New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup

 

Here you will find information on the New York Invitational Cup where RTYC are competing against 18 other Yacht Clubs. Click on the link below to view details about the event itself, who is competing and the RTYC crew etc. Below that you will find a blog which will be updated regularly with the most recent item at the top.

The Competition, The Venue, The Boat, The Crew

New York Yacht Club Website

Preliminary Results Day 1

 

Day Seven – Saturday 19th

 

Two final races, each closely contested and the Thames team hung on to its 13^th place. The Royal Canadian Yacht Club very nearly pipped the NYYC for first spot, but the consistency – one mustn’t say “professionalism” – of the New York team was sufficient to win the day and the regatta. Costa Smeralda were not on the water; some say they were asked not to sail, some that they withdrew – either way the waters were safer.

There will be time enough for post mortems in London but let no-one think that the UK teams did not perform well. This was the highest of high-class sailing and the slightest error, in tactics or handling, could lose ten places on a single leg with no trouble at all. The leading boats just didn’t make those errors. The Royal Cork team, who sailed with occasional brilliance, mustered two firsts, a second, a third and two fourths in their eleven races, but also had a 13^th and two 17ths, giving them only 5^th place overall, while New York, with only one first, apart from the tenth where they hooked a lobster pot, never came lower than eighth and had seven top three finishes. The Canadians had the most wins, with three. None of the UK clubs won a race, although the Squadron, who finished a lowly 16^th, did manage to get their picture on the front of the website leading the fleet, which was serendipitous for them.

It is interesting that both the NYYC and RCYC boats were sailed by their owners, with their regular crews. There is an argument that these boats should have gone into the hat with the others.

Let us not, however, have any sour grapes but rather celebrate a fantastic event immaculately organised and run by the NYYC and John Mendez. The closing dinner, sponsored by Rolex, was a magnificent occasion. All the crews collected their prizes or mementos, the 1983 America’s Cup skippers, out in force, posed for photographs, the Filet Mignons were magnificent, the wine flowed and the band played on.

Afterwards, in Thames Street (pronounced Thames) there was some noise coming from Zelda’s as the Irish tried to drown the sounds of Swing Low Sweet Chariots with some ordinary songs of their own and hardly anyone went to any bed before the larger of the small hours.

Next time, in two years, we’ll be back – and we’ll be better.

 

Day Six – Friday 18th

 

Another four race day and there is nothing going to stop Phil Lotz and the NYYC boat now. Another consistent day by them leaves them on 39 points, 13 points ahead of their nearest rivals, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club and a whole 58 points ahead of the Royal Thames, who are now five places – but only nine points – behind the leading British team, RORC, who had a very good day. NYYC would be further ahead had they not snagged a lobster pot in the day’s second race which reduced them to 10th place – their only double-figure finish to date. Canadian skipper Terry McLaughlin says, “If Phil comes out top five or top seven in the race tomorrow morning to start off  with, then he’s looking pretty good. If he keeps a lobster pot on his keel slightly longer than he did today, that may be where the rest of us will have a chance.”

It was a perfect day for sailing in Narragansett Bay, with winds between 10 and 20 knots and a flat sea, and there was some close and exciting sailing. The Thames boat started with a disastrous upwind leg in the first race, rounding the windward mark in 18th position, and proceeded to fight through the fleet, finishing in ninth place. This was cheering for the Thames crew and supporters, but it turned out to be the best race of the day, the following three races producing finishes of 15th, 12th and 11th. John Greenland and his crew know that they are consistently among the fastest boats downwind, but the upwind legs have been very disappointing, at one stage slipping from 5th place to 15th on a 1.6 mile leg.

 

There is sure to be some analysis on why this is happening and how to improve up-wind performance in future events of this nature and, while it’s too late to make much difference to the overall results now, it would be nice to go out with a flourish.

They are, after all, competing against some of the best sailors in the world. And the Royal Yacht Squadron is 28 points behind them!

 

Racing continued until about 4.45, so it was nearly 6 o’clock by the time the crews came ashore. The NYYC had set 6 o’clock for the start time of the Lobster Dinner at the Club, which required everyone to be booted and suited. A tough ask, but we rose to the challenge and sat down to eat at about seven. John Mendez made an opening speech praising the generosity of Sperry for providing the meal, which made some of those paying $75 dollars for the food and $50 for a bottle of ordinary wine pause a little for thought, then we ploughed into the chowder and lobster and a raucous time was had by all. This was, apparently, the largest lobster dinner ever attempted, which may be why some were cooked for even longer than others. But it was enjoyable.

 

Naturally, tomorrow being the last day, the Thames members went home to be very early and were not tempted to go on the town.

