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Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup – Eastern Team Update
Dear Fellow EYC Members:

In September, a team led by Bill Lynn and consisting solely of Eastern Yacht Club members will be competing in the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup in Newport. The Invitational Cup is the premier inter-club amateur racing event in the world. Nineteen teams from 11 countries and 5 continents will be sailing in the event. Eastern won the right to compete by finishing 2nd out of 24 North American teams in the bi-annual US Qualifying Series last September. Eastern raced for the Cup in 2011 and finished 4th out of 20 competitors.

The Invitational Cup was created as an international inter-club event for amateur sailors. The goal is to make sailing in this regatta similar to sailing in the America’s Cup before it became dominated by professionals. The rules for who may crew and who may be navigator and skipper are very strict. All but two of the crew must be members of the competing yacht club. To insure that Dennis Conner doesn’t mysteriously show up as the owner’s representative, the representative must be a full time employee and regularly engaged in boat maintenance and repair. The races are sailed in Swan 42’s which are tuned to be as nearly the same as possible; NYYC provides matching jibs, mains and spinnakers.

Winning the cup requires an extra-ordinary effort both on and off the water. Being invited to participate is only the beginning. The team must train together and race in chartered Swan 42’s much of the summer if they are to be competitive. On the water training starts mid-June. Coaching is important before and during the regatta. Bill is in the process of forming the team which will include alternates. If you are interested in sailing or in helping with off the water activities such as scheduling and transportation, please contact Bill at [email protected].

The Eastern fully intends to win the Cup this fall. I will be in touch later with information about how you can support the effort financially and watch the races in Newport this September.

Very truly yours,
Phil Smith, Past Commodore
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