{"id":82606,"date":"2025-09-16T17:51:58","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T21:51:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=82606"},"modified":"2025-09-16T18:09:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T22:09:55","slug":"wilson-trophy-team-racing-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/racing\/wilson-trophy-team-racing-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside the Magic of Wilson Trophy Team Racing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-4-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image disable-lazyload\" alt=\"West Kirby Sailing Club\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-4-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-4-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-4-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-4-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-4.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">At the West Kirby Sailing Club\u2019s venerable Wilson Trophy in England, invited teams amplify the team-racing action.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Dan Booth<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>there\u2019s a magic that stirs when like-minded people come together to embrace a common passion\u2014whatever, wherever and whenever that might be. For the disciples of team racing, the wherever is a small suburb of Liverpool, in northwestern England, specifically the West Kirby Sailing Club. The whenever is that meandering time between the first warning signal and the Sunday-night debrief, with nothing to do but talk, sing, dance and laugh until we cry, before doing it again a bit too early the next day. The whatever, of course, is the Wilson Trophy, justly hailed as \u201cthe world\u2019s best team-racing event,\u201d which offers refuge for one long and spectacular weekend where sailing is the most important thing in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe id=\"x8aa2rgac1\" src=\"https:\/\/Sailingworld.dragonforms.com\/x8aa2rgac1\" scrolling=\"no\" style=\"width:100%;height:165px;border:none;overflow:hidden;\"><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p>In conversing, \u00adreminiscing, hypothesizing about this sport we love, we fill the space with past, present and future. Sitting at the West Kirby Sailing Club\u2019s windows as the sun sets over the reservoir, dubbed \u201cThe Theatre of Dreams,\u201d we can sit next to Colin Merrick, who has been making the pilgrimage to West Kirby since 2003 and who is perhaps the best to ever do it. In the same space, we can turn around to talk shop and compare the different styles of different teams from different countries with the kids who are absolutely dominating the team-racing scene today, the ones who have yet to graduate from their universities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019m talking about the likes of brothers Mitchell and Justin Callahan, Lachlain McGranahan, Sara Schumann, Libby Redmond and Marbella Marlo\u2014representing Biscayne Bay YC this particular weekend, but stateside they are known as \u201cLos Huevos.\u201d Together, they are the best team-race squad on the planet today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I have been at this team-race thing for more than two decades, counting six Wilson Trophy appearances, a dozen Hinman Trophies, countless Team Race Midwinters and everything between. Or at least what I can remember at this point. I have coached 29 ICSA National Championship events and sailed in a few as well. I\u2019m sure most tenured historians of the sport, such as the late Ken Legler, would find the examples I\u2019m searching for, but here on the shores of West Kirby, I have certainly never seen a team like this year\u2019s champion. The Biscayne powerhouse is all that, and then some.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To unspool the significance of this team\u2019s current prowess, the next best living time capsule of past and present team-race lore is Amanda Callahan (not related to Justin and Mitchell)\u2014coach at Roger Williams University and multi Wilson, Hinman and Team Race World Champion, who, long ago, sailed with the team called Silver Panda. The Pandas held a piece of team-racing history as the first\/only team to win the \u201cTriple Crown\u201d of team racing: winning the Wilson, the Hinman, and the Worlds in the same calendar year, 2007. Take it away, Madame Callahan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Team Racing Through and For the Ages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>I skipped my college graduation to attend my first ever Wilson Trophy in 2003. When we arrived in West Kirby, an idyllic town on the shore of the River Dee, with its classic English gardens and horrible British food, we were transfixed. It was love at first sight: a man-made marine lake created in 1899 to allow sailing and windsurfing when the river runs completely dry at low tide. It\u2019s the perfect playground for team racing, with flat water and reliable breeze, and a walkway around the perimeter that allows for up-close \u00adspectating and heckling. Back then, regatta organizers erected grandstands on the promenade, making sailing a real spectator sport. Commentary by Legler and others blared from speakers lining the south end of the lake, enticing any passersby to check out the racing and help make sense of the colored sails \u00adwhipping around. The marine lake is magic.