2018 Competitors (in Alphabetical Order)

Will Boulden - AUS Performance Sprint Sports World Sailing Ranking: 16 Crew: Josh Wijohn (Main Trim), Taylor Balogh (Bow) Home Yacht Club: Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club We have been sailing together in various events for the past 18 months, myself and Josh have competed in Europe, America, New Zealand and Australia previously. Past Experience at the D Cup: 2017 was a fantastic event and myself and Josh, both thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The hospitality of the BYC is world class, and the hummers at the bar are outstanding. We are very excited to be back for 2018! Four International Grade 2 wins: Asia Pacific Cup 2014 & 2015, HARKEN International, OM International Multiple International Grade W/2 finals: EUROSAF European Championship, University World Championships, Warren Jones Youth Regatta, MUSTO International, Youth Match Racing Worlds Clare Constanzo - AUS World Sailing Ranking: 6 (Women's Ranking) Crew: Jess Angus (Main trimmer/Tactician), Hannah Lanz (Bow), Ruby Scholten (Trimmer) Home Yacht Club: Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club We are all Australians between the ages of 20-22 who began match racing at the Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club Youth Development program under the guidance of Coaches Tom and Katie Spithill. In our time sailing together we have participated at the 2017 Youth Match Racing Worlds in Newport Beach, California where we placed 7th and first female team and skipper. Later on in 2017 we competed at our first WIM (Women's International Maseries) event in Busan, South Korea. Early 2018 we won the Hardy Cup Youth International Regatta. We are the current Australian Women's Match Racing Champions. Currently we are competing at the GKSS Match Cup Sweden - Women's Trophy where 5 international teams were invited to compete at this event in the M32 catamarans. Our next event is the Governor's Cup in Newport Beach, California. William Curtiss - USA Pickle Rick Racing World Sailing Ranking: 237 Crew: RJ Porter (Middle), Wade Wagner (Bow) Home Yacht Club: Chicago Yacht Club William Curtiss (Helm), RJ Porter (Middle), and Wade Wagner (Bow) have been sailing together for roughly 4 years. Since competing at the Chicago Match Race Center throughout High School, they have been able to get 4th place at the 2017 Chicago Match Grand Slam and 7th at the 2017 Harken Championships. RJ and William go to school together at the College of Charleston where they have won the Fowle Trophy in both 2016 and 2017. Though they have never sailed in Detroit they are pumped to do some world class match racing in the Midwest! Will Cyr - USA World Sailing Ranking: N/A Crew: Matthew Declercq Home Yacht Club: Bayview Yacht Club Hailing from Bayview Yacht Club, Will Cyr and Matthew Declercq have been racing together for over 15 years. Both sailors grew up racing in the club's junior sailing program and have a storied history of racing as a team and occasionally rivals (on the collegiate circuit). At its peak, the team was ranked 2nd in the USA in the Youth Match race rankings, raking in multiple podium finishes in Grade 3 events while holding their own at Grade 2s. The duo is reuniting after a brief break from the match racing circuit which began when Will Cyr moved to the California focusing on professional Hydrofoil Kite Racing - a newly minted Olympic Sailing discipline. In the meantime, Matthew Declercq has continued honing his match racing skills running the foredeck for Bayview Member Ryan Seago. The duo is looking forward to returning to the circuit at their home venue. Timmy Dickey is new to the match racing team, but has raced extensively with Matthew Declercq around the nation and as well as overseas. It will be Timmy's first Detroit Cup and he is looking forward to eking every last bit of boat speed out of the Ultimate 20's in the middle position. Nick Egnot-Johnson - NZL KNOTS Racing World Sailing Ranking: 106 Crew: Sam Barnett (Main), Zak Merton (Trim) Home Yacht Club: Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron KNOTS racing formed in February this year, comprising Nick Egnot-Johnson (helm), Sam Barnett, Zak Merton and Bradley McLaughlin. So far as a team we have finished 5th at the Nespresso Youth International, 1st at the NZ Youth Match Racing Trials, 5th at the OM International Grade 2 and 4th at