2026 Resolute Cup at the New York Yacht Club Day 2

2026 Resolute Cup at the New York Yacht Club Day 2 © Paul Todd / www.outsideimages.com

Mental Fortitude Proves Essential

Day 2 of the Resolute Cup may have been more fun than eight hours at the proverbial coalface, but that doesn't mean it was any easier. Fortified with a building southerly, the race committee churned through eight races before sending the fleet—which left the dock around 9:30 am—to shore just after 5 pm. With a steady breeze and flat water, and two days of sailing in the books, it seemed like each of the 23 teams had its boat moving well, and the first mark roundings, in particular, were the sort of blender that saw some boats coming in looking at a top 3 position and exiting on the wrong side of the fleet. Every inch was treasured.

"These are really long days, and everything has to come together for you," said Adam Roberts, skipper for the San Diego Yacht Club team. "You need to get a good night's rest and then make sure you were getting enough energy out there on the water, with food and water, and just doing your best to stay as focused as you can."

The net result of the day was a flip-flop of the top two positions, with Corinthian Yacht Club, of Marblehead, Mass., assuming the lead over its neighbor on Marblehead Neck, Eastern Yacht Club. That advantage stands at just two points after 12 races. Detroit's Bayview Yacht Club moved from fourth to third while Roberts and San Diego Yacht Club made the most significant jump of the day, from eighth to fourth, and sit just four points off the lead.

2026 Resolute Cup at the New York Yacht Club Day 2 - photo © Paul Todd / www.outsideimages.com

Behind that leading quartet is a gap of 14 points to Annapolis Yacht Club in fifth. Trailing Annapolis are six boats within 12 points. On the bubble—the top 12 boats will advance to up to three double-point medal races on the final day—is Lakewood Yacht Club from Texas. Beyond that the fleet thins out a bit, but with two more days of sailing and good breeze in the forecast, there will be plenty of opportunities for upward mobility, or a slide in the opposite direction.

The breeze started light, but built steadily through the morning, peaking at around 15 knots by mid-afternoon. However, the fleet was thrown a curveball when, after the third race of the day, the presence of a NOAA research ship forced the race committee to relocate from the traditional race area between Rose and Goat island to the west side of the channel, with the windward mark positioned just off the Jamestown mooring field. Even though the two race areas are separated by less than a mile, the change in venue prompted a tactical reset for all the teams.

"I thought [the original location] was a little more of a boat-speed breeze, get out to a side," said Wade Waddell, skipper for the two-time defending champions from Corinthian Yacht Club. "Our emphasis was just sailing clear, sailing our boat, staying away from the other boats. But then we shifted to the Jamestown course. It's a lot puffier and shiftier tucked under Jamestown. I thought it was more college sailing-ish, being able to play the shifts and prioritizing being able to tack and sail the shifts as opposed to just drag racing out to a corner."

Another team making a strong move today was the crew from Annapolis, which was poised to join the leading group until recording a 12th in the day's final race. Even with that finish, Annapolis jumped from 10th after Day 1 into the top five.

"Today was great," said Fletcher Sims, the skipper for the Annapolis team. "Mentally, we were just trying to stay positive after every race, even the races where we did well. We didn't make it easy for ourselves. We always made sure to continue to kind of chip away, pass at least one or two boats.

"We know every team's going to have their bad moments, so we're going to try and, when we have a bad start or a bad rounding, minimize the damage. My team is really good at keeping me positive and motivated. I'm super lucky to be surrounded with people like this."

With another day of solid breeze forecast for tomorrow, the fleet could be looking at eight more races, at least, before the top half will break off for the double-point races on Saturday. Should the top group remain as closely packed as it is right now, it will deliver an exciting finale to a great regatta.

From the Sailors:

"How I do my starting is I'll sail typically over to the boat-hand side and kind of drift down to where I want to be. That's typically been pretty consistent, and it's been working well for us the past two days.