 

Day 5 – Thursday 17th 

At the end of yesterday, the first full day of racing, the good news is that the Royal Thames leads the British clubs; the other news is that we are lying in 10th place. This situation may change if the Costa Smeralda boat, which is dangerous even by the unchallenging standards of Italy, is either disqualified from the competition or else hits someone so hard that one or both of them sink.

Four races in brisk winds was a lot to take for some of the older crews and the ambulance rushed backwards and forwards along the quay with its defribillator at the ready – not for our members, it must be added, who are holding up very well.

The art of succeeding is not winning, as the NYYC are proving, but keeping up a good, single figure average. Thus the Thames, who were in eighth place overnight, achieved a ninth and a seventh in the morning races, which left them at sixth overall.

The next race was, unfortunately, a bit of a disaster. Over the line at the start, Mustang, the RTYC boat, failed to sail back far enough and had to do it again. A brave attempt to make something of the race brought them in at 16th, but a bit of disenchantment, not to say exhaustion, had set in by then and the last race produced a somewhat lacklustre 11th.

However, a refreshing night’s moderation around the town has left them with a spring in their steps this morning, knowing that we are not yet half way through and there is everything to play for.

Royal St George is badly placed, having sustained $26,000-worth of damage at the hands of Costa Smeralda, who don’t seem to have grasped the fact that being on starboard is not a licence to kill. One of the St George crew was hospitalised but reports are that he is doing okay.

 

The other Irish entry, Royal Cork, experienced a golden morning, with two firsts, then took their eye off the ball allowing Terry McLaughlin’s Royal Canada boat through for their second win. Royal New Zealand won the final race, but it is the canny NYYC, skippered by Phil Lotz, who have conjured nothing better than a second but nothing worse than an 8th to  make themselvesthe boat everyone has to catch.

 

 

Day Four – Wednesday 16th

A much colder day, with winds hovering around 20 knots as the competitors went out to the racecourse for what was anticipated to be a day of at least three windward/ leeward races. As it transpired, there was only one.

The bare facts of the race are that it was won by the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, with New York second, Royal Cork third and the Japanese fourth. The Royal Thames came in eighth, with the RYS 13^th and RORC 15^th. This was a pretty satisfactory start for the Thames, who, on analysis of the comprehensive statistics provided, were the fourth fastest boat downwind but who traveled 626 metres further overall than the Royal Cork, who took the shortest route. All these things were being considered when the race organizers decided it had become too windy to race again on the original course and the party was moved into the more sheltered waters north of the bridge.

Two of the competitors had sustained damage to their headsails in the race and, as preparations were made to start racing again, reports came through from another two, one of them in the mellifluous tones of the RYS, also reporting damage and requesting permission to effect running repairs.

The organisers took the decision that racing should be abandoned for the day and that the boats should all return to their moorings and bring their headsails ashore for attention by North Sails – not a good day for them.

This meant that the Pimms party, hosted by the three British clubs, was brought forward and much enjoyed, and that the crews effectively had the afternoon off, which was a good thing in many ways, because it would have been tough out there to sail three races, but puts more pressure on the remaining days, when more races will need to be sailed.

Examination of the results show that several boats were penalised for various infingements, and that those, like the Thames, with clean sheets may actually have improved positions overall provided their sheets stay clean.

In the evening, the RTYC was entertained to a barbecue at the house of member Peter Gerrard, whence some went home to bed and others to Zelda’s where, in the interests of the Club, they intended to disable as many of the other teams as possible, as they believed they had scuppered the RORC contingent on the previous night.

 

Day Three – Tuesday 15th

Today was a good chance to see how the boat would go in light airs – mostly 6 to 8 knots. The answer is not badly, but perhaps not as well as some of the others yet. The Japanese in particular look very efficient and dangerous – although many of them not particularly Japanese. Skipper John Greenland was still very up beat after the practice races, which were curtailed early to allow the crews to put on their fiery for the 6pm Opening Ceremony.

This sumptuous occasion was held in a massive marquee, with a free bar and the most incredible variety of seafood – literally piles of lobster, sushi etc – and other exquisite canapés. Event Organiser John Mendez welcomed the teams, to the sound of the cannon firing for 7 o’clock, and the skippers of the crews were introduced, each receiving a gun. There was a long pause between John Greenland being introduced and arriving on the platform, but not as pregnant as the pause which came between Mendez announcing that Anthony Matusch wished to make a presentation from the Royal Yacht Squadron to the New York Yacht Club and the discovery that no-one knew where that which to be presented had gone.

Afterwards the RTYC party split into two, a carload of present and past Flag Officers  (a Hoist of Flag Officers?) going out to dinner at a discreet Italian restaurant and the young guns going to Zelda’s, the Pier View of Newport, and then on somewhere else about which, the next morning, they were a little vague.

