Poole and Riptide Racing team win Oakcliff Spring Invitational

Oyster Bay NY (May 18, 2014) – The four day Oakcliff Spring Invitational Clinegatta (May 15-18) was won by Chris Poole and his Riptide Racing team, with David Niemann’s Team Honey Badgers in second. The event was a qualifier for the Oakcliff International, the final event in the top ranked Grand Slam series. As Poole had previously qualified, Niemann earned the berth.

No one dominated the event, which could be attributed to the fact all of the teams trained for two full days of clinic before racing even began.

The Clinegatta concept was pioneered at Oakcliff by Dave Perry and this year he stepped it up a notch by observing from onboard on race day 1 and giving immediate feedback after the finish flag. The cliché of a rising tide lifts all ships was actually true as the two days of clinic, individual and then group debriefs had every team throwing around Oakcliff’s Match 40s like they owned them during the 49 races sailed.

Of note was youngster Colin Kennedy who in one prestart with his team of mostly dinghy sailors managed to keep their Match 40, the largest boats used for match racing in the US, in a dial-up, head to wind, within spitting distance of David Niemann as both boats sailed backwards for nearly 2 minutes of exceptional boat handling.

Final Results
1. Chris Poole
2. David Niemann
3. Jon Hammond
4. Chris Johannessen
5. Mike Quaglio
6. Bill Gladstone
7. Liz Shaw
8. Colin Kennedy

Bios of all teams can be found at: http://www.oakcliffsailing.org/news/oakcliff-spring-invitational-puts-on-the-ritz/

Report by event media.