Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup Day 2

by New York Yacht Club 11 Sep 06:34 BST September 6-13, 2025

Homework pays dividends for Royal Canadian crew

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 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 52 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.

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 materialized 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 defense.

The 2025 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup will continue tomorrow through Saturday, September 13,. For tomorrow, given the forecast, the race committee has moved the start time of the first race to 10:30 am (EDT). Live coverage of each race, via YouTube and Facebook, will continue tomorrow with Race 7 of the regatta.

Results after Day 2:

Pos	Team	Boat No	MNA	R1	R2	R3	R4	R5	R6	Pts
1	San Diego Yacht Club	2	USA	7	1	1	1	2	8	20
2	Royal Canadian Yacht Club	16	CAN	10	3	2	2	3	5	25
3	Royal Thames Yacht Club	19	GBR	2	11	3	13	5	1	35
4	Royal Vancouver Yacht Club	12	CAN	6	6.25	6.25	6	10	3	37.5
5	Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club	4	HKG	3	4	4	3	20	4	38
6	Royal Swedish Yacht Club	8	SWE	11	2	5	7	9	6	40
7	New York Yacht Club	6	USA	8	9	6	5	12	7	47
8	Royal Cork Yacht Club	17	IRL	14	5	12	10	6	2	49
9	Corinthian Yacht Club	9	USA	5	7	11	11	8	10	52
10	Yacht Club Costa Smeralda	5	ITA	1	8	8	9	16	16	58
11	Eastern Yacht Club	18	USA	13	15	14	8	4	9	63
12	Japan Sailing Federation	1	JPN	19	10	16	4	1	14	64
13	Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club	7	AUS	12	6	10	16	16	12	72
14	Yacht Club Punta del Este	15	URU	4	17	13	17	13	11	75
15	Howth Yacht Club	10	IRL	9	16	15	12	11	13	76
16	Royal Irish Yacht Club	3	IRL	16	12	18	20	7	15	88
17	Yacht Club Argentino	20	ARG	18	19	9	18	14	17	95
18	Yacht Club Italiano	14	ITA	15	14	19	14	19	19	100
19	Yacht Club de Ilhabela	13	BRA	RET	18	7	16	19	20	101
20	Itchenor Yacht Club	11	GBR	DSQ	13	18	19	17	18	106

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