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Alastair Gifford has taken out the first two events in the 2021 Grand Slam Series, continuing New Zealand's success at these match racing events in the United States.
Gifford and his team of Devon Baker and Frankie Dair won the Detroit Cup, beating local favourite Ryan Seago 3-1 in the final, to add to his victory at the The Chicago Cup earlier this month. Among his crew for the Chicago Cup was former Olympian and America's Cup sailor Gavin Brady.
There are two more events in the Grand Slam series, starting with this weekend's Oakcliff International in New York which will be sailed in Match 40 keelboats.
Gifford's success follows that of Nick Engot-Johnson and his Knots Racing crew in 2018 and Jordan Stevenson and his Team Vento Racing in 2019.
Six teams from four nations completed 79 matches throughout the Detroit Cup, which was sailed in Ultimate 20s. Seago went into the finals series as the top qualifier following a series of four round robin matches sailed in largely light to moderate winds on Lake St Clair.
Gifford won the first match of the finals before Seago struck back but, with a little bit more breeze to work with, Gifford’s team then stepped up their game to win the starts, take control of each first beat, defend their lead, and then extend to win each of the remaining two matches and pocket the $1000 in prizemoney.
“We want to thank our rivals who provided excellent competition for us all week and all at Bayview [Yacht Club] who made this possible," said Gifford, who learned to sail at the Queen Charlotte Yacht Club. "We also want to thank our supporters at home from the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Performance Programme.”
On top of world ranking points, the winner of the Grand Slam series earns a qualification spot at the 2022 Congressional Cup at Long Beach Yacht Club.
Final standings from the 2021 Detroit Cup:
1. Alastair Gifford (NZL)
2. Ryan Seago (USA)
3. James Pinder (GBR)
4. Ruairi Finnegan (IRL)
5. Ansgar Jordan (USA)
6. Sam Bartel (USA)
2021 Grand Slam Series:
August 6-8: The Chicago Cup – Chicago YC – Tom 28
August 19-22: International Match Race for the Detroit Cup – Bayview YC – Ultimate 20
August 27-30: Oakcliff International – Oakcliff Sailing – Match 40
September 1-4: The Thompson Cup – Seawanhaka Corinthian YC – Match 40
