LYC Places Second at 2009 Wilson Trophy
May 2, 2009
West Kirby Sailing Club, England
Team LYC (blue sails) Battles West Kirby in the 2009 Wilson
Team Larchmont Yacht Club placed second at the 2009 Wilson Trophy, also known as the British Open Team Racing Championship and “The Wimbledon of Sailing.” The LYC team, who were also runners up at the 2008 event, featured Danny Pletsch and Cardwell “Flea” Potts, with 2008 Olympians Tim Wadlow and Carrie Howe and former All American crews Ery Largay and Dani Neri.
LYC led the 42-team fleet after the completion of the preliminary round of races by winning 12 of its first 14 matches. LYC won its quarterfinal matchup against the British University Sailing Association (BUSA) 2-1 before dispatching U.S. rivals Woonsocket Rockets 2-0 in the semifinals.
The finals featured an epic matchup versus the hometown West Kirby Hawks. With winds gusting at 20-30 knots and storm sails used on the Fireflies, West Kirby won the first match with a 1-2-5 combination. LYC stormed back to win the next two races in the best of five series. Race 4 saw the home team execute a double-mark trap at the bottom of the course (where two West Kirby boats prevented two Larchmont boats from rounding the mark, allowing the third West Kirby boat to pass) and West Kirby held on for a 2-3-4 win before taking the deciding Race 5. For hundreds of photos and detailed recaps of the finals, please visit the event website.