the 2018 Youth Match Racing Worlds. We are all members or the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and are in our second year of their match racing programmes. Before this Nick sailed 49er, finishing in the top 10 at the 2016 Sailing World Cup Final and Sam and Zak were in 470 together, winning Nationals in Aus and NZ. Nick grew up sailing out of Murray's Bay in Auckland, and Sam and Zak from TYPBC in Tauranga. We are excited about the Grand Slam series and hope to achieve some good results as a team, increase our experience and build our ranking. Chris Poole - USA Riptide Racing World Sailing Ranking: 29 Crew: Home Yacht Club: Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club Chris Poole grew up in Falmouth, Maine where he learned to sail at age 10 at Portland Yacht Club. He first got his feet wet with match racing when he was an intern at the Chicago Match Race Center in 2011. In 2012 Chris launched the Riptide Racing and their campaign for the World Match Race Tour. Since then the team has achieved a personal best ranking of 19th in the world and 1st in the United States. Coming off a successful 2017 season that saw Riptide take 2nd in the U.S. Grand Slam Series and successfully defend the 46th Seawanhaka Cup. They hope to continue their success into 2018, which will be the teams 6th season on the match race circuit. Riptide hopes to reclaim their spot as the #1 U.S. Match Racing Team, and return to the top 20 in the world this year Pearson Potts - USA Yankee Creole Racing World Sailing Ranking: 26 Crew: Max Lopez, Jeremy Macan. Home Yacht Club: Yankee Creole Racing returns to the Detroit Cup for the second consecutive year looking to improve on its previous 4th place finish. The team is more hungry than ever as it continues to climb into the elite of the sport. The team was crowned U.S. Match Racing Champions last year and has put a lot of mileage practicing in Swedish Match 40's, Sonars and J22's. Most recently ranked 26th in the world, Yankee Creole Racing is based in sailing's Mecca: Newport, RI. Pearson Potts has teamed up with Jersey's finest sailors Max Lopez and Jeremy Macan. Ryan Seago - USA World Sailing Ranking: 124 Crew: Matt Graham, Chris Cyr Home Yacht Club: Bayview Yacht Club This team has competed in various match race events around the country over the last number of years as helm or crew. However, this will be our first event sailing together. We are excited for the challenge and are happy to be sailing the refurbished U20's once again at Bayview. 2017 Detroit Cup Grade 2 - 2nd Place 2017 & 2015 BYC Spring Invitational Grade 3 - 1st Place Finn Tapper - AUS World Sailing Ranking: 52 Crew: Harry Price (Main Trim), Cameron Seagreen (Bow) Home Yacht Club: Cruising Club of Australia Finn Tapper is a member of Australia's leading youth sailing academy at the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia. He began sailing Optimists before transitioning into the 29er class. It was not until 2016 that Finn took up match racing joining the CYCA's development program. Since then has he has progressed to World #52, having won his first international competition at the Grade 3 CentrePort Wellington International in 2017 at age 16. This season Finn has achieved podium results in all of the youth sailing events within Australia and New Zealand including the Harken, Nespresso, Centreport and Darwin International regattas and is looking to achieve similar success here in America. Finn is also a three times NSW State Teams Racing champion and won Australian National Teams Racing Championship in 2017. Finn's crew have achieved plenty of success in their own right with Harry Price on main trim and Cameron Seagreen on bow. Harry Price is currently the highest ranked match racer in the world, and both he and Cameron have been competing on the 2018 world matching tour. For the last two years and Harry and Cameron have won the Detroit Cup and are hoping to defend their titles once again in 2018. James Wilson - NZL RNSYS Performance Program World Sailing Ranking: 62 Crew: Marco Hull (main), Dingo (trim), Logan Andresen (bow), Tim Snedden (pit) Home Yacht Club: RNZYS Recent results: 5th at New Zealand Match Race Championship (Waitemata Harbour, NZ), 2nd at 2018 Nespresso Youth International Match Racing Cup (Waitemata Harbour,NZ), 2nd at 2017 Harken Youth International Match Racing Championship (Royal Prince Alfred YC, AUS)