Anthony O'Leary's bid to win the New York Invitational Cup for Royal Cork Yacht Club will have to wait for another edition after Britain's Royal Thames YC lifted the Cup in Newport, Rhode Island yesterday. The sole Irish entry finished seventh. 

The morning air reverberated with the sound of cannon fire and boat horns as the international fleet, battle flags flying, paraded around Newport harbor and past the main dock of the New York Yacht Club where supporters were gathered to cheer them on for the final day of the 2015 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup.

This traditional sendoff for the competitors is just one of the many details that make this event so special. Over four editions, 21 countries have gone head-to-head on the water and then made lasting friendships during social gatherings at Harbour Court, New York Yacht Club’s iconic waterfront clubhouse in Newport. As with the heritage of the sport, woven into the very fabric of this event is the historic partnership of Rolex and New York Yacht Club, which was forged in the 1950s. Through this enduring association, one of yachting’s greatest traditions was established with a winning sailor being presented a specially-engraved Rolex timepiece – the ultimate symbol for achieving excellence.
Out on the water, the fleet was sent up Narragansett Bay for the second consecutive day, where racing was held in an eight knot south-southwesterly breeze. The team representing the oldest yacht club in the world, London’s Royal Thames Yacht Club, was in the most perilous position of the 17 competing teams. Having been in the lead, or tied for the lead, through the entire series, it was their regatta to win – or lose. In the first race of the day, an eighth-place finish put their nine-point cushion under pressure. With their closest competitor in the standings – Marblehead’s Eastern Yacht Club – finishing fourth, the gap shrunk to five points.

“We didn’t make it very easy for ourselves throughout the day,” said John Greenland, skipper of the Royal Thames Yacht Club team. “At one point in the first race we almost sailed ourselves into a really comfortable position. Instead it turned inside out. But that’s how the fleet has been all week. You just have to take each race as it comes.”

Greenland said the team had a conversation to make sure they were in the right mindset going into the last race. They crossed the line 10th, with Eastern Yacht Club following in 12th; the Brits securing the win 71 points to Eastern’s 78. “The overall level has absolutely improved,” said an elated Greenland. “The competition is demonstrated in the results. There are some seriously good sailors in these boats who are struggling to get into the top five. It’s a great conclusion to years of preparation… everyone is over the moon.”

The New York Yacht Club’s team, led by skipper Paul Zabetakis, concluded the series second overall after finishes of 3-6 were added to their score line for 77 points. “We were third on the first day then we dropped to ninth; we had a couple of bad races,” said Zabetakis. “We kept telling ourselves we could do it. Yesterday we went from ninth to fourth and then today it was a matter of sailing our own race. We felt like we did a great job.”

The only team new to the 2015 Rolex New York Invitational Cup, Australia’s Middle Harbour Yacht Club, not only met their goal for the regatta, they exceeded it. Hoping to finish in the top-five, they were fourth overall with 81 points after finishes of 7-2 on the final day of racing. Just one point behind was the Japan Sailing Federation, after placing 2-5 today.

Guido Belgiorno-Nettis, skipper of the Middle Harbour Yacht Club team was very happy with team’s final position in their first appearance at the event. “We’re a bit hard on ourselves,” said the 2011 Rolex Farr 40 World Champion. “Putting the spinnaker in the water on the penultimate day of the competition was not a very smart tactical move. It set a bad precedent; we were about fourth [at that point] and then we finished 11th in that race. If you’re in fourth place around the top mark you have half a chance of defending that position and not getting caught up with the fleet; but once you drop back its very hard. We came second today and once we managed to get out of the pack we just kept extending.”

Zabetakis, who has been sailing since his mid-20s, but has raced the Mumm 36 and Farr 40 Worlds, and Key West Race Week, in addition to campaigning his Swan 42, summed up the uniqueness of the event: “This regatta has no equal. The other races [in which I’ve sailed], there were always pros involved. I think it’s a phenomenal tribute to New York Yacht Club who put this together, and these amateur teams that come together to do this. It’s the most competitive racing I’ve ever done.”

