#nyyc– Anthony O'Leary was aiming to make it third time lucky at the New York Invitational Cup yesterday but although an overall win eluded him and his 12 man crew, the skipper of the Royal Cork entry did post his best result so far, a fourth overall writes Louay Habib. The Irish national cruiser champion had previously finished fifth and eighth in the first two editions of this corinthian event. Final results downloadable below as a pdf document.
Twenty yacht clubs from 13 different countries enjoyed some sensational racing at the 2013 Invitational Cup presented by Rolex. However, on the final day of the regatta, the lack of wind frustrated the competitors and race officers alike. The race committee tried every trick in the book to get some racing in and initially they succeeded by taking the fleet offshore, where 10 knots of breeze filled in from the South at around 1400 local time for Race 11.
Larchmont YC (at right) knew before that start that this would be the only race of the day and the team from New York wasted no time in harassing the regatta leader, Royal Canadian Yacht Club. In the pre-start the two yachts were prowling around each other in an attempt to force a penalty. At the start, Larchmont YC managed to get over the top of Royal Canadian Yacht Club, forcing them to the unfavored right side of the course and for a time, Larchmont YC looked like they might be able to put enough boats in between them and the Canadian team to win the regatta. However, at the top mark, two yachts were penalized and Royal Canadian YC made up a few places there before capitalizing on free air to make even more gains on the run. By the bottom mark, Royal Canadia YC was ahead of Larchmont YC on the water.
As quickly as the breeze had materialized, it vanished, and the race was abandoned, much to the frustration of Royal Hong Kong YC, which was way out in front.
Tonight, the New York Yacht Club will host the Awards Ceremony for the 2013 Invitational Cup presented by Rolex and the Royal Canadian Yacht Club will be awarded the Invitational Cup trophy for the second consecutive time. Larchmont Yacht Club finished second with Royal Thames in third, the highest finish ever for a European club.