Stevenson clinches Detroit Cup

Detroit, MI (August 25, 2019) – Climbing out from a mediocre fourth place position from the first stage Round Robin, Jordan Stevenson and his team won 3-0 in the Finals against Chris Poole and his Riptide Racing team to claim victory in the 12th annual Detroit Cup.

On the way Stevenson and his crew of Mitch Jackson and George Angus from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, supplemented with local Dougie Cowan from Bayview YC, defeated Nathan Hollerbach in the Quarter-Finals, then had to go to a fifth decisive match to defeat Dave Perry in the Semi-Finals before meeting Poole in the Finals.

The scoreline of 3-0 is deceiving, as each match was contentious with plenty of action and multiple lead changes in the equally-matched Ultimate 20’s used in the competition. Conditions on Finals day were perfect on the Detroit River, with 6-12 knots of wind, multiple shifts and plenty of current to challenge all competitors, with few leads safe among the Final Four.

In Petite-Final action, Perry was matched with James Pinder from Great Britain, and won the first of their first-to-two point series, but then succumbed in the remaining two matches to the young team from the Royal Thames YC. Like the finalists, these two also had action-filled matches, with plenty of lead changes and penalty flags to entertain the spectators on shore at the host Bayview Yacht Club.

“This was an amazing match racing event,” said Stevenson, who is at the D-Cup for the first time. “Everyone at home told us we need to come here, and they were right: the support from the club, the level of competition, the boats, the conditions, they were all phenomenal.”

The Detroit Cup is the second leg of the four-event Grand Slam Series – the first was the Chicago Grand Slam and the remaining regattas are in Oyster Bay, New York at the Oakcliff Invitational and the Thompson Cup. Winner in points in this series receives an invitation to compete in next year’s Grade 1 Congressional Cup in Long Beach, California.

The 12th edition of the Detroit Cup was held over August 22-25, 2019.

Event details – Results

Final Results, 2019 Detroit Cup:
1. Jordan Stevenson (NZL)
2. Chris Poole (USA)
3. James Pinder (GBR)
4. Dave Perry (USA)
5. Ryan Seago (USA)
6. Chris Weis (USA)
7. Finn Tapper (AUS)
8. Nathan Hollerbach (USA)
9. Jackson Hamilton (USA)
10. Alexis Gesualdo (USA)
11. Ethan Prieto-Low (AUS)

Grand Slam Series 2019
The Detroit Cup is the second stage of the Grand Slam Series, a circuit of four Grade 2 match racing events in the USA in which the overall winner receives an invitation to the 2020 Congressional Cup, the 56th edition of this Grade One match race regatta held in Long Beach, CA. For Notice of Race, click here.

• Chicago Grand Slam: Aug 15-18, in Tom 28s
• Detroit Cup: August 21-25, in Ultimate 20s
• Oakcliff International: September 2-4, in Match 40s
• Thompson Cup: September 6-8, in Match 40s

Source: Dobbs Davis