RHKYC team competing in New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup

by RHKYC Media on 14 Sep 2009 The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) has sent a team to compete in the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup which is taking place in the USA from 15 to 19 September. This is an inaugural event and it is proposed that it will take place every two years.

Racing in the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup will take place on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound, the same waters where the New York Yacht Club hosted the America's Cup -- a trophy it first won in 1851 -- from 1930 to 1983, or from its 14th Defense in 1930 to the 25th Defense in 1983. The sailing is expected to be tough and demanding, while the on-land activities will celebrate the camaraderie so revered in the sport.

The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club's team for the NYYC Invitational Cup was selected by the Club's Sailing Committee and consists of members who have all competed in international sailing regattas.

'The NYYC Invitational Regatta offers our Club some international prestige amongst similar Clubs around the world,' said Commodore Warwick Downes, who will serve as tactician. Downes has been racing sailing boats for as long as he can remember. 'I feel that we should be represented at this inaugural event, as it looks like a lot of fun along with very good class racing in these NYYC Swan 42s. I have raced in Newport before and look forward to coming back there.'

Downes and team helmsman, Jamie McWilliam, have competed against each other many times in Etchells, and this will be only the second time that they have paired up on the same boat. Pre-regatta preparation for the team includes practice sailing on a Mills 41, a boat similar to the NYYC Swan 42. The boat, called Ambush, is owned by two of the RHKYC crew, Joachim Isler (Rear Commodore Sailing) and Drew Taylor (Honorary Treasurer).

Other crew members are Ben Williams (Trimmer), Drew Taylor (Bow), Gary Gilbert (Navigator/Mainsheet), Gaston Chan (Pit), Glenn Kim (Mast/Mid Bow), Joachim Isler (Trimmer), Nick Burns (Mainsheet) and Suzanne Downes (Spinnaker trimmer).

When asked what his team expected of the competition, Downes said, 'My personal battle will be against the French team led by Bruno Troublé (Yacht Club de France) and Nicolo Reggio's Yacht Club Italiano.'

The complete list of competing clubs is as follows:

Japan Sailing Federation (Tokyo, Japan)
New York Yacht Club (New York, N.Y., USA)
Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (Hamburg, Germany)
Nyländska Jaktklubben (Helsinki, Finland)
Real Club Nautico Barcelona (Barcelona, Spain)
Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (Hamilton, Bermuda)
Royal Canadian Yacht Club (Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
Royal Cork Yacht Club (County Cork, Ireland)
Royal