2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex

[bonnier-admin]

Spirited Challenges from Southern Hemisphere Teams

Newport, R.I., USA (August 25, 2011) – When racing begins on Tuesday, September 13, at the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex, most of the 22 participating yacht club teams will be fresh from racing at the peak of the sailing season in the northern hemisphere. However, three teams – the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, Royal Cape Yacht Club and Yacht Club Argentino – which hail from below the equator, will be coming from winter to summer to race in Swan 42s for the championship title.

“It is an honor for the Yacht Club Argentino (YCA) to participate this coming September,” said Commodore Ricardo Galarce. “We are proud of sharing such an important regatta with well-known clubs from different parts of the world. Besides, it is nice to share with all of them the same objective of competing with fair play and sailing which is what we love doing. We will go to New York Yacht Club’s Harbour Court ready to have fun, but we will be doing our best effort to take the cup back to our beloved YCA in Buenos Aires.”

Galarce explained that even though it is winter in Argentina, the weather is not so cold and the sailors are used to sailing in this season. After the invitation to the event was published in the YCA magazine, any club member who wanted to join the team was encouraged to do so. A team selection was then made taking into account sailing resumes, technical skills and personalities, in order to form a complete, competitive and compatible crew.

Because there was a boat similar to the Swan 42 available for their use in Mar del Plata, the YCA team traveled 400 km to spend a weekend there performing intensive training, “with very good results and lots of learning as regards each of the crew members’ functions and movements,” said Galarce. “We then carried on our training in Buenos Aires, always trying to sail in boats similar to the Swan 42, which we know is an excellent boat, which demands a lot from its crew.”

With only two of the crew having previously sailed in Newport – Santiago Braun and Francisco Billoch who each sailed the Onion Patch Series in 1972 – the YCA team is studying the weather forecasts, tides and winds, in order to gain some local knowledge. And the team hopes to become familiar with the Swan 42 in the short time between their arrival and the start of the Invitational Cup.

“We know it won’t be an easy regatta,” concluded Galarce. “We are proud of being able to sail alongside sailors who belong to the most distinguished sailing clubs in the world. We wish them all good luck, and we hope to share great fun on the water.”

In Australia where the average sailing temperature for the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia’s (CYCA) winter series is 20 degrees Celsius (68 Fahrenheit), sailing is a year-round activity, and all of the CYCA team members race throughout the year in various club events. Most of the CYCA crew that will travel to Rhode Island sailed together for the first time in April on the Corby 49 Vamp in the New South Wales IRC championships, finishing third overall. Vamp then finished second in Division 1 in the recently concluded CYCA Winter series.

“None of us have experience in the Swan 42s although most have sailed in similarly equipped and designed yachts over a range of sizes up to the TP52 class,” said David Fuller, CYCA Team Manager. “Whereas we have not had many opportunities to sail together, most of our crew have continued to sharpen their skills on other boats in the various races and regattas along the Australian coast and overseas.”

CYCA tactician Evan Walker is one of those who has been away from Sydney, having recently been at Weymouth, England, to coach an Elliot 6m team at the 2012 Olympic test event. Before coming to Newport, however, Walker will be racing as tactician in the Cartagena round of the Audi MedCup with an Australian Soto 40 team. “Hopefully the week of sailing as tactician in Spain will have me hitting my straps by the time I arrive in Newport,” said Walker, a CYCA Youth Academy graduate who has seen success as a match racing skipper. “I'm very excited to be competing in the Invitational Cup and I'm sure we'll have an enthusiastic team bonding session on our arrival in Newport.”

David Hudson, skipper of the team from the Royal Cape Yacht Club (RCYC) in South Africa was also at the Olympic test event. “Regarding our preparation for the Invitational Cup, it’s obviously not as convenient for us as it would be if the event took place towards the end of our racing season,” said Hudson. “However, winter training in Cape Town is perfectly feasible from a weather point of view. At 34 degrees south we have a Mediterranean climate with warm dry summers and cold wet winters, and although we have recently had some snow on the mountains just to the east of our sailing waters, Cape Town seldom gets really cold.”

And while none of the RCYC team has any experience racing Swan 42s, they too have been training on a variety of boats of similar size. “We are all looking forward to the challenge,” said Hudson.

