Lotz and Read pull through

Host team win the New York Yacht Club's inaugural Invitational Cup

No one knew quite what to expect, even though a year and a half of planning went into getting 19 teams from 14 nations to Newport, R.I., for the inaugural New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. The event, which started on Wednesday and concluded today, was conceived and very well received as a high-profile regatta for amateur yacht club teams. To that end, the New York Yacht Club put forth its best effort not only to host the event but also to field its own team, which won after 11 races on Rhode Island Sound and Narragansett Bay.

The victory was no cake walk for NYYC skipper Phil Lotz and crew, even though they wound up with 11 points on their closest overall competitor, the Royal Canadian Yacht Club with Terry McLaughlin skippering. The Canadians finished second in the first race today and won the second race by a 'nautical mile', but Lotz and crew still had the finish positions (3-2) to win. “We used tactician Ken Read’s patience in picking wind shifts and the crew’s flawless execution of maneuvers. They were key to the day and were the two things that got us through the regatta,” said Lotz, whose teammates also included his wife Wendy, two sons Chris and Doug, Blake Kimbrough, Byron LaMotte, Tripp Dolman, Rick Merriman, Stuart Streuli and Brendan Marshall.

Only one Category 3 (or professional) sailor was allowed per team, and Ken Read, most recently credited for his Volvo Ocean Race success, was it for the NYYC team. Read, a NYYC member, was humbled, however, by the equanimity of his teammates. “Lord knows these guys I’m sailing with can get around the track without me,” said Read, pointing out that Rick Merriman, a three-time All American from Navy, is part of the “speed loop” with Lotz that keeps the boat going while allowing Read the luxury of solely focusing on tactics.

“Before every regatta you circle what you think are the top five teams, and there is not a surprise in this top-five group at all,” said Read. As noted, Canada finished second, the Japan Sailing Federation third, Finland’s Nylandska Jaktklubben fourth and Royal Cork Yacht Club fifth.

The conditions were shifty, as they had been for all previous races, but while the wind had whipped in a frenzy all week and even this morning while the sailors left their moorings at Harbour Court for a pre-race Parade of Nations through Newport Harbor, they had moderated to about 10-12 - its weakest all week - by the afternoon.

“I hadn’t thought about if before now, but we really didn’t miss a set, a takedown, a tack or whatever over the four days of racing,” said Lotz at the end of the regatta. “There was no maneuver that didn’t go reasonably well if not perfect. As for Canada, they did great today; we were just lucky enough to still be close enough to them to win.”

While Lotz was talking, Oliver Stanley, a crew member from the Royal Yacht Squadron Team, stopped by to shake his hand. “It was a real pleasure to watch you and your team sail,” said Stanley. He explained that the NYYC team managed to “eek out positions” where he didn’t think they could and sailed not only with fairness but with great friendliness. That, afterall, was an important underpinning of the regatta.

“It’s great sailing against some old friends here,” said McLaughlin, adding with a chuckle, “and some of whom are very good sailors who haven’t sailed a lot lately but still have it.”

With the Canadian team easily maintaining its second-place position from yesterday, it was the Japan Sailing Federation that perhaps fought hardest to stay in third overall. “The points were very close, and we had a chance to get second, but the shifts made it difficult,” said tactician Eiichiro Hamasaki from that team. “In the last race it was mainly in my mind to keep third.” Steering the boat was Takashi Okura, famous for his successful race boats named Sled, and acting as pitman was Makoto Uematsu, famous for his successful race boats named Esmeralda. The two sailors brought together the best of their two teams, and it showed.

Finland’s Nylandska Jaktklubben team was skippered by Leonardo Ferragamo, head of Nautor’s Swan; however today tactician Kenneth Thelen took the helm. In the first race with only a quarter of a leg to go, Finland and Canada were running neck-and-neck but Finland crossed the finish line first. “It’s really great; the boats are so close,” said Thelen about the NYYC Swan 42s being used at the event. (Nautor’sSwan is the manufacturer.) “And sailing in one-design competition is the best.” Thelen added that he, like others in the regatta were amazed by their surroundings. “I never imagined a place like Newport existed in America.”

As for the Royal Cork Yacht Club’s performance, skipper Anthony O’Leary said, “If you had offered us fifth place on the airplane over here, we’d have taken it, because that’s pretty respectable in this fleet.”

Full results: