Congratulations to Chick Pyle’s Beneteau 36.7 Kea, the overall winner of the 2023 Yachting Cup! The team finished first in their class by winning every race - a total of six bullets. The teams impressive scores in a competitive class earned them their championship title at SDYC’s signature spring regatta.
Kea's success didn't come without a battle from the rest of the class. While technically Pyle and his crew won after race five, they stayed in the regatta for the picket fence - a goal that was almost interrupted by Eric Hanson's Given-Ho. "Given-Ho is stronger than us and faster than us. We had to out-wit them. And then fate struck," explained Pyle. Hanson's kite twisted on the last hoist, giving Kea the chance to drive below them and finish first.
Kea has won first in their class many times over the years, including every year they've sailed since 2015. The team sails together often, and it pays off. Even with all of their class wins on record, they have had yet to be coined the overall winner of the regatta. When announcing the overall winning team, Yachting Cup Chair Traci Miller mentioned their efforts to foster One Design sailing, specifically in the Beneteau 36.7 class, and encourage participation in the sport.
First in class wins include:
J/105 - Juiced - Chuck Driscoll
Beneteau 36.7 - Kea - Chick Pyle
Classics - Sprig - Greg Stewart
Navigator - Vigilante - Raymond Godwin
ORRSub - Adjudicator - Paul Dorsey
PHRF-AA - Adjudicator - Paul Dorsey
PHRF-B - Revo - Yumio Dornberg & Bruce Cooper
PHRF-C - Holy Toledo West! - Timothy Forderer
Kea wasn’t the only boat with a full row of first place finishes. Paul Dorsey’s Adjudicator not only finished first in the PHRF-AA class, but won every race in the ORRSub division. Adjudicator is the smallest boat in the PHRF-AA class, competing against TP52s, J/145s, and a Farr 400M.
Dorsey said, "It's always a little stressful. My coaches coach hard with lots of feedback, but we loved it and raced hard against great competition. Being the little boat against the big boats always makes it tricky."
Sharing the race course with the tight PHRF-B class was cause for a lot of traffic. Dorsey continued, "We put the boat in the right place and then got away as soon as we could. The two 50-foot boats really put it on us."
Revo, driven by Yumio Dornberg, finished first in their class with a total of nine points made up of three bullets and three second place finishes. The PHRF-B class was easily the most crowded of the eight classes at the regatta.
Dornberg said, "It's the team. Bruce and Chuck are doing an amazing job at getting us around the course and hitting the shifts. We're kind of inexperienced on this boat. Everyone else is stepping in and switching positions a lot to get things done."
After the races, competitors and guests were invited to the Awards Ceremony on the Sail Wash Lawn to claim prizes provided by SD Boatworks, Mount Gay, and Helly Hansen.
Regatta Chair Traci Miller was thrilled about this weekend's success on and off the water. "The smiles on everyone's faces said it all. We had sunshine and breeze both days, tight racing on the courses, and great music and food on land. All of these together made this year's Yachting Cup my favorite one to date. Thank you to all of the competitors who came out to sail and allow for an exciting event," said Miller.
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