NEWPORT, R.I. — Texas Corinthian Yacht Club won the New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race on Sunday, defeating Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club 3-1 in the championship series for its third title in five years.
The Kemah, Texas-based club dominated the round-robin portion with a 17-1 record and hasn’t finished worse than second in the event in six years. Ida Lewis Yacht Club finished third, improving from ninth place last year.
“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,” said 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.”
The regatta was held Aug. 15-17 at New York Yacht Club Harbour Court using the club’s fleet of 22 Sonar keelboats. The event requires skippers to be at least 60 years old and crew to be at least 50.
After two days of light winds, Sunday’s championship featured stronger southerly breezes in the teens gusting into the 20s. Race officials flew the K flag prohibiting spinnakers throughout the day.
Seawanhaka controlled the first two races of the best-of-five series, but Texas Corinthian rallied for victories in both before Seawanhaka won the third race. Texas Corinthian closed out the regatta in the fourth race.
“Of all the Grandmasters we’ve done, this was loaded with the most talent,” said Texas Corinthian 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.”
Texas Corinthian also won the Peter L. Wilson Trophy for the fifth consecutive year, awarded to the top club across five grandmasters-level team races.
The New York Yacht Club created the grandmasters event in 2010 as part of a series of age-group team racing regattas. The club will add a Great Grandmasters regatta next weekend for skippers 70 and older with crew 60 and older.
Ten teams competed in this year’s event, including clubs from California, Louisiana, New York and Sweden.
