For the second year in a row, Team EYC emerged victorious from three days of the most competitive keelboat team racing in the world. The team of Clinton Hayes, Alex Cook, David Thompson, Bill Lynn, Kate Barrows, Peter Lynn, Mike Kanare, Paula Grasberger, Spencer Powers, Lily Lichtenstein, Hannah Lynn, Eliza Garry, and Sam Rodiger battled the top teams in the country as well as a wide range of challenging conditions to grab the win and the Morgan Cup title. Full recap from Hannah Lynn below:
Team EYC kicked off the Morgan Cup with a windy sunny Friday, in which we sailed a round robin with the nine other teams. After day one, we had six wins (tied for second with 3 other teams), while our CYC friends from up the harbor established themselves as the team to beat with 8 wins.
The forecast for Saturday and Sunday was looking light and unpredictable, leaving the format to be determined as the event progressed. Despite not knowing what the next round would look like or what conditions we’d be sailing in, EYC stayed focused and disciplined through light and shifty conditions all day Saturday as we sailed a gold fleet (top 5) round robin. We came off the water a little crestfallen after going 1 and 4 in the gold round, but determined to turn it around on Sunday.
Sunday morning saw two light quarter final races for a 1-1 split against NYYC in Newport’s signature dying northerly, with the third race a few hours later in the sea breeze knocking out New York and advancing Eastern. The semifinal featured a fierce Marblehead harbor battle against Corinthian. After one loss and two hard-fought wins against CYC, Eastern moved on to the final against Newport Harbor Yacht Club, taking two commanding wins and the overall win for the Morgan Cup.
Results are available here, as well as a write-up from NYYC: Eastern Yacht Club Rises to the Occasion, Claims Second Consecutive Morgan Cup Title