[The Velocitek starting system] definitely makes it easier because we know where the line is, it also makes it harder because everyone else knows where the line is as well.", Fletcher Sims, skipper, Annapolis Yacht Club

"I sail a lot of regattas at the New York Yacht Club and I don't know if I've ever had a barbecue. I'm really looking forward that, having some ribs. I'm super hungry after 8 races today.", Wade Waddell, skipper, Corinthian Yacht Club

"We are a team who's received 3 OCS's this event so far, so I'm not sure I'm a model citizen around starting. We're really focused on just playing the game around us and making sure that we're winning with the boats around us and not overfocusing on the Velocitek and all that cool new data, but instead using it as a tool when it gets really tight.", Adam Roberts, skipper, San Diego Yacht Club.

Results after Day 2:

1. Corinthian Yacht Club, 2,bye,1,[8],2,bye,1,17,bye,4,7; 25pts
2. Eastern Yacht Club, bye,3,2,3,bye,1,5,5,bye,5,3,[8]; 27pts
3. Bayview Yacht Club, 6,4,4,bye,3,5,2,bye,[11],3,1,bye; 28pts
4. San Diego Yacht Club, 3,bye,5,[14],1,bye,3,3,6,bye,6,2; 29pts
5. Annapolis Yacht Club, bye,6,9,9,bye,44,9,2,bye,2,2,[12]; 43pts
6. Newport Harbor Yacht Club, 1,2,bye,10,11,6,bye,8,5,[14],bye,4; 47pts
7. San Francisco Yacht Club, 10,bye,3,2,4,bye,6,4,[13],bye,12,6; 47pts
8. Chicago Yacht Club, bye,5,[10],6,bye,7,10,6,bye,10,5,1; 50pts
9. Charleston Yacht Club, 7,1,bye,[15],12,11,bye,10,1,7,bye,3; 52pts
10. New York Yacht Club, 11,[13],bye,1,5,2,bye,11,4,8,bye,10; 52pts
11. Shelter Island Yacht Club, 4,bye,12,4,7,10,bye,[14],9,4,bye,5; 55pts
12. Lakewood Yacht Club, 9,7,11,bye,13,3,4,bye,[16],6,7,bye; 60pts
13. Conanicut Yacht Club, 5,8,bye,[17],9,12,bye,9,3,12,bye,9; 67pts
14. Seattle Yacht Club, 14,12,14,bye,10,9,8,bye,2,[15],10,bye; 79pts
15. Encinal Yacht Club, 8, [16],6,bye,6,8,11,bye,14,16,11,bye; 80pts
16. Little Traverse Yacht Club, bye,11,9*,5,bye,15,7,[17],bye,13,8,17; 85pts
17. St. Francis Yacht Club, 16,15,bye,7,15,[17],13,bye,8,1,16,bye; 91pts
18. California Yacht Club, bye,10,15,11,bye,14,12,7,bye,[17],9,13; 91pts
19. Larchmont Yacht Club, 12,9,bye,12,[16],13,bye,16,10,11,bye,11; 94pts
20. Duxbury Yacht Club, 13,bye,8,[18],8,bye,14,15,15,bye,15,16; 104pts
21. Fort Worth Boat Club, bye,14,[17],13,14,bye,15,12,bye,9,13,14; 104pts
22. Northeast Harbor Fleet, 15,bye,16,16,[17],bye,17,13,12,bye,14,15; 118pts
23. Stamford Yacht Club, 17,17,13,bye,[18],16,16,bye,17,18,17,bye; 131pts

*2-point penalty
[ ] highest score is dropped from final scoring

Since 2010, the Resolute Cup has served as a Corinthian Championship for U.S. yacht clubs and the only guaranteed pathway for an American club to earn a berth in the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, Corinthian sailing's most prestigious international competition. The eighth edition of the biennial competition—the event was not sailed in 2020—is scheduled for September 28 to October 3 at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, R.I. The 2026 Resolute Cup will utilize the Club's fleet of Sonars, with provided sails, equalized rig tune and on-the-water umpiring ensuring sailing's ultimate level playing field. The 2026 Resolute Cup is supported by official apparel sponsor Musto.