Anthony O'Leary and his Royal Cork crew are sixth overall at New York Yacht Club's Invitational Cup. The first race of the day was won by RCYC, which O'Leary unfortunately followed with back-to-back double-digit finishes. They stand sixth overall with 49 points. There are some excellent aerial shots of Royal Cork very well positioned off the line in the above vid.

A day of intense racing on Rhode Island Sound marked the mid-point of the 2015 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. The south-south west breeze filled in early in the day, which allowed three races to be sailed in 8-10 knots by the international fleet. Like the standard of excellence established by Rolex, the competition has exceeded the expectations of the competitors.

Yesterday's subsequent races were both won by Australia's Middle Harbour Yacht Club, which bumped them up in the standings from eighth yesterday, to now second overall with 40 points. Returning to the top of the leaderboard is London's Royal Thames Yacht Club which consistently finished in the top-five. They have an eight-point cushion over Middle Harbour Yacht Club.

The racing was intense according to Brad Dellenbaugh, New York Yacht Club's Director of Sailing. "If you missed getting off the line and got forced to the wrong direction on the first beat, you spent the rest of the race trying to catch up. Occasionally one side or the other of the course was favored, but not the same side all the time."

Racing resumes Friday with the winning team determined at the conclusion of racing on Saturday, September 19.

Today's lone race favored the teams who were in the right place to strike and who were proficient in sailing in light air. Genoa, Italy, where the Yacht Club Italiano is based, is known for light breeze and, with Leonardo Ferragamo at the helm, the team parlayed that experience to win the race.

Second across the line was the Irish team representing Royal Cork Yacht Club. Skipper Anthony O'Leary, who has raced every edition of this event, credited finding a hole in the starting line with their performance in the race.

After two days, Seattle Yacht Club has taken over the top spot in the overall standings although it is tied on points (22) with Royal Thames Yacht Club. Royal Cork is third overall with 24 points, and Itchenor Sailing Club is fourth with 27 points. Three points back, tied at 30 points apiece, are Marblehead's Eastern Yacht Club and Toronto's Royal Canadian Yacht Club which is the two-time defending champion.

Racing resumes this morning with the winning team determined at the conclusion of racing on Saturday, September 19.

Royal Cork helmsman and Afloat Sailor of the Year Anthony O'Leary has assembled his crew for this week's Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup based on their performance on his winning Ker 40, Antix. A previous 5-8-4 record at this event indicates that while the Irish team infrequently sails one-design boats of the size of the Swan 42s used for the Invitational Cup, they are strong competitors within reach of the prize.

The first race is scheduled for 1100 each day starting tomorrow. Racing is scheduled to take place on Narragansett Bay, north of Gould Island, or on Rhode Island Sound, south of Brenton Point Park. The racing location will be picked each morning. The regatta is hosted out of the New York Yacht Club at Harbour Court.

It is a testament to the ideals of Corinthian competition, and the camaraderie associated with the sport that for the fourth edition of the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, six of the 17 entered yacht club teams will be welcomed back as four-time veterans of this highly-regarded event, including O'Leary's Irish team.

Hailing from all corners of the globe, the returning teams - Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, the Japan Sailing Federation, Real Club Nautico de Barcelona (ESP), the Royal Yacht Squadron (GBR) and the two-time defending champion, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club - are drawn by the intensity of the on-the-water competition which is enhanced by notable social events held at Harbour Court, New York Yacht Club's iconic clubhouse overlooking Newport harbour.

The 2015 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup welcomes competitors from the following yachts clubs: the Royal Yacht Squadron (GBR), Japan Sailing Federation (JPN), Real Club Nautico de Barcelona (ESP), Royal Canadian Yacht Club (CAN), Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL), Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (HKG), Royal Thames Yacht Club (GBR), Yacht Club Argentino (ARG), Yacht Club Italiano (ITA), Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (AUS), Royal Swedish Yacht Club (SWE), Eastern Yacht Club (USA), Itchenor Sailing Club (GBR), Middle Harbour Yacht Club (USA), Newport Harbour Yacht Club (USA), Seattle Yacht Club (USA) and New York Yacht Club (USA).

The Union Chandlery sponsored 1720 European Championships were held at the Royal Cork Yacht Club last weekend with Neil Hogan’s “Micam”, helmed by Mel Collins being crowned champion. The Durcan/Higgins’ owned T-Bone (helmed by David Kenefick) was second and Anthony O’Leary’s “Antix” was third. Day three event photos by Bob Bateman are here.

Race Officer Peter Crowley gave the fleet 10 fantastic races over three days, with the windward/leeward course being set two miles South East of Roches Point each day in it what were generally northerly winds.

Neil Hogan’s “Micam” really stole the show at this event counting a 3, 1, 1, on day one, a 1, 2, 1 on day two and two thirds on the final day, discarding his last race.

The fleet were treated to a harbour tour on the Thursday evening, courtesy of Peter Crowley and Anthony O’Leary and enjoyed a very sociable visit to Cobh and Monkstown.

The next port of call for the sportsboat class is Royal Cork's Autumn league.

Day two of the Optimist Leinster championship at Howth Yacht Club dawned with a lot less wind than the previous one, posing difficulties for sailors and race officers alike.

Launching was slightly delayed as the optimistic sailors waited for the wind to fill in.

The feather weights in the fleet cheered silently whereas the heavy weather sailors hoped that windguru had got it wrong and that perchance 20 knots was on the way.

Race 4 of the championship was completed in 7 knots of breeze and in the senior fleet Cathal O'Regan RCYC took a bullet followed by Jack Fahy Rsgyc. In the juniors Royal Cork took line honours with Michael Crosbie taking first followed by Harry Twomey. After this the longed for discard kicked and places reshuffled.

Race five of the championship was started for the junior fleet in 5 knots of breeze but had to be abandoned after a significant wind shift which would have resulted in an unfair race.

Once again the junior fleet started but after the wind died away the PRO made the wise decision to once again abandon as too much was at stake to risk having a floating race.

Ribs were sent out in all directions in search of the elusive wind which appeared to be playing hide and seek. Finally wind filled in and having moved the course in the direction of Portmarnock one race was completed for both senior and junior fleets. The 3pm deadline for starting a race was fast approaching and having all had a long day on the water and sailed fairly PRO Richard Kissane made the wise decision to send the fleet home.

Local sailor and overnight leader Dylan O'Grady had to concede to Cathal O'Regan for Leinster Championship honors as the cork sailor won out on count back. In the Junior Fleet Aoife Byrne was the outright winner followed by the National Yacht Clubs Conor Gorman who had improved tremendously on his position from yesterday.

The Regatta fleet once again had a great days sailing and PRO Des Flood managed to get one race in which was won by HYC's Sarah Evan's. The overall winner of the regatta fleets 4 races was John Twomey.

The top 5 winners in the Senior and Junior Fleets are listed below.

Senior Fleet

1 Cathal O'Regan Royal Cork Yacht Club
2 Dylan O'Grady Howth Yacht Club
3 Kate Darcy Royal Cork Yacht Club
4 Tom Higgins Royal St. George Yacht Club
5. Charlie Cullen National Yacht Club

Junior Fleet

1 Aoife Byrne Royal Cork Yacht Club
2 Conor Gorman. National Yacht Club
3 Rory O'Sullivan. Royal Cork Yacht Club
4 Harry Twomey Royal Cork Yacht Club
5 Leah Rickard National Yacht Club

Congratulations to the event management and hospitality teams in HYC chaired by ISA board member Robert Dix for hosting a fantastic event.

This concluded the IODAI event roundup for the season. Prizes were awarded first to the. Regatta Fleet sailors and then later the main prize giving concluded at 5 pm.
Congratulations to all the sailors who have learnt so much over the season see you all next year!

#royalcork – The Royal Cork Yacht Club has twinned with Yacht Club de Monaco (YCM)  and a reception to mark the occasion was held in YCM on Sunday, June 28th at 17.30 hours writes Claire Bateman. YCM have reciprocal arrangements with fifty one clubs worldwide but only have Twinning Agreements with fifteen. Royal Cork Yacht Club is the only yacht club in Ireland or the U.K. to have such a Twinning Agreement and is the first club to have been invited to Twin with YCM since 2006.

Royal Cork Yacht Club General Manager, Gavin Deane, travelled to Monaco to attend the lavish reception in the newly built yacht club (opened June, 2014), hosted by His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, President YCM. The reception had a dual purpose, to celebrate the Twinning with the Royal Cork Yacht Club and to host new members to the club. The reception was attended by 1500 people and was followed by a dinner for 200 invited guests.

Gavin met with HSH Prince Albert II, President YCM, Bernard d'Alessandri, General Secretary/Director YCM and the Club's Board Committee at a private reception in the Club. HSH Prince Albert II and Gavin Deane signed the Twinning Agreement, exchanged framed Club burgees, Club history books and Club ties.

Outline of agreement: "The two Clubs base the agreement upon a reciprocal engagement to mutually support and promote the Clubs' Sporting Programmes and Social Events. Members of the two Clubs shall benefit from the Structures and Services offered by each Club in conformity with agreed regulations".

The relationship between the Clubs has flourished over the past five to six years as Royal Cork Yacht Club sends an Optimist team to race at an event in Monaco every January.

Other RCYC members that joined Gavin at the event were Eddie Jordan (F1 fame) and Harry Gibbings (originally from Cork), both of whom reside in Monaco and are overseas members of Royal Cork Yacht Club.

HSH Prince Albert II, President YCM, recently became a member of the Royal Cork Yacht Club, and when General Manager Gavin was introduced to him he proudly produced his Royal Cork Membership card from his pocket.

Speaking with Gavin as he very eloquently described his visit to Monaco, one could almost feel as if one were there and it certainly seemed to live up to all the wonderful tales one hears about the Principality . He described the beautiful azure sea and the marinas filled with exotic and wonderful craft of all types and sizes and the beauty of the architecture and buildings, and the friendliness of the people. The temperature was some 30 degrees and all in all appeared to be a dream location.

The twinning of the two yacht clubs brings our relationship with Monaco even closer. Monaco is held in very high esteem by the Irish people and particularly through the deep affection felt for the late HSH Princess Grace of Monaco, wife of the late Prince Rainier of Monaco. They brought their family to visit Ireland and and Princess Grace also made other visits here. She was very interested in and proud of her Irish ancestry and was greatly admired by the Irish people for her charm and beauty.

#j24 – With four race wins from six race sailed the furrthest travelled J24 won the class southern championships at Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) today. Lough Erne's JP McCaldin from County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland beat the Royal St.George's Hard on Port skippered by Flor O'Driscoll. Third was Howth Yacht Club's Kilcullen (Gordon Stirling). Full results in the seven boat fleet are downloadable below. 

Saturday morning South of Roche's Point saw a breeze of 18 to 20 knots for the first race of the J24 Southern Championship. Race Officer Ciaran McSweeney kept everybody on their toes, sounding the first gun at 10.30 as posted, catching a few competitors off guard. JP McCaldin and his crew on Jamais Encore dominated the first race with local boat YaGottaWanna showing good boat speed to claim a second place. Current Irish Champion FlorO'Driscoll claimed third place with Patrick Crosbie helming his youth team over the line ahead of the Howth Yacht Club under 25 crew.

The battle of the start line was more intense in race 2, with Howth Yacht Club and Jamais Encore stealing a march on the fleet on the first upwind leg of the windward / leeward course. The first run saw Flor O'Driscoll joining the early leaders, engaging in a duel up the next beat with HYC. The finishing places confirmed the credentials of gold fleet, with Jamais Encore, HYC and Hard on Port taking the podium.

