Texans top Grandmasters Team Race

It’s been six years since Texas Corinthian Yacht Club (Kemah, TX) finished worse than second in the New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race, which mandates skippers be at least 60 years of age and crew at least 50. In 2025, the team made sure by topping nine other clubs on August 15-17 in Newport, RI.

TCYC dominated the round-robin portion and then sealed its third championship in the last five years with a 3-1 final series victory over Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (Oyster Bay, NY), the only club to take a race off the Texans. Ida Lewis Yacht Club (Newport, RI) completed the podium, a significant improvement from ninth a year ago.

“We’ve been working on boatspeed, and we’ve been working on boat handling, and we’ve been working on team racing, and they all were needed against a really good team,” says Gerard Coleman, team captain for Texas Corinthian. “Slack off on boatspeed, boathandling or tactics and you’re out of the hunt, all the teams are really good in all those departments.”

Racing Sonars with spinnakers, the first two days had light breeze before the final day had a meaty southerly breeze which started in the mid-teens and was later gusting well into the 20s. The race committee flew the K flag, signifying no spinnakers, from the outset.

The championship best-of-five series was a taut, back-and-fourth affair replete with advanced team racing moves and numerous lead changes. Seawanhaka had solid control of the first two races, but in each case the Texans were able to turn the tables and pull a win out of what seemed sure to be a loss. Seawanhaka squeaked out a win in the third race before Texas Corinthian closed out the regatta in the fourth.

“Of all the Grandmasters we’ve done, this was loaded with the most talent,” said TCYC skipper Gary Ross.

“Our club boat is a Sonar, and we do a lot of fleet racing. I think that really helps with the boatspeed. And [Coleman] organizes practices throughout the year. We may have two on two, we may have two boats on one, or we may have three on three. And given our weather conditions, we can practice all year round, so I think that’s an advantage.”

In addition to winning the New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Regatta, Texas Corinthian Yacht Club won the Peter L. Wilson Trophy, which is given to the top finishing club across five grandmasters-level team races. This was the fifth year in a row TCYC has won this trophy, which is named for one of the primary driving forces behind the grandmasters team racing circuit.

Event information – Team Rosters – Results: Stage 1 and Stage 2

Gerard Coleman (skipper and team captain), Marjorie Crawford, Sam Pyne, Randy Roberston, Gary Ross (skipper), Ann Graham, Joel Scott, Eric Ellis, Clark Thompson (skipper) Mary Milby, Pierce Owens and Paul Thompson, with Peter Wilson (white hat, holding trophy) and Vice Commodore Clare Harrington (far left).

Photos and story by Stuart Streuli / New York Yacht Club.