California Dreamin’ Series 2025

Nicole Breault wins LBYC stop of the 2025 California Dreamin' Series

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2025 California Dreamin' Series - photo © Long Beach Yacht Club

Long Beach Yacht Club Commodore Lisa Meier awarded the Barney Flam Perpetual Trophy on Sunday to Nicole Breault from the St. Francis Yacht Club for her first-place finish in LBYC’s final stop of the 2025 California Dreamin’ Series.

The Trophy is named after the legendary Long Beach sailor, past LBYC Commodore, and 11-time Congressional Cup competitor Barney Flam, and features the silver cup awarded to Flam for placing second in the 1970 Congressional Cup. Flam’s son Steve, a well-known match racing coach and 30+ time Congressional Cup competitor himself, helped to present the trophy.

2025 California Dreamin’ Series – photo © Long Beach Yacht Club

The California Dreamin’ Series kicks off the season for Long Beach match racing. Commodore Meier noted, “The CDS finale is the start of LBYC’s major match racing regatta series. CDS leads into Ficker Cup, and then to the grandfather of match racing, The Congressional Cup, which celebrates 60 years of match racing excellence this year. LBYC is proud to be the Mecca of match racing. The consistent, predictable breeze and sea conditions in Long Beach provide the best sailing for all classes of boats.”

CDS is a cooperative effort between four West Coast yacht clubs, each of which hosts a two-day regatta. Prior stops in the CDS Series were at San Diego Yacht Club in January, Balboa Yacht Club in February, and St. Francis Yacht Club in March. These World Sailing Grade 3 open match race events serve an important role in the development of up-and-coming match racers, with many moving on to national and international competition.

2025 California Dreamin’ Series © Long Beach Yacht Club

Breault and her crew of Allie Blecher, Joe Coyne, Cameron Feves, Dylan Finestone, Sidney Gathrid, and Cade Morris sailed against seven other teams on the Long Beach Sailing Foundation’s fleet of matching Catalina 37 sailboats. Each skipper raced against each of the other skippers twice in the two-day double round robin format. The sailors enjoyed near ideal conditions on The Congressional Cup Stadium course just off the Long Beach Veterans Memorial Pier with clear skies and 6 to 14 knots of breeze.

The competition was tight with Breault and her crew scoring 11 wins and 3 losses. Justin Law, sailing for Newport Harbor Yacht Club, and Matthew Whitfield, sailing for Plym Yacht Club, tied with 10 wins and 4 losses. The tiebreaker resulted in the award of second place to Law and third place to Whitfield.

While not getting spots on the podium in Long Beach, Siena Nichols and Shane Young came to the Long Beach stop tied for second place in the California Dreamin’ Series. Nichols, sailing for Balboa Yacht Club, placed first at Balboa and third in San Diego. Young, sailing for Long Beach Yacht Club, took first place at San Diego and third in San Francisco. Young’s fourth place finish in Long Beach was sufficient to seal the win in the four-regatta series. First place in the series also earned him the coveted invitation to one of the eight slots in LBYC’s 2026 Ficker Cup. The top two finishers in Ficker Cup advance to LBYC’s flagship event, The Congressional Cup, a World Championship event on the World Match Racing Tour.

Final Results at the Long Beach Yacht Club Stop:

Nicole Breault, St. Francis Yacht Club, 11-3
Justin Law, Newport Harbor Yacht Club, 10-4 (tiebreaker)
Matthew Whitfield, Plym Yacht Club, 10-4 (tiebreaker)
Shane Young, Long Beach Yacht Club, 8-6
Derek Webster, New York Yacht Club/Shelter Island Yacht Club, 6.5-7 (half point damage penalty)
Siena Nichols, Balboa Yacht Club, 5-9
Cormac Murphy, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club, 4-10
Lindsey Baab, St. Francis Yacht Club, 1-13