New Wave rides big wave to victory

For the third time in four years, Steve Liebel’s New Wave team emerged victorious in the the IC37 US National Championship, held July 18-20 in Newport, RI. The seventh edition of this annual championship was highlighted by a 26-boat fleet, the biggest ever for the one-design keelboat.

It was a dominant performance by the veteran team, which won the first race and the final race, only finished outside the top 10 in one of the eight races and claimed the championship by 19 points. Of the 26 teams competing, only six avoided at least one finish of 20th or worse, and just nine points separated Wade Waddell’s Pegasus team in second from Bill Zartler’s Voodoo Too crew in seventh.

Rounding out the top five were Hannah Swett on MO in third, Chris Lewis’ Qubit in fourth, and Clinton Hayes’ Gloriana in fifth.

“It’s a big number out there, 26 37-foot boats that are identical,” says Liebel. “We all get to that windward mark at the same time. It’s the little things that end up making a big difference when it comes to separating from the fleet. It’s very exciting, and it’s very rewarding.

“More than half our team has sailed together for probably 40 years. And the other four, we’ve sailed with 50 times, 80 times or 100 times. We have one new youngster on our crew that has switched in. It’s his third regatta, but we’re really fortunate that we have a great crew.

“They know what to do, and that’s the difference. That’s how you turn a 24th into an 11th. The crew work, the boat handling, the weight movement, the little tweaks, make all the difference in the world. I’m very lucky to have such a great crew. There are nine very, very good people on our team. And it’s shows.”

For Waddell’s Pegasus team, representing Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead, MA, the National Championship was an opportunity to prepare for the 2025 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup in September, the premiere championship in amateur big-boat sailing. Waddell and his team finished second in 2023 Invitational Cup, then won the Resolute Cup in 2024 to qualify for the biennial classic.

“It was good,” says Waddell of the team’s runner-up finish in the Nationals. “But it felt like we did it the hard way.” He noted that the team had to battle in every race, though he also acknowledged that challenges now will only better prepare the team for what’s to come in September.

“Every iteration of Invitational Cup, the level keeps going up,” says Waddell. “If we came back into Newport [this September] at same level we were at in 2023, that might not even get us into the top 5. We’re looking at all the fine details of how we get five percent better, having this idea of striving for excellence and not thinking that we got second last time and that’s good enough.”

In addition to the Corinthian Yacht Club team, crews from eight other Invitational Cup entries, including those from Ireland, Great Britain, and Canada, used the National Championship to tune up for the September regatta.

Race details – Results – Photos

Source: NYYC