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At that time, the regatta had been run for more than a half-century, and we had never seen anything like it\u2014an entire fleet of boats used exclusively for the regatta, and there was a dedicated trailer with TVs displaying the upcoming race schedule, the leaderboard, and recent race results. A digital display on the committee boat showed the race number and countdown time into the next start. Umpires wore black-and-white-striped jerseys. All this was very cutting-edge at the time. Fifty years of institutional knowledge in running the event meant that the racecourse length was set with \u00adscientific precision. We had enough time to sail the course, rotate at the change dock, and arrive at the start line with about four \u00adminutes until their next start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And that was just the racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n        <section class=\"hydra-container\">\n\n\t\t\t                <div class=\"hydra-canvas\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-7-1024x768.jpg\" class=\"hydra-image\" alt=\"Lachlain McGranahan and Marbella Marlo\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1400px) 100vw, 1400px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-7-1024x768.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-7-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-7-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-7-1536x1152.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Wilosn-2025-7.jpg 2000w\" \/>                <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n            <figcaption class=\"caption margin_top_xs full border_1 hydra-figcaption\">\n                <span class=\"hydra-image-caption\">Lachlain McGranahan and Marbella Marlo, of Biscayne Bay YC\u2019s Los Huevos, are all smiles after a convincing team win.<\/span>\n                <span class=\"article_image_credit italic margin_right_xs\">Dan Booth<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t            <\/figcaption>\n        <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Lore and Allure of West Kirby<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The traditional Wilson Trophy dinner on Saturday night was a next-level social event, with guest speakers and wine waves, and people dropping coins in your drink so that you may heroically down your beverage and save the queen from drowning. After the Brits headed home, the American contingent spent Sunday night at the local Ring O\u2019 Bells pub cementing hazy weekend \u00admemories into Wilson lore.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The West Kirby Sailing Club has now been hosting the Wilson for more than 75 years. This year, 34 teams arrived from across England, Ireland and the US. These teams span the ages\u2014a few high school teams and a lot of university teams, and then at the other end of the spectrum, there are teams like the West Kirby Hawks, with members who have sailed every Wilson for the past 25 years. You can do the math on that. Sailors love this event so much that they write it into their work contracts; Wilson Trophy weekend off is nonnegotiable. And, by the way, there are plenty of pets named Wilson.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Silver Pandas can now be easily considered old-school, and while the American teams have won the past five editions of the Wilson Trophy, which speaks to the strength of the state of team racing in the US, it\u2019s Los Huevos who are not just dominating team racing, but redefining greatness as well. The Callahan brothers and their Biscayne Bay posse are not only athletes, but they are also \u00adinheritors and innovators of a legacy driven by a love of the game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Callahan twins have been winning team-racing world championships since 2017\u2014back in their Optimist days. They won the CJ Buckley Team Race, the C420 Team Racing National Championship in back to back years. In 2022, they won the High School Team Racing Championship for the Baker Trophy in their senior year. And at the end of their freshmen year of college, they won the College Sailing Team Racing National Championship. Months later, they won the Hinman and the US Team Racing Nationals\u2014on their first try. In 2024, they repeated as Hinman champions, and in 2025, they reclaimed their ICSA Team Racing title. It should come as no surprise, then, that at their first appearance at the Wilson Trophy\u2014the British Team Racing Nationals\u2014they smashed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Where will they go next with their team racing? How will they continue to etch their names in the team-racing history books? Will they try to take down Colin\u2019s six wins at the Hinman? No \u00admatter what, the enchantment of West Kirby will be calling them back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Team racing fans see the Wilson Trophy at West Kirby SC as the chance to compete with the best\u2014who only keep improving.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":82608,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Chris Klevan and Amanda Callahan","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","alternate_title_newsletter":"","alternate_content_newsletter":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[159],"tags":[329,3003,177,178,3031],"class_list":["post-82606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-racing","tag-europe","tag-print-summer-2025","tag-racing","tag-sailboat-racing","tag-wilson-trophy"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82606"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82606\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82608"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}