Over the September 26-28 weekend, Larchmont Yacht Club hosted US Sailing’s US Team Racing Championship for the George R. Hinman Trophy. Widely considered the most competitive and most prestigious team racing regatta in the country, as third-time hosts of the Hinman, the club began planning two years ago with the aim of offering an elevated experience for sailors and spectators.

The Yachting Committee and Event Chair Buttons Padin and Co-Chairs Ted Ferrarone and Graham Landy worked with US Sailing to determine that this year’s Hinman would be comprised of the 14 best team racing teams from the US, competing in the club’s fleet of z420s, augmented by six more borrowed from Kings Point Merchant Marine Academy. Having a total of 24 boats would allow eight teams to be racing at any given time, with only six ashore to optimize the sailing for all competitors.

The previous two Hinmans hosted by LYC in 2005 and 2012 were sailed in the outer harbor with rotations from a floating dock and all the action well out of everyone’s view. To bring the action closer to shore, the club decided to clear out the closest section of the mooring field—largely the Ideal 18 and Sonar fleets with a limited number of member boats being hauled or temporarily relocated—and sail “stadium style” right off the front docks. To enable this, Marine Facilities “dropped” over 40 moorings—disconnecting the mooring lines from the anchor chain and using line to “daisy chain” the disconnected anchors and chains so they could quickly be reconnected post-Hinman.

With the mooring field cleared, the next plan was to have rotations off the Club’s brand-new front docks, offer spectating from the Veranda and the Tiki Bar, and offer the competitors the amenities of the Club when not racing. The plan was put into effect and on Thursday, September 25, the teams arrived, practiced, and got ready to compete the following morning.

Late September on Long Island Sound is more likely to offer strong winds, but in 2025 this was not the case. On Friday, a 5-6 knot northerly welcomed the sailors’ 1000 first start, only to last about 90 minutes before dying. Sailors came ashore and an hour later a southerly filled in allowing for another handful of races before it, too, died. An hour later the northerly returned and there were races until it again faded about 1700. Despite this, Race Committee was able to complete 58 races.

Saturday was scheduled to be even lighter but there was in fact wind and Race Committee ran 89 of the 91 races required to complete a 14-team round robin. Nails were bitten and heads scratched looking at Sunday’s even lighter forecast, with a busy schedule of a gold/silver round robin followed by quarter final, semi-final, and final knock out rounds to complete the regatta. In team race Notices of Race and Sailing Instructions, the Organizing Authority is authorized to change racing formats if needed to complete the regatta, and that was done. The initial 6-team gold round robin was completed before the silver one, but to save time, it was agreed to discontinue the silver races, revert to the initial round robin results to pick the seventh and eighth teams to join the six gold teams in a quarter final knockout series.

After the quarters were done, the final four teams went into a semi-final knockout round (first to two wins) with the finals raced first to three wins.

The good news was that Sunday’s southerly filled in for these final rounds providing spectacular racing and spectating. The starting boat was on the far side of the race area positioning the key mark 4, the last leg, and the finish of each race immediately off the seawall. Highly experienced team racers Marly Isler, Cardwell Potts, and Clay Bischoff served as commentators describing and explaining the racing to hundreds of Members and sailors at the Tiki Bar as the action took place literally right in front of their eyes. The “oohs” and “ahs” heard as boats executed dramatic moves could be heard all over the Club’s grounds.

It was truly amazing team racing. With the three boats from one team vigorously fighting off the competitor’s three boats, the maneuvering, “plays,” and tactics provided a master class in team racing. It was also an example of superior boat handling as these 84 sailors, mostly in their 20s, put on a clinic on boat handling as they turned, stopped and started their sailboats as if they were playthings. It was inspiring to watch this display of seamanship.

In the end, four teams made the final four: two-time Hinman champions Los Huevos was a group of Harvard and Boston College alums including twins Justin and Mitchell Callahan, former LYC Jr. Instructor Lachlan McGranahan, Marabella Marlo, Sara Schumann, and Libby Redmond, came out of the round robin with an 11-2 scoreline. They were the team to beat. Also in the top four were the teams from San Diego Yacht Club, Rock City Cruising Club with many Yale alums, and Barely Ready comprised of Brown and Tufts alums.

In the first-to-two-wins quarter finals, three heats were quickly settled in two races: top-seed Los Huevos dispatched the eight-seeded team from the US Naval Academy, sixth seed Barely Ready upset third seed The Keystones, and fourth seed SDYC eliminated fifth seed Bonesaw (the “older” team that included LYC’s Graham Landy). The seventh seeded Rock City Cruising Club upset the second seed Bad Romance in three races showing that nothing is guaranteed in the Hinman.

The first-to-three semis were sailed in the building southerly drawing every eye to the racing. Los Huevos continued to be unstoppable beating Rock City in three straight races, but it took SDYC four races to claim their finals spot over Barely Ready.

Then, with over a hundred people crowding the Tiki Bar and front lawn and commentary fueling the spectators’ enthusiasm, in the regatta’s 138th race, Los Huevos swept SDYC in three hard-fought races ending the regatta with a 1-2-3 finish to claim their third consecutive Hinman title. Los Huevos is only the second team to Hinman threepeat following the legendary New York Yacht Club Silver Panda team that included Clay Bischoff.

They say it takes a community to make a great regatta, and it did! There were nearly sixty Member volunteers. Ultimately, this Hinman was an extension of LYC’s mission as a leader in the world of yacht racing. Thank you all who volunteered, raced and came to cheer.

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