Brazil and Yacht Club de Ilhabela set to join Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup family
by New York Yacht Club 21 Aug 2025 21:36 BST
September 6-13, 2025
Yacht Club de Ilhabela © Yacht Club de Ilhabela
Returning competitors are a reliable barometer when it comes to measuring the quality of a regatta experience. New competitors are the lifeblood that keeps an event vibrant. For a supplied-boat regatta, with limited entries, balancing the two is the key to sustained success.
Attrition has historically been more of a drip than a torrent at the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, though each event has featured at least one club new to the competition. In 2025, the ninth edition of this pre-eminent Corinthian sailing competition will welcome two new clubs—and one new country—to the Invitational Cup family, bringing the respective all-time totals to 51 yacht clubs and 23 countries.
"Sailing is very important in Brazil, and there are many crews and boats sailing in different races around the world, but there was no one from Brazil at the Invitational Cup," says Fabio Cotrim, who will steer the Yacht Club de Ilhabela's maiden entry. "The Yacht Club de Ilhabela hosts the most important sailing week in South America with over 130 keelboats, and Ilhabela has a long tradition as a city of sailing in Brazil, same as Newport. So, this was a fantastic match that we need to make happen. I started our application two years ago and waited anxious for the answer. We are all very happy to be part of it now."
The other new club competing in this year's event is the venerable Royal Irish Yacht Club, which bears the rare distinction of being older than the host New York Yacht Club, having been founded in 1831.
Twenty teams from 13 countries will compete 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 51 of the world's most prestigious yacht clubs from 23 countries.
After five editions in the Swan 42 class, the 2025 event will be 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 regatta will run from Saturday, September 6, through Saturday, September 13, with racing starting on Tuesday, September 9. A live broadcast on Facebook and YouTube, starting on Wednesday, September 10, will allow fellow club members, friends, family and sailing fans from around the world to follow the action as it happens. The 2025 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup is brought to you by title sponsor Rolex and regatta sponsors Helly Hansen, Safe Harbor Marinas and Peters & May.
While the IC37 was designed to have a minimal learning curve, there is still plenty of value placed on experience in the boat. In addition, the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup is a unique event that tends to reward sailors and teams familiar with its idiosyncrasies. However, the performance of Corinthian Yacht Club, from Marblehead, Mass., which placed second in its first attempt in 2023, showed that all rules have exceptions, especially when a team comes in with a boatload of talent.
In that regard, the Brazilian team seems ready for the challenge. In addition to co-skippers Cotrim and Demian Pons—who bring a wealth of one-design keelboat experience to the table—there is tactician Gintare Scheidt, an Olympic silver medalist and former world champion in the ILCA 6 class, former Optimist Dinghy world champion Alex Kuhl, Swan 36 world champion crew Fernando Sesto, and Giovanna Prada, a top-ranked windsurfer with a South American championship and Kiel Week bronze medal on her palmares.
"Since this will be Team YCI's first time competing in the event, and none of us has raced the IC37 before, we don't yet know exactly what to expect," says Scheidt, a native of Lithuania who is married to Brazilian Olympic sailing legend Robert Scheidt. "Our goal is to be competitive, learn quickly, and most importantly, enjoy the racing from start to finish. During the past months, we have dedicated several training and racing days on the C30 class boat. Since our eight team members come from different sailing backgrounds, every hour spent together on the water has been both valuable and productive. We recognize that there is still a lot of room for us to grow as a team, and we are committed to making steady progress."
Royal Irish Yacht Club's impending debut in the Invitational Cup came about in a different manner. When David Maguire, who sailed in 2023 for Ireland's Howth Yacht Club, failed to secure the club's 2025 berth, he immediately pivoted to another Dublin establishment, the Royal Irish Yacht Club. While the RIYC burgee will be a new addition to the collection, the team sailing under it will come in with experience and expectations.
"Last time out, every day we raced, we were getting better," says Maquire. "We were quite frustrated that we had a day cut short because the hurricane came in. We were aiming for a top 10, we got 11th. So, we're a little disappointed and frustrated. This time around, we certainly would love a top five, and we'll be seeking to push podium if we can."
2025 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, invited clubs: Corinthian Yacht Club (Marblehead, Mass.); Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, Mass.); Howth Yacht Club (IRL); Itchenor Sailing Club (GBR); Japan Sailing Federation; New York (N.Y.) Yacht Club; Royal Canadian Yacht Club; Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL); Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club; Royal Irish Yacht Club; Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (AUS); Royal Swedish Yacht Club; Royal Thames Yacht Club (GBR); Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (CAN); San Diego (Calif.) Yacht Club; Yacht Club Argentino; Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (ITA); Yacht Club de Ilhabela (BRA); Yacht Club Italiano; Yacht Club Punta del Este (URU).