Seawanhaka Corinthian Cruises to Hinman Trophy

The final day of the 20th edition of the Hinman Masters Team Race was interrupted by a lack of wind, but the results of the three-day regatta so far left no doubt which team deserved to be at the top of the podium. With 17 wins in 18 races, the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club was the dominant team at Narragansett Bay that weekend, winning the trophy for the second time but for the first time in more than a decade.

The terms and conditions for the New York Yacht Club Invitational Team Race Regatta for the Commodore George R. Hinman Masters Trophy stipulate that all skippers must be at least 45 and all crew at least 40. Seawanhaka was only recently eligible and entered with an intergenerational Line-up, including team captain Al Constants, who was on the SCYC team when it first won the trophy in 2008, and America’s Cup tactician David Dellenbaugh in 1992.

“We have put together good skippers and a good crew and have done very well this year,” said Constants. “Dave Dells and I have done this regatta a few times. Tim Fallon came for the third skipper [this year]. He just turned 45. He worked for me for years before he turned 45. “

Every August, the New York Yacht Club hosts three team racing regattas on consecutive weekends: the New York Yacht Club Invitational Team Race Regatta for the Morgan Cup (July 30th to August 1st), the New York Yacht Club Invitational Team Race Regatta for the Commodore George R. Hinman Masters Trophy (6th to 8th August) and the New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race Regatta (August 13th to 15th). Each event uses the club’s fleet of 22 sonars (designed by the member Bruce Kirbywho recently passed away). The latter two have a minimum skipper and crew age to encourage team racing as a lifelong pursuit. The three regattas were founded in 2003, 2000 and 2010 respectively and are among the most competitive team races for adults in the world, annually attracting top sailors from all over the country and abroad.

Unlike today, when the wind started lightly and didn’t let up, there was plenty of sun for the first two days and a classic Newport sea breeze from the southwest, which allowed race management to tear up two full round robins among the teams of nine and even start a third. When the regatta was canceled early Sunday afternoon, the 15 completed races of Round Robin 3 were deleted from each team’s scorecard in accordance with the event rules.

“The ocean breeze was just pumping on Friday and Saturday and it was amazing,” said Constants. “I don’t think it was about choosing one side or the other [on the first leg]. It was about hammering your starts. After hammering the start you would head upwind and see what you can do. “

Sometimes, Constants added, getting a winning combination in the remaining four stages of the race took a bit of work. And there were a couple of random breaks. But it takes a lot more than luck to win 16 races in a row on two long days of sailing. Seawanhaka’s only flaw came in his second race of the regatta to Maryland’s Eastport Yacht Club, which finished fourth with 8 points. The New York Yacht Club team, led by Brian Doyle, came second with 12 wins and the Southern Yacht Club from New Orleans came third with 10 wins.

The New York Yacht Club 2021 team race schedule ends with the Grandmasters Regatta, which runs from Friday, August 13th to Sunday, August 15th.

2021 New York Yacht Club Invitational Team Race Regatta
for the Commodore George R. Hinman Masters Trophy
New York Yacht Club Harbor Square
August 6th to 8th
Final score
(Click here for scoring matrix, here for race results)

1. Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club (Oyster Bay, NY) 15 points; 2. New York (NY) Yacht Club-Doyle, 12 points; 3. Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans), 10 points; 4. Eastport (Md.) Yacht Club, 8 points; 5. New York (NY) Yacht Club-Fallon, 7 points; 6. Noroton Yacht Club (Darien, Connecticut) 6 points; 7. St. Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco), 5 points; 8. Larchmont (NY) Yacht Club, 5 points; 9. St. Petersburg (Fla.) Yacht Club, 4 points.

Photos: Stuart Wemple (2), Stuart Streuli

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