New York, N.Y., USA (Sept. 2, 2009) – The luck of the Irish will play a big part in the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, September 15-19, since not one but two teams from Ireland will be competing.  For the chance of winning bragging rights and a new trophy, members of Ireland’s Royal Cork Yacht Club (RCYC) – the world’s oldest yacht club, founded in 1720 – and the Royal St. George Yacht Club will each field a team of amateur sailors and travel thousands of miles to Harbour Court, the New York Yacht Club’s on-the-water clubhouse. A total of 19 yacht clubs from 14 countries will be sailing in the inaugural event.

Royal St. George Yacht Club
 

Skipper of the Royal St. George Yacht Club team, Michael Cotter, aboard his 80-foot Maxi Whisper in the Rolex Middle Sea Race.

Photo credit: Kurt Arrigo/Rolex

“We don’t have any Swan 42s in Ireland,” said David McHugh, a member of the Royal St. George Yacht Club’s entry, about the one-design being used for the event.  “We don’t feel it’s necessarily a total disadvantage because with a roller-furling jib, asymmetric spinnaker, and no rig tuning or electronics, it will be a very level playing field.” Instead, he said, success in this 19-boat one-design fleet will come down to “positioning, strategy, and getting around the racecourse in the most efficient way possible.” 
 
To accomplish this task, McHugh and his teammates will rely heavily upon the skills of their skipper, Michael Cotter, a Dragon class champion and regular on the Mediterranean Maxi circuit with his 80-footer Whisper.
 
In accepting the invitation to represent the Royal St. George Yacht Club, based in Dublin, Ireland, Cotter tasked McHugh, an experienced one-design sailor himself, to cull the best talent from the club’s membership.
 
“We put together the best we could,” said McHugh. “We were somewhat limited by strength and depth in one-design, 40-foot keelboats in the club, but we have managed to draw from a wide range of talent, both dinghy and keelboat, with a really good mix of youth and experience in many different classes.”
 
Their selected pro is Maurice O’Connell, a former Olympic Star sailor and head of North Sails Ireland. “He has a lot of experience with this size and type of boat,” said McHugh.
 
And while many teams may choose to sail with the maximum 11 crewmembers, Cotter’s squad will sail with nine. The roster includes Michael Liddy, who has broken two speed-sailing records, singlehanded and crewed, and has won the doublehanded Round Britain and Ireland Race. Other team members include three veterans of the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s amateur-based Rolex Commodore’s Cup competition: Kevin Johnston (Rolex Fastnet Race winner), Barry Byrne, and Brendan Fafaini. Andrew Fowler, an experienced team- and match-racing sailor, and Peter Wilson, Whisper’s mainsheet trimmer, complete the team.
 
Rich in youth and experience, but lacking in time in the NYYC Swan 42, McHugh acknowledged they have a steep learning curve to climb upon their arrival in Newport two days before the event, but, he added, they’re keen for the experience of competing in an unfamiliar boat in an unfamiliar venue. “We’re really looking forward to it, and we’re interested to see how everyone competes on a level playing field,” he said. “I imagine there will be a good social side as well. It’s a part of the world a lot of us have never been to.”
 
The Kingstown Boat Club, from which the Royal St. George Yacht Club evolved, was founded in 1838 by a small group of boating enthusiasts. Initially, the members’ main interest was in rowing, but membership grew rapidly, and among them were many well-known yachtsmen of the day. In 1847, the club became the Royal St. George’s Yacht Club. It subsequently became the Royal St. George Yacht Club. All who know it fondly refer to it as “the George.”

Royal Cork Yacht Club
 
The Royal Cork Yacht Club’s Anthony O’Leary needed little persuasion when his club invited its members to vie for the club’s one berth at the Invitational Cup. “To sail in such a renowned place doesn’t come around very often,” said O’Leary.
 
Six skippers expressed their desire to represent the club, but in consideration of the success O’Leary and his teammates have enjoyed over the past few years, particularly at the Royal Ocean Racing Club’s amateur-based Rolex Commodore’s Cup competition, the 53-year-old skipper was selected.
 
While they’ve done plenty of Cork 1720 sailing, O’Leary said that they will have had zero experience with the NYYC Swan 42 leading up to their practice sailing sessions in Newport, planned for the two days in advance of the first race.
 
“I’ve seen the 42 in Key West and done enough sailing in A-sail boats,” said O’Leary, “but not having sailed the boat before, the event for me will be a bit of R&R. I’m just looking forward to the competition. There will be plenty of other teams that won’t have experience in the boat either, so it will be great fun.”