Game time for the Lipton in San Diego

The 110th Challenge for the Sir Thomas Lipton Cup returns to San Diego Yacht Club October 24-26, 2025. Named after legendary yachtsman and tea baron Sir Thomas Lipton, the Lipton Cup is one of the most highly anticipated regattas of the Southern California season. Twelve teams from across the United States and Mexico will race J/105s in a round-robin format.

“The South Bay venue is one of the best places to race on the planet with its flat water and sea breeze,” noted Lipton Cup Event Chair Dave Vieregg.

San Diego Yacht Club has won the Lipton Cup in four consecutive years. The 2025 host club’s team includes Skipper Jake La Dow with Nevin Snow, Chuck Eaton, Erik Shampain, Max Hutcheson, Lucy Wallace, and Jake Reynolds. La Dow, who skippered SDYC to its 2025 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitation Cup win in early September is ready to jump right into another signature regatta closer to home.

“The Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup was a very long event where we did two practice events ahead of racing and sailing for a total of 16 days,” said La Dow. “That is quite a bit of sailing in a short period in a very relevant format to the Lipton Cup. In addition to the sailing we did all summer, we’ve been practicing together in the J/105s to recalibrate to these boats.”

Justin Law has skippered Newport Harbor Yacht Club’s Lipton Cup team since 2019, and that year beat the the host club. His club has stayed near the top of the podium over the past few years finishing 3rd in 2024, 2nd in 2023, 6th in 2022 and 4th in 2021.

“Our team is a rock solid group of sailors,” noted Law. “Having the combined experience onboard is extremely valuable, especially for an event like the Lipton Cup, which is one of the most competitive events and demands consistency from the very first race.

“While our yacht club, like many others, is loaded to the gills with excellent sailors, the team I’ve had the pleasure of sailing with over the past several years does give us the best chance to win the Lipton Cup. Team San Diego is a prime example of having nearly the same team year after year and it’s pretty obvious that their experience has been instrumental with the success they have had.”

While most of this year’s teams have previously competed in the Lipton Cup, there is a new kid on the block, Bayview Yacht Club out of Detroit, Michigan.

“I’m looking forward to seeing how my team holds up against the competition,” shared skipper Hanson Bratton. “It’s never easy to know how you stand until you compete against some of the best.” Bratton will be joined by his crew Alex Hume, Nathan Hollerbach, David Shriner, Todd Jones, and Shay Gualdoni.

Event details – Results – Photos

2025 Entrants: