Top Four Advance at Detroit Cup

Detroit, MI (August 25, 2018) – With a strong 14-4 record earned in after three days of racing in two round robins, Michigan-based Ryan Seago emerged as the leader in the 11th edition of the Bayview YC’s Detroit Cup. Seago and his team credited their experience in the Ultimate 20’s used in the competition, as well as being past competitors in the Detroit Cup.

“We know these boats well, and this helped us in the first round,” said Seago. “Now everyone is getting better and we’re having a tough time.”

The breeze yesterday was a brisk southerly that late in the day waned a little and got shifty, making it a challenge for all teams to get out of the tight pre-start area positioned for the spectators off Bayview YC and on to the race course set across the Detroit River. Today’s Day Three was filled with rain squalls in the morning, followed by brisk but sailable 12-15 knot conditions, building to be a quite fresh 20-23 knots that prompted race managers to forbid use of spinnakers.

Once the second round-robin was completed and teams reconvened ashore to decide the top four teams in the Semi-Final pairings, two races of the Semi’s were sailed in a pleasant 10-14 knots. There was enough time left to make progress in this stage so event chairman Lance Smotherman decided to have two flights of the first-to-three point series sail today with tomorrow left to decide the Finalists.

In these two flights Seago defeated Chris Poole (USA) and his Riptide Racing Team from New York in two close matches, while Nick Egnot-Johnson (NZL) and Will Boulden (AUS) won a match each to tie in their series. Both pairs must race again tomorrow towards earning the three points needed to go through to the Finals.

Also racing tomorrow will be a one-match Consolation Round sailed among the 5-8th placed teams from the Round Robins to determine 5th and 7th places.

Weather tomorrow is expected to be light and shifty in contrast to today, but race organizers are still confident the racing will be close and competitive in this second event of the USA GRAND SLAM series.

The 11th annual edition of the 2018 Detroit Cup is the second of four events of the US Grand Slam Series. Held in Ultimate 20s, the ten teams from Australia, New Zealand, and the USA will compete on August 23-26 in Detroit, MI.

Event details – Results – Facebook

Winning Skippers, Detroit Cup:
2017 – Harry Price (AUS)
2016 – Harry Price (AUS)
2015 – Sam Gilmour (AUS)
2014 – Pierre-Antoine Morvan (FRA)
2013 – David Gilmour (AUS)
2012 – Josh Junior (NZL)
2011 – Jordan Reece (AUS)
2010 – Dave Perry (USA)
2009 – Anna Tunicliffe (USA)
2008 – Simon Minoprio (NZL)

Background:
The 8th edition of the Grand Slam Series brings together four Grade 2 match racing events in 2018, offering a compact circuit in August and September to attract top ranked foreign sailors to the U.S. and provide North American match racers with high level competition. Additionally, the winner of the series gets an invitation to the 2019 Congressional Cup, the only World Sailing Grade One Match Race event in the USA.

2018 Grand Slam Series:
August 17-19 – Chicago (Chicago YC – Sonars)
August 24-26 – Detroit (Bayview YC – Ultimate 20s)
Sept 6-9 – Oyster Bay, NY (Oakcliff Sailing – Match 40s)
Sept 11-15 – Oyster Bay, NY (Seawanhaka Corinthian YC – Match 40s)

Grand Slam Series – Overall Results

Source: Dobbs Davis