John Martin, RCYC’s Commodore and team manager, lived on yachts from the age of eight and cut his teeth in 1971 aboard a new Swan 37 imported to South Africa specifically to do the Cape to Rio race, starting as bowman and working his way back. So it is very apt for him to be sailing a Swan 42 in this regatta, all these years later. Not only is Martin the most famous yachtsman in South Africa but also he is well-known internationally.

“Newport has great memories for me,” said Martin. “During my single- and double-handed sailing career, 1981–1991, I had the honor of winning a few races, most importantly, winning the last leg of the 1986/87 BOC Singlehanded Round the World Race which finished in Newport. It is with great delight that I return with a very competent and competitive sailing team to represent the club of which I have been Commodore for the past three years.”

An official practice for the 22 yacht club teams will take place on Monday, September 12, from 1300-1700, followed by the opening ceremony for the Invitational Cup. Five days of racing will ensue, with the first warning signal scheduled for 1100 each day. The winning team will be confirmed at the conclusion of racing on Saturday, September 17.
In addition to Rolex, which for 2011 and 2013 is the presenting sponsor, Sperry Top-Sider and Nautor’s Swan have also returned, and are joined by Atlantis WeatherGear, as sponsors to enhance the experience of competitors as well as those who will be following the races.

For more information on the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex, visit www.invitationalcup.org. Become a “Friend” of the Invitational Cup on Facebook: www.facebook.com/#!/NYYCInvitationalCup

About The New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex
NYYC’s Harbour Court will host 22 yacht club teams – representing 16 nations from six different continents – with racing on NYYC Swan 42s on Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay from September 10-17, 2011. By country, the roster of participating teams is: Yacht Club Argentino (ARG); Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (AUS); Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (BER); Royal Canadian Yacht Club (CAN); Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (HKG); Real Club Nautico de Barcelona (ESP); Nyländska Jaktklubben (FIN); Itchenor Sailing Club, Royal Ocean Racing Club and Royal Yacht Squadron (GBR); Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (GER); Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL); Yacht Club Capri and Yacht Club Punta Ala (ITA); Japan Sailing Federation (JPN); Royal Norwegian Yacht Club (NOR); Clube Naval de Cascais (POR); Royal Cape Yacht Club (RSA); and Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, Mass.); Annapolis Yacht Club (Annapolis, Md.); Newport Harbor Yacht Club (Newport Beach, Calif.); and New York Yacht Club (Newport, R.I.) from the USA.

[mpowlison]

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Newport, R.I., USA (September 12, 2011) – The organizers of the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex have worked diligently to create a path to success for the 22 yacht club teams who will go head to head on Swan 42s over the next five days. The competitors, all amateur sailors, not only have participated in two days of practice racing but also attended a performance symposium, local knowledge seminar and a meeting with the Umpires to prepare them for the racing which begins in earnest tomorrow, Tuesday, September 13, with 11 scheduled races that will wrap up on Saturday, September 17.

With the majority of the competitors having little or no direct experience in Swan 42s, it would seem logical to look at teams that competed in the 2009 inaugural running of the event as potential front-runners: New York Yacht Club (USA), Royal Canadian Yacht Club (CAN), the Japan Sailing Federation (JPN), Nyländska Jaktklubben (FIN), and Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL), who, in order, finished top-five, as well as Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (BER), Royal Ocean Racing Club (GBR), Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (HKG), Real Club Nautico de Barcelona (ESP), Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (GER), and Royal Yacht Squadron (GBR). But that might be a bad bet.

“There are some very, very good sailors here, and it would not surprise me one bit if the trophy leaves these shores at the conclusion of racing,” said Regatta Chairman John Mendez, explaining that the yacht club teams have taken the challenge seriously and prepared accordingly. To facilitiate practice and teamwork, most arranged to charter boats similar to the Swan 42 in the months prior to their arrival in Newport .

Among some of the high-profile Corinthian sailors competing are Olympians such as those aboard Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (NRV) from Hamburg, Germany. At the helm of NRV will be Johannes Polgar who raced in the Tornado class at the 2008 Olympic Games. His crew from Beijing, Florian Spalteholz, is tactician for the Invitational Cup, while Gunnar Struckmann, who sailed the Tornado for Germany in the 2004 Games, will work mast or pit. At the helm of Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club’s team will be one of Asia’s top offshore racers, Patrick Pender, and one of it’s top match race champions, Tiger Mok, will be tactician.

