Six teams competed in 4th Edition of Corinthian YC’s Thayer Trophy Women’s Invitational Team Race, June 22-23, 2024, a 3v3 format with spinnakers that got spicy when the breeze came up for the finals.

With winds gusting into the 20s and double-point scoring evening the playing field for the finals, a strong New York Yacht Club team sealed the deal in the last 10 yards of a dramatic race against Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association to win the 2024 National Women’s Invitational Team Race for the Thayer Trophy hosted by Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead.

New York YC came into the second day with six wins and only two losses. PRO Will Bailey and his race committee team held 80 percent of the first two round robins on day one, and although there were still five races to left to sail to determine the top four, New York had punched their ticket to the finals.

After a long wind delay on the second day of racing, the breeze began to fill from the south and built steadily to 15 knots with gusts in the low 20s. That made things particularly sporty on the downwind legs. Racing was tight, spinnaker-handling mistakes were costly, and there were plenty of opportunities for conversions.

All of that came into play in the final race between Chesapeake and New York. Winning positions changed multiple times in the last few minutes of the race. Chesapeake had a tenuous 2, 3, 4 combination a stone’s throw from the finish when New York went on the attack, forcing one of the Chesapeake boats to duck and slowing another enough to barely eke out a 1, 4, 5 to win the race and the event.

“Boat handling was key as the wind came up,” said New York Team Captain Emily Maxwell. “There were definitely moments when that was a challenge. Our team really had to stay focused.”

The loss was costly for Chesapeake as Eastern Yacht Club came on strong in the finals to edge them out on points to take third overall. Newport Harbor Yacht Club, took second, two wins behind New York.

Looking to create more opportunity for women sailors to compete at a high level, the Corinthian Yacht Club introduced the Thayer Trophy regatta in 2021. It is the only women’s 3v3 team racing event held in keelboats with spinnakers, which add a degree of difficulty that has become a hallmark in the upper echelons of team-racing competitions. Racing is held in club-provided Sonars, 23-foot, one-design keelboats typically sailed with four or five crew.

Thayer Trophy 2024 Final Results:
1st New York Yacht Club
2nd Newport Harbor Yacht Club
3rd Eastern Yacht Club
4th Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association
5th Royal Thames Yacht Club
6th Corinthian Yacht Club

THAYER TROPHY 2024 TEAM ROSTERS

CHESAPEAKE BAY YRA
Jenn Calhoun
Gwynie Dunlevy
Alli Gutenkunst
Ashley Love
Jane Millman
Sara Morgan Watters
Martha Parker
Saidee Price
Katja Sertl
Sunny Sturmer
Sophie Taczak
Janel Zarkowsky

CORINTHIAN YACHT CLUB
Miranda Bakos
Megan Bamford
Emily Dellenbaugh
Sarah deSilva
Karen Fallon
Karen Finocchio
Emily Gonzales
Lisa Keith
Ery Largay
Jane Loutrel
Peg MacMaster
Elise Mazareas Nash
Christina Pandapas
Colleen Guertin Parenteau
Kelsey Shakin
Juliana Testa

EASTERN YACHT CLUB
Rachel Foster
Julia Fuller
Ashley Hoguet
Alix Israel
Lane Kaeyer
Jen Lambertz
Laura Lee
Hannah Lynn
Kelly Marie
Lilly McGrath
Debbie Noble
Hannah Polster
Katie Roger
Megan Strehlow
Kim Sturges

NEW YORK YACHT CLUB
Taylor Kirkpatrick
Caroline Levesque
Sara Mac Swanson
Emily Maxwell
Blair McCarthy
Maddy McGrath
Abigayle Konys Moreno
Lindsay Powers
Julia Reynolds
Ann Sheridan
Allie Tillinghast

NEWPORT HARBOR YC
Erin Batchelor
Haley Dahl
Skylar Jacobsen
Jenn Lancaster
Sally Mace
Mandy McDonnell
Katie McDowell
Amy Sabourin
Carolyn Smith
Payton Thompson
Victoria Thompson
Colin Voigt

ROYAL THAMES YC
Catherine Brooke
Ella Brown
Sammie Evans
Alice Kidd
Jemima Lawson
Philippa Lawson
Alice Lucy
Gabi Mascio
Bethan Matthew
Macey McCann
Zoe Nieveen
Emily Wiltshire

Event details: https://thayertrophy.com