicliffe (USA)
2008 – Simon Minoprio (NZL)

Background:
The 8th edition of the Grand Slam Series brings together four Grade 2 match racing events in 2018, offering a compact circuit in August and September to attract top ranked foreign sailors to the U.S. and provide North American match racers with high level competition. Additionally, the winner of the series gets an invitation to the 2019 Congressional Cup, the only World Sailing Grade One Match Race event in the USA.

2018 Grand Slam Series:
August 17-19 – Chicago (Chicago YC – Sonars)
August 24-26 – Detroit (Bayview YC – Ultimate 20s)
Sept 6-9 – Oyster Bay, NY (Oakcliff Sailing – Match 40s)
Sept 11-15 – Oyster Bay, NY (Seawanhaka Corinthian YC – Match 40s)

Grand Slam Series – Overall Results

Source: Dobbs Davis