Along with bragging rights for the next two years (the bi-ennial Invitational Cup will next be held in 2013), the winning team will take home the stunning new trophy that was recently unveiled. Former NYYC Commodore Robert James commissioned the trophy three and a half years ago from artist Norman McMillan (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), requesting the sculptor take the concept of a tetrahedron-styled trophy and see what he could create.

“It’s been a very interesting journey,” said McMillan of the creation of the trophy which represents wind and water and captures the excitement of a moment in time. The blue water was cast first, and then the tetrahedron; the single stainless steel sailboat loosely represents the Swan 42. “What we’re trying to do is combine an aesthetic with some color and some lighting to depart from a traditional trophy,” he explained.

As the trophy will go to the Invitational Cup winner’s home club for display until it is returned for presentation two years hence, McMillen is also creating a second trophy which will reside at NYYC. In a similar style, the second trophy will be emblematic of a fleet race and will depict three vessels: two approaching the mark and one having rounded the mark.

The warning signal for the first race each day is scheduled for 1100, with competitors heading to the race course at approximately 0930 each morning. The winner of the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex will be confirmed at the conclusion of racing on Saturday, September 17.

Armchair sailors, whether on the other side of Newport harbor or the other side of the globe, can follow the racing via the event website – www.invitationalcup.org . The site includes information on the 22 competing yacht club teams, crew lists, photos and news. Follow along on Twitter, or “Like” the event on Facebook. Once racing begins, live race tracking via Kattack, blog posts and daily video will also become available on the event website.

From ANY mobile phone: invitationalcup.org will display in a mobile template format, including a mobile-friendly photo gallery, links to the mobile YouTube channel, weather module, latest news, race documents and results.

[mpowlison]

ROYAL CANADIAN YACHT CLUB TAKES LEAD AFTER THREE RACES ON DAY ONE

Newport, R.I., USA (September 13, 2011) – Three races and three race winners within a very tight 22-boat fleet were the hallmarks of the first day of racing at the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex. Racing in upper Narragansett Bay, north of Newport’s Pell Bridge, the competitors got down to business in roughly 10 knots of southwesterly breeze, which built through the afternoon to a south-soutwesterly in the upper teens. The close and intense action provided plenty of work for the 10 umpires, who were on the water in teams of two, and the delivery of instant justice meant that the yacht club teams knew pretty much where they stood at the end of racing without having to wait for protests to be decided.

In a strong start to the series, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC) team has taken the overall lead on finishes of 2-1-4 to demonstrate that, having placed second in the inaugural event in 2009, they are back and playing to win. Eight of the 10 crew sailing for RCYC competed in 2009, including helm Terry McLaughlin, a silver medallist in the 1984 Olympic Games and skipper of Canada I in the 1983 America’s Cup Trials.

“We had a good day,” said McLaughlin. “We had no major errors. The first two starts were quite good. The third was not good, but we eventually got out to the right and got a nice shift and rounded the first mark first, but then had some issues.” Explaining that, in race three, they ended up downwind in the middle, in a safe, conservative spot where they were being gained on and passed by other teams, the RCYC team was glad to salvage a fourth. With the series having no drop races, their strategy will continue on the conservative side although McLaughlin acknowledged a few times when they could have pushed in at the weather mark. “We had three counters today. We kept our nose clean generally, and with the rules and the umpiring and the borrowed boats, I think we’ll probably continue to do that.”

RCYC will fly the Rolex gold spinnaker, indicating their position as overall standings leader, when racing resumes tomorrow, Wednesday, September 14. They hold the lead position with seven points, followed by Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club who had finishes of 3-8-2, for 13 points, and defending champion New York Yacht Club who had finishes of 4-2-8 for 14 points. The Japan Sailing Federation won the opening race of the series and followed with 7-9 for 17 points for fourth place overall and Eastern Yacht Club rounds out the top-five, tied on 17 points, after finishes of 6-5-6.

The final race of the day was won by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia after placing 8-11, to stand seventh overall with 20 points.

