Royal Cork Yacht Club surged into eighth overall at the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup after a strong day two showing.
The Irish crew finished 10th, sixth and second in Wednesday’s three races, leaving them on 49 points after six races. It continues a steady improvement from 14th in race one.
“Our teamwork came together today,” said a Royal Cork spokesperson. “We were happy with the boat speed and decisions on the course.”
Howth Yacht Club sit 15th overall with 76 points. They placed 12th, 11th and 13th in the latest races.
Howth Yacht Club sit 15th overall Photo: Daniel Forster
Royal Irish Yacht Club are 16th with 88 points. Their best result was seventh in race five, followed by 15th in race six.
Royal Irish Yacht Club sit 16th overall Photo: Daniel Forster
San Diego Yacht Club lead the 20-boat fleet on 20 points, with Royal Canadian Yacht Club second on 25.
After what could only be described as a disastrous opening day for the Japan Sailing Federation team competing in the 2025 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, the squad roared back into relevance with a fourth and a first to start Day 2 of the five-day biennial competition. A 14th in the third race of the day tempered the comeback, but the Japanese team was all smiles this evening as team principal Masuhiro Bamba (below, left with Rear Commodore Peter Cummiskey) walked up to accept the prize for winning Race 5.
“We had a completely different day from Day 1,” said tactician Hiroki Goto. “We had a lot to prove. We knew something was getting better before the start and then good things happened in Race 1 and we finished fourth. In the second race, we had even better wind from the left and we took the lead [at the first mark].”
But no lead is safe in this regatta, especially when sitting second and third are the top two teams in the regatta, San Diego Yacht Club and Royal Canadian Yacht Club, respectively. After leading through the gate mark, the Japanese team watched the Canadian club slip past on the final tack of the second upwind leg, though the top three boats were virtually overlapped around the final mark.
“In the last downwind, we passed the leader and won the race, which was our dream from Day 1,” said Goto. “The long briefing last night paid off.”
Twenty teams from 12 countries are competing in the ninth Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, a biennial regatta hosted by the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, R.I. Since the event was first run in 2009, it has attracted top amateur sailors from 52 of the world’s most prestigious yacht clubs from 23 countries.
After five editions in the Swan 42 class, the 2025 event is the fourth sailed in the IC37, designed by Mark Mills. The strict one-design nature of this purpose-built class, combined with the fact that each boat is owned and maintained by the New York Yacht Club, ensures a level playing field not seen in any other amateur big-boat sailing competition.
The top team on Day 2 was Royal Canadian Yacht Club, with an economical 10 points across three races. They picked up one point on San Diego and now lie second, five points out of first, and 10 points ahead of the Royal Thames Yacht Club in third.
“It was an interesting day,” said Scott Collinson, the team’s main trimmer. “We'd done a lot of homework on that course. We really wanted to make sure that we understood what we thought was going to happen and it played out. Having conviction about what the current was doing and what the wind was doing was very important. And then we were able to get off the line fairly well. One start was amazing; the other two were pretty good and we made them work. We used our boatspeed to find our way to the top.”
Collinson is sailing in the Invitational Cup for the second time. While he’s not the most senior person on the team when it comes to experience in this regatta—skipper Lance Fraser and crew Ingrid Merry have each sailed in four—he is a generation older than the rest of the crew, inevitably casting him as the sage veteran among his younger teammates.
“I love the boat, I just think it is a fantastic platform, and love the racing that we do in it,” he says. “But more importantly, I'm the one that's lucky because I get to sail with this next generation team and be part of it. I'm blessed and grateful to be sailing with them.”
For everyone competing in the regatta, it was an easy day to feel like you’d woken up on the right side of the bed, regardless of the results. The breeze was strong, but never overwhelming, the forecasted rain never materialised and the racing was efficient—with three races completed by 2:15 p.m and everyone enjoying post-race social at Harbour Court by 3:30 p.m.
The flat water inside Narragansett Bay, between Prudence Island and the north tip of Conanicut Island, was more forgiving than yesterday’s offshore swell on Rhode Island Sound, and collectively the fleet was more compact. While the Bay courses typically offer more wind shifts and passing opportunities, grinding down opponents with pure boat speed is more difficult than it is outside, and teams that have a rough start can find it tougher to claw back. With the exception of San Diego Yach Club, Eastern Yacht Club and Royal Swedish Yacht Club, each team had at least one result of 10th or higher today.
One performance of note was that of Royal Cork Yacht Club, which finished third on the day, continuing a remarkable upward trend in the standings. With the exception of a fifth in Race 2, each race has been an improvement for the Irish club, starting with a 14th in Race 1 and finishing today with a second.
For Royal Cork, and any team coming to terms with how to sail the IC37 in overpowered conditions, the forecast may not be reassuring. The breeze is expected to drop tomorrow and looks light for the remainder of regatta. In a no-throwout series, that means there is still everything to play for. As hard as it is to pass boats in this fleet in heavy air, it’s doubly difficult as the wind drops and everyone is able to comfortably put out their elbows and play defence.
Race 7 of the regatta is on Thursday, and racing continues through to Saturday in Newport, Rhode Island.
2025 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup Results after Day 2
1. San Diego (Calif.) Yacht Club (7-1-1-1-2-8) 20 points
2. Royal Canadian Yacht Club (10-3-2-2-3-5) 25 points
3. Royal Thames Yacht Club, GBR (2-11-3-13-5-1) 35 points
4. Royal Vancouver Yacht Club, CAN (6-RDG/6.3-RDG/6.3-6-10-3) 37.6 points
5. Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (3-4-4-3-20-4) 38 points
6. Royal Swedish Yacht Club (11-2-5-7-9-6) 40 points
7. New York (N.Y.) Yacht Club (8-9-6-5-12-7) 47 points
8. Royal Cork Yacht Club, IRL (14-5-12-10-6-2) 49 points
9. Corinthian Yacht Club, Marblehead, Mass. (5-7-11-11-8-10) 52 points
10. Yacht Club Costa Smeralda, ITA (1-8-8-9-16-16) 58 points
11. Eastern Yacht Club, Marblehead, Mass. (13-15-14-8-4-9) 63 points
12. Japan Sailing Federation (19-10-16-4-1-14) 64 points
13. Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, AUS (12-6-10-16*-16*-12) 72 points
14. Yacht Club Punta del Este, URU (4-17-13-17-13-11) 75 points
15. Howth Yacht Club, IRL (9-16-15-12-11-13) 76 points
16. Royal Irish Yacht Club (16-12-18-20-7-15) 88 points
17. Yacht Club Argentino (18-19-9-18-14-17) 95 points
18. Yacht Club Italiano (15-14-19-14-19-19) 100 points
19. Yacht Club de Ilhabela, BRA (RET/21-18-7-16-19*-20) 101 points
20. Itchenor Sailing Club, GBR (DSQ/21-13-18*-19-17-18) 106 points
