Riptide Wins the 162nd NYYC Annual Regatta Presented by Rolex

Over this past weekend the 162nd NYYC Annual Regatta Presented by Rolex was raced on the waters of Narraganset Bay in Newport Rhode Island. This was only Riptide Racing's 2nd M32 Series Event and an important one with some of the top U.S. teams competing at it. The team came to the event with a few new faces but a bit

more multi hull experience that proved

invaluable as racing was close and intense

all the way to the last race.

Day 1

Racing was planned for Mackerel Cove across the harbor from Sail Newport and Fort Adams. Racing in a 10-12kts southerly and Riptide came out of the blocks firing on all cylinders taking a strong 2nd place vying for 1st the whole time with Team Bronco. The rest of the the day would follow a similar trend with a 2,3 in the next two races. But the last race of the day saw the breeze die as rain began to fall on the course, in a very comfortable lead all the boats came to a stop. But when the breeze did return it was not on our side of the course and Riptide slipped from 1st all the way to 6th. It was a tough way to end day one but team spirits were high as we felt fast in every race.

Day 2

Morning came and showed perfect blue skies and white cotton candy clouds but the wind was howling. Race committee decided on a mandatory 1st reef and helmets be worn by all teams. As we got out to the race course it was clear that it was going to be a wet and wild day for the team. And by the time the first race got underway the wind was gusting into the high 20's and it looked to be a match race between Liftoff and Riptide. Riptide got the early jump and took the lead into the 1st run and never looked back thanks to strong and conservative calls by tactician Ian Liberty and good information from the rest of the team. With a win in the 1st race Riptide was into the lead for the event but little did we know that it would be the only race of the day. Race 2 was started in a stronger breeze but it would only make it passed the 1st mark as the lead boat Liftoff flipped in very dramatic fashion. Luckily no one was hurt despite 3 people falling from more than 20 feet in the air, but this would lead to racing being abandoned for the day.

This was not the convincing win Riptide was looking for but knowing how we sailed with a new team we are very pleased. Now we shift our focus on using this win to help garner interest in sponsorship and getting our team it's own boat to train with. The next event is in a months time at the NYYC Race Week and we need help to make that event happen.

THANK YOU to all of our supporters who have believed in Riptide Racing and stood behind us 100%. We still have a long way to go, but we couldn’t have gotten this far without your support, for which we’re forever grateful. What we have showed is just part of Riptide Racing’s potential –with the necessary tools, we have the capacity to go all the way.