“Compared to what we knew about the area we were maybe put off a little bit by where the first course was,” said Evan Walker, tactician for Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) when asked if there had been any surprises on the first day of racing. Explaining that the course had been placed further west than they were expecting, the fact that they were over early in the first race actually worked in the CYCA team’s favor. “If we had done what our strategy was and gone left we would have been 15th at the first mark. After returning [to restart], we got a big right-hander and rounded fifth.” They would eventually finish the first race in eighth.

And while the CYCA team won race three, Walker said they didn’t get a good start and tacked out as soon as they could. “We had a look up the course and because the tide was going out thought we’d put our bets on the right-hand side at the top. So we went across everyone’s stern on port and went to the right where we got a big shift and rounded in third or fourth. Just that right shift got us into the race again. We didn’t really make one big move, we just chipped away at it. We positioned well on the first run, rounded the first bottom gate in second or third and played that next bit well and rounded in first. If we can keep the boat in clear air, we’re fast enough to be top-10.”

The warning signal for the first race each day is scheduled for 1100, with competitors heading to the race course at approximately 0930 each morning. The winner of the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex will be confirmed at the conclusion of racing on Saturday, September 17.

[mpowlison]

ROYAL CANADIAN YACHT CLUB HAS THE MIDAS TOUCH

Newport, R.I., USA (September 14, 2011) – Returning to upper Narragansett Bay for the second day of the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex has proven beneficial for at least one of the 22 yacht club teams – Royal Canadian Yacht Club – which again displayed remarkable consistency on the race course. And in a repeat of yesterday’s prevailing theme of tight competition, today’s three races were won by three different clubs which means that there have been no duplicate winners thus far in the six-race series.

“We were probably the biggest movers,” said Peter McChesney, helm for the Annapolis Yacht Club team who has only sailed in Newport a handful of times previously, including the the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup U.S. Qualifying Series in 2010 in which the AYC team finished second to earn the opportunity to race in this event. AYC was 10th overall after yesterday’s first day of racing, and moved up to third overall with 43 points after finishes of 6-1-3 today. “We just got off the line better today in every race, and gave our tactician [John Torgerson] the opportunity to make good decisions. If you get a good start it’s easier to make those decisions. Our tactician took what we gave him and did a great job of calling tactics, and the crew work was essentially flawless. Everything just went our way.”

The exciting conditions seen today on Narragansett Bay have also proven why Newport remains such a unique place to sail. “Where else can you sail in 20 knots of breeze and have the seas be this flat?,” said Chip Whipple, timmer on the New York Yacht Club team. “It really is an anomaly. When you have as much breeze as this [in the Med] you’re sailing in big seas and a lot of swell. And in northern Europe you have the cold water and big seas, breaking waves. Being as protected as we are here it’s just an extremely fantastic place to sail, and the boats can’t sail any faster because they are absolutely optimized for the conditions.”

The Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC) team has retained the overall lead position after adding finishes of 2-4-2 to yesterday’s finishes of 2-1-4 for 15 points. When they won the second race on the first day of the contest, they were given the Rolex gold spinnaker to fly in the subsequent race. And, as overall standings leader, RCYC carried the golden chute for all of today’s races, and will continue that way when racing resumes tomorrow.

“We had to bail on two starts,” said RCYC helm Terry McLaughlin after racing today, explaining that the RCYC team was forced to tack in both instances but the moves wound up working in their favor. “It was good breeze most of the day and we were going well. We’re trying to do all the fundamentals well and not make mistakes.” With eleven races planned, and tough competition, McLaughlin knows all to well that the 13-point lead RCYC currently enjoys can disappear in a hurry. “We had a good battle with NYYC in the last race, caught up to them on the last leg. It was close, but they beat us by three boat lengths.”

“The last race was a lot of fun,” said Ken Colburn, skipper of the New York Yacht Club team when summing up their win of the final race of the day. NYYC now stands second overall with 28 points, 13 points behind RCYC. “We had a great start, found ourselves in a clean lane and just were able to get in the proper groove. RCYC was there every inch of the race. We stayed together . . . gapped the fleet . . . for both of us it was just a fabulous race.” Emphasizing that there was still a lot of racing to come, Colburn noted that, as anticipated, the quality and depth of the competition is remarkable. “Six winners in six races is indicative of how strong this fleet is overall.”

Racing resumes tomorrow,Thursday, September 15, with the warning signal for the first race scheduled for 1100. Competitors leave NYYC’s Harbour Court for the race course at approximately 0930 each morning. The winner of the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex will be confirmed at the conclusion of racing on Saturday, September 17.

[mpowlison]

PENULTIMATE DAY SEES FIRST REPEAT RACE WINNER

Newport, R.I., USA (September 16, 2011) – The Chamber of Commerce could not have arranged a more spectacular day for the 22 competing yacht club teams, representing 16 nations from six continents, than what was delivered today after a cold front that passed through the area overnight left behind a classic New England fall day to tantalize competitors at the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex. And after sailing eight races over three days on courses set north of Newport’s Pell Bridge, with the breeze from the north-northwest, and an ebb tide, the race committee made the decision to send the competitors out of the now-familiar Narragansett Bay to Rhode Island Sound for two races on the penultimate day of the series.

Remarkably, the first race of the day saw yet another yacht club team winning a race. Eastern Yacht Club became the ninth race winner, in nine races, when they took over the lead early in the race and held it all the way to the finish line.

“It was a good one,” said Bill Lynn, helm of the Eastern Yacht Club team of the race as he explained that the EYC sailors liked the conditions today. “I think we’re fast , but I don’t think we’re the fastest boat here, so I think getting out into some shifty, variable breeze with not perfectly flat water, suits our style in these boats a little better. We finally got a great start, which is kind of nice. It was probably our best start of the series so far, and then we just were patient. When we came off the windward end [of the starting line] and tacked onto port there were an awful lot of boats on port way up inside us. It looked grim there for a while. But we were going to stick to our guns and wait it out. And we did, and the righty finally came in at the end and got us around the mark in third and then after that it was playing the shifts [to stay at the top].“

When Lynn’s team got through the first gate, they split with the Royal Yacht Squadron. “Fortunately we sent them around the wrong gate and we went around the right gate. When the breeze shifted back left we were crossing them. After we went through the gate and started going back upwind it got super windy, our gage was showing low 20s, and it stayed that way for the rest of the race. When it [the breeze] came smoking back in half-way through, that wasn’t in anybody’s forecast.”

Lynn went on to explain that in a northwest breeze, you have to sail your own race and not worry too much about the other boats. “You almost have to pretend there are no other boats on the course. It’s not about winning every race in a northwester, its about not blowing one.” For race two, Lynn characterized Eastern’s start as good, but in the wrong place on the line. They would go on to finish sixth, and now have 82 points on the scoreboard to stand fifth overall, while tied on points with Newport Harbor Yacht Club which is currently fourth.

For the second day in a row, the final race of the day has been won by the Clube Naval de Cascais (CNC) from Portugal, making them the first team in the 10 races to repeat as a winner. At the helm of CNC is Patrick Monteiro de Barros, whose varied sailing resume includes representing his country at the Olympic Games (twice), as well as circumnavigating the globe (twice). CNC placed 21st in the earlier race today, and with 128 points lies 16th overall.

It would certainly seem that the artic air from home brought additional good fortune for Royal Canadian Yacht Club (RCYC), as they maintained their grip on the top-position in the overall standings. With finishes of 6-11 today, they not only have 46 points but also have increased the spread to 10 points over New York Yacht Club which has 56.

Annapolis Yacht Club has moved up to third overall on 68 points after finishing 4-2 today. Tactician John Torgerson compared the flukey conditions the AYC team is used to in Annapolis with what they saw today on Rhode Island Sound. “It was super-shifty for a while and we like that,” said Torgerson. “We had a good idea of what we were going to do off the start and we executed it. For the first race it was light at the start. We saw as little as nine [knots] to as much as 22, it was a huge range. You just had to be able to shift gears. We have guys that are really good at figuring it out.” AYC’s strategy for the final day of racing is to “just go out and sail” and hope that the two teams above and below them take each other out.

The eleventh and final race of the series will be held tomorrow, Saturday, September 17, and is scheduled for 1100. It will be preceded by the fleet parading through Newport harbor at 0900, with competitors leaving NYYC’s Harbour Court at approximately 0830. The winner of the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex will be confirmed at the conclusion of racing.