Tomorrow the racing starts and the Thames is ready.

 

Day Two– Monday 14th

Joy unbounded! The crew made the weight by a couple of kilos. Needless to say, they immediately skipped off to the diner and assuaged their hunger – and who could blame them? The relief was palpable and the effort that had got them there intense in the extreme. Senior members and Flag Officers coming in dripping and exhausted from five mile, early morning runs in fleeces and wet weather gear shows not a little dedication. Rear Commodore John Dallimore succeeded in losing half a stone in not much more than 12 hours.

In glorious sunshine and with 18 knots of true wind, this was the first serious practice day on the water, with 16 of the 19 competitor boats out on the water (RORC perhaps keeping their powder dry), and the Thames boat was not back on its mooring till 5.30pm.

There was a certain amount of trepidation felt among the partial watchers – why were they out for so long? Maybe things were not going well, because yesterday, let’s be honest, there seemed to be a good deal of conflict and some serious rifts in the lute. And, of course, yesterday the mainsail had been found to be faulty.

Our fears were allayed when the crew members staying at the Admiral Weaver arrived home, pumped with adrenalin, faces wreathed in smiles and full of praise for each other – particularly the senior brethren for the young lions – and exhilaration from the day. The sail was repaired, the boat was going well and they had had a great time.

“I deliberately chose the most difficult starts,” said skipper John Greenland later, over drinks on Brian Smullen’s palatial motor yacht, “and we did well. I don’t see why we shouldn’t finish in the top five.”

Dinner was at the Brick Alley Pub and hilarity ensued. The wise then went home to bed, the foolhardy to the Fastnet to continue bonding…

 

Day One - Sunday 13th

 

A day largely devoted to arguments about who hasn't lost enough weight and what is the preferred method of doing so. The RTYC crew is several kilos over the required 850 kilos, making the ones who made the weight extremely annoyed with the ones who haven't, but not allowing anyone to eat or drink in case the backsliders continue to slide back.

The day started with a motivational speech from Andrew Collins, followed by a motivational speech from Jamie Houston and winding up with a motivational speech from John Greenland. The fact remained that if the crew didn't lose 2.5 kilos each in 24 hours, someone was going to spend the week on the dock.

The first go on the boat was not an unqualified success, since there is definitely something wrong with the main - even the guy from North Sails spotted it and they made it. North Sails are due on the boat tomorrow morning - after the 10am weigh-in - to make radical adjustments.

There was much tutting from the young as the older contingent exercised the theory that a little alcohol was a good weight-loss aid, while popular belief among the under 35s seemed to be that any liquid intake at all would be a disaster. Tempers started to fray and continued to do so as dinner was cancelled. Crisps were produced as a good method of staving off hunger without turning into John Prescott. This flew in the face of the steak supporters, who believed that a good lump of lean meat made the weight simply fall off.

Everybody pretty miserable.

 

A much colder day, with winds hovering around 20 knots as the competitors went out to the racecourse for what was anticipated to be a day of at least three windward/ leeward races. As it transpired, there was only one.

The bare facts of the race are that it was won by the Royal Canadian Yacht Club, with New York second, Royal Cork third and the Japanese fourth. The Royal Thames came in eighth, with the RYS 13^th and RORC 15^th. This was a pretty satisfactory start for the Thames, who, on analysis of the comprehensive statistics provided, were the fourth fastest boat downwind but who traveled 626 metres further overall than the Royal Cork, who took the shortest route. All these things were being considered when the race organizers decided it had become too windy to race again on the original course and the party was moved into the more sheltered waters north of the bridge.

 

Two of the competitors had sustained damage to their headsails in the race and, as preparations were made to start racing again, reports came through from another two, one of them in the mellifluous tones of the RYS, also reporting damage and requesting permission to effect running repairs.

The organisers took the decision that racing should be abandoned for the day and that the boats should all return to their moorings and bring their headsails ashore for attention by North Sails - not a good day for them.

 

This meant that the Pimms party, hosted by the three British clubs, was brought forward and much enjoyed, and that the crews effectively had the afternoon off, which was a good thing in many ways, because it would have been tough out there to sail three races, but puts more pressure on the remaining days, when more races will need to be sailed.

Examination of the results show that several boats were penalised for various infingements, and that those, like the Thames, with clean sheets may actually have improved positions overall provided their sheets stay clean.

In the evening, the RTYC was entertained to a barbecue at the house of member Peter Gerrard, whence some went home to bed and others to Zelda's where, in the interests of the Club, they intended to disable as many of the other teams as possible, as they believed they had scuppered the RORC contingent on the previous night.