The breeze was building by the start of race 3, and the local youth team changed from the overlapping genoa to a jib, a decision which proved to be inspired, as we watched them make their way up the racecourse, to finish close on the heels of the gold fleet boats. All the competitors followed suit with the foresail change for the last race of the day, in challenging gusty conditions. An unfortunate collission in race 4 between HYC and YaGottaWanna resulted in HYC retiring, and YaGottaWanna limping home with a hole in her aft quarter. Conor Haughton's team from the National Maritime College kept the local spirits high, with a 4th place finish.

The breeze held for the second day of racing with the race officer deciding to move the fleet to Cuskinny in the hopes of a flatter sea. All competitors opted for a jib for the first race with heavy gusts funneling up towards east ferry. Jamais Encore maintained her winning ways, bagging a third place to add to her 4 bullets in the 6 race series, and opting to withdraw from the last race to expedite hauling out, ready for the long road home to Lough Erne.

Tide became more of a prominent force in the lulls for race 6 with some boats opting to be brave and changing back to a genoa. HYC pulled out a sizeable lead on the first downwind leg only to see the lion's share of it disappear on the second beat. Another entanglement between HYC and YaGottaWanna at the leeward mark saw positions change again. Jelignite claimed their first bullet in a regional championship, a fantastic result for Finbar Ryan, and the young girls on his crew.

The crews sailed back to Crosshaven, passing the magnificent display of the Traditional Sail Fleet bathed in the sunlight of our harbour. After hauling out, all competitors enjoyed the hospitality of the club, and showed their appreciation of Kieran O'Connell for his hard work in providing a brilliantly run championship. We hope it will be an annual event here in RCYC. JP.McCaldin expressed his enjoyment of the event and the beauty of the harbour, while accepting his First Prize in gold fleet and overall J24 Southern Champion, wondering why it had taken him so long to race in RCYC. Hard on Port claimed second overall, with HYC completing the honours in the gold fleet. Local boat YaGottaWanna were delighted with their first place in silver fleet, and were highly impressed by the performance of the local youth team in a very tweaky unfamiliar boat.

#j109 – It's all smiles after the first day of the UK J/109 National Championship, with Ian Nagle's team from the Royal Cork Yacht Club scoring two bullets on J/109 Jelly Baby. "We had a great start in the first race, which put us in a good shape but we had a shocking start in the second and had to fight back from a very poor position, Nagle said.

The Cork Harbour boat, returns to Irish waters for the ICRA Nationals in Kinsale later this month, and has already tasted UK success this season lifting the vice–Admiral's Cup in Cowes in May.

The core of the Jelly Baby team has been together since they started racing the J/109 in 2008 and that experience means that they have built up a lot of knowledge about how to sail fast.  'I have to admit our boat speed was very good today. This has been a very encouraging start and we hope to build on that tomorrow', Nagle said.

#national18 –  There's great excitement around Cork Harbour this week with the delivery of the first four of the completely new Phil Morrison-designed National 18s to join the established fleet at Monkstown Bay SC.

In the near future, other boats will be arriving to make their debut as Crosshaven with the Royal Cork YC, as well as further augmenting the Monkstown group. By the time the class's big British and Irish Championship is staged at Royal Cork from July 26th to 31st, the necessary critical mass of the new boats should have been achieved to provide top quality racing. But there will of course also be special provisions made to ensure that boats of older types (the restricted class has been in existence since 1938) are continuing to get worthwhile sport.

The development of this newest and very exciting National 18 has been largely powered by the Cork Harbour National 18ft Class Association, and National 18 sailors in Britain have been particularly impressed by the way that the Royal Cork YC invested funds to help this community effort towards a brighter future from resources within the class association.

This weekend will see the four new boats getting their rigs tuned with some trial sailing planned, but we'll be very surprised indeed if there isn't a test race or two down Monkstown way on Saturday and Sunday.

These boats will take a bit of getting used to, but there's no doubting the excitement in the air...

Big smiles greet Colin Chapman's new Ultra Design National 18 one of the first eight National 18's new design to arrive at the Royal Cork Yacht Club for the 2015 season.

L. to R. Royal Cork Admiral Pat Lyons, Dom Long, President National 18 Class, Rear Admiral Dinghies, Celine McGrath and owner Colin Chapman. Picture Robert Bateman.