The 2009 Blue Chip Regatta had two winners. Vincent Porter sailed a terrific series to win the regatta. Sam Rogers also sailed a terrific series but unfortunately he had a misunderstanding about a class rule. There was no protest, Sam voluntarily reported to the Race Committee.

It was brought to Sam Rodgers attention that you had to race with the same spinnaker for the entire event. He thought the rule applied to each race of the event, not the whole series. After learning what the actual rule was, Sam asked the RC to withdraw him from races 2 and 3. It turns out Sam used a newer white spinnaker in the first race and then an older black spinnaker in races 2 and 3. Then he used his white spinnaker for race 4. The black spinnaker is a little older and is of a different material than the white one, but they both are the same size and shape. His preference was to use the black spinnaker when there was more wind and the white newer spinnaker in the lighter winds. 

Realizing he broke a class rule, Sam and his team withdrew from races 2 & 3, when he used the black spinnaker.  When word spread to the competitors about what Sam had done, they were surprised and felt the penalty for his misunderstanding of the class rule was too severe. The competitors were hoping there was another option for Sam. They wanted an solution that did not penalize Sam to such an extent.  However, it was Sam's choice to stand by his decision to withdraw from the races.

Sam is to be congratulated for not only his great racing, but also for his exemplary sportsmanship. He won more than the regatta, he forever won the respect of all his competitors.

See Full Results of the Blue Chip Regatta. Note that Sam would have won the event if he had not withdrawn from the two races.