2024 Lipton Cup at San Diego Yacht Club - Day 1
by San Diego Yacht Club 25 Oct 20:31 PDT
October 25-27, 2024
Lipton Cup Reigning Champs, SDYC, takes First Overall in First Day of Racing. - 2024 Lipton Cup © Mark Albertazzi
The 109th Challenge for the Sir Thomas Lipton Challenge Cup, San Diego Yacht Club's signature fall regatta, kicked off today.
Named for the historic yachtsman and tea baron, Sir Thomas Lipton, the Lipton Cup allows yacht club teams to face off to determine who is the best of the best. It is the most prestigious trophy contested in Southern California and one of the most coveted on the West Coast since 1903.
This year's Lipton Cup roster includes:
- Balboa YC
- California YC
- Club de Yates de Acapulco
- Corinthian Yacht Club Marblehead
- Coronado YC
- Long Beach YC
- New York YC
- Newport Harbor YC
- Pensacola YC
- San Diego YC
- San Francisco YC
- Southwestern YC
Day one of racing had out-of-towners wondering about the thick spooky marine layer that not very many people think of when they hear about sunny San Diego and the perfect year-round sailing conditions.
Before leaving the docks, west coast newcomer Mike Madigan skippering the Pensacola Yacht Club team sounded a bit concerned when doing his morning interview, talking about the heavy fog. Luckily, by the time the competitors left the docks, the marine layer started to burn off and they were met with sunny skies in South San Diego Bay.
Winds were about 6-8 knots with aggressive lefts to start the day. By mid-afternoon warmer air from inland clashed with the marine layer just enough to check the winds back right.
Race One
Race one started with a postponement due to light winds not filling in at the top of the course but as soon as that first race started, the competition was on. First three around the weather mark were California YC, followed by reigning champs San Diego YC and Newport Harbor YC. By the end of race one though, there was a change-up with San Diego taking the win and Corinthian and California right behind them.
Competitors then took to the floating docks to rotate to their next boat and spent just a few minutes getting to know their new vessels before taking to the course again.
Race Two
Race two was exciting and you could feel the tension and competition building with teams getting more aggressive at the starting line and the weather marks. San Diego took the lead early and made it first around every mark. Long Beach was close behind but committed a foul which dropped them back quite a bit after having to do their turns. Skipper Keith Ives with Long Beach described it as quite the rollercoaster and commented that they weren't sure what they did to foul but did the right thing and made their turns. This left San Francisco, New York and Newport Harbor vying for second and third places. In the end, San Diego, San Francisco and Newport Harbor took the top three.
Races Three and Four
Races three and four brought quite the change up of front runners. In the third race, the mostly young Coronado team raced well and took the lead early on. They held first through the entire race with New York closely following behind them and a mix up between Newport, Pensacola and San Francisco. By the end of race three, Coronado, New York and Newport took the top three.
Race four had Long Beach leading the entire race with a true battle for the next three spots between California, Corinthian and San Francisco. After tight roundings, lots of loud chatter, Long Beach, California and San Francisco finished first to third.
Race Five - Final Race of the Day
Though the sun was starting to get low on the horizon, the race committee was eager to get one more race in the 12 race series. The start line went perfectly and the boats were off. It seemed like this might have even been the fastest race of the day with how quick the competitors got from each end of the course. Back to leading the race was San Diego with Pensacola, Acapulco and New York behind them. San Diego had a good lead on the majority of the boats but they didn't let up or get comfortable for one second. They led all the way up and down the course finishing not only first in the race, but overall for the day. Right behind them was Acapulco with their best race of the day. New York took third in the race and settled in at second overall for the day. San Francisco took sixth in the last race, and finished the day third overall.
As the races finished up, competitors made their way to the Spinnaker Deck for a Welcome Social which included tastings from beer sponsor Maui Brewing and delicious chips from Chipz Happen.
Spectators are encouraged to cheer on their favorite teams on the water! Bring your vessel or hop on with friends to watch some great racing. You can also watch by following on our socials such as Instagram or Facebook, or by checking in on the mark rounding tracker throughout the day.
Thank you to our dedicated sponsors, who make events like this one possible: Helly Hansen, Bay Club Hotel and Marina, Chipz Happen, SunBum, and Maui Brewing.
Full results available here.