The 2024 Grand Slam Series, part of the World Match Racing Tour, proved to be an intense and rewarding campaign for the Sail+ Racing team as they battled against some of the world’s best match racing teams across four events in three major U.S. cities.
Oakcliff International – New York – August 3 – 6
The series kicked off in the Big Apple with the Oakcliff International hosted by the Oakcliff Sailing Centre. The World Sailing Grade One regatta was filled out by a competitive fleet including world number one and teams from the USA, Canada, France, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia. After a slow start to the round-robin, we picked up the pace enough to secure our place in the quarter-finals, where we faced the Canadians. After winning the first match, we couldn’t get another win on the table, ending up 2-1 and seeing us fight it out in the 5th to 8th round-robin. We then faced teams from the USA and France to decide on the final placings, coming away with two wins and one loss, which placed us in 6th overall out of the 11 teams. Taking this was our first time match racing the Swedish Match 40s, we were pretty happy with our result, knowing what we needed to work on for the following event in the same boats.
Thompson Cup – New York – August 8 – 11
The second event of the series took us across the bay to the Thompson Cup hosted by the Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club. The World Sailing Grade One regatta saw many of the same competitors as the Oakcliff International the week before, with the addition of a team from Brazil. We improved our round-robin results from the previous regatta, placing us in 5th overall. We then had a good quarter-final against the famous Guardians of the Monohull team, coming away with a 3-0 win and progressing to the semi-finals. Unfortunately, the wind died during our semi-finals against Rossi and his team from France, meaning that the only race we finished counted, which put us in third overall. Skipper Zac West commented:
“We learnt so much during the first regatta; it was fantastic to see the team come together and improve race on race! This is our first World Tour Podium, and we are so happy!”
Chicago Grand Slam – August 16 – 18
The third event in the series took the team interstate to Illinois for the Chicago Grand Slam, hosted by the Chicago Yacht Club. The World Sailing Grade Two regatta saw the field of competitors cut to just eight teams to fight it out in the Tom 28s. The regatta started off with glamour conditions for the round-robin, coming away second overall and progressing through the quarter-finals 3-2 against Garreta and his team from France. The Windy City then lived up to its name with 25+ knot winds and ocean-like swell made worse by the seawall bouncing waves back onto the course. We then faced world number one, Chris Poole and his team, in a wild semi-final, resulting in a snapped forestay and a 3-1 result, which put us against Rossi in the petite finals. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be, losing 2-0, placing us fourth.
Detroit Cup – August 22-25
The team then took the Amtrak train from Chicago to Detroit for the fourth and final stage of the US Grand Slam Series hosted by Bayview Yacht Club. The World Sailing Grade Two took place on the border of the US and Canada on board the club’s Ultimate 20s. The light wind, strong currents, and river venue made for some tactical racing! Skipper Zac West commented:
“It was tricky conditions; there was often more wind in the middle of the river, but that meant more current working against you. Meanwhile, the shallow riverbank had less current but hardly any wind. Races were won and lost on which trade-off worked best!”
Despite the challenging conditions and unfamiliar boats, we advanced to the quarter-finals, becoming the only team to take a race against world number one Chris Poole and his team. Another strong performance against the French team skipped by Garretta, which saw Sail+ Racing progress 2-0 to the semi-finals, where we had a rematch against Poole and his team. After two tight matches in very light conditions, we unfortunately lost 2-0 and saw ourselves versus Callahan and his team in the petite finals. There were several attempted races for the petite finals in the light winds, which were all called off due to the lack of wind. Eventually, racing was called off, and the results were decided based on the round-robin, seeing Sail+ Racing finish fourth. Trimmer Jameson Prescott commented:
“Although we didn’t get a chance to fight for third, we are stoked to be the only non-American team to make the finals!“
Looking Ahead
With a third, two-fourths and a sixth, the team finished third overall in the US Grand Slam Series out of the 17 teams competing from seven countries! Sail+ Racing continues to establish itself among the world’s elite match racing teams. The lessons learned from this campaign will fuel the preparations for the next major events on the World Match Racing Tour calendar! We have now set our sights on higher goals and even stronger performances!
A massive thank you to our teammates, training partners, hosts, and supporters for making this campaign possible! Stay tuned for what’s next as we continue our journey towards the top of our sport!
Follow Our Journey
For updates, behind-the-scenes content, and upcoming regattas, follow Sail+ Racing on social media and our website. Let’s keep the momentum going!
You can see the results from the four regattas by clicking the links below
- Oakcliff International
- Thompson Cup
- Chicago Match Cup
- Detroit Cup
- US Grand Slam Series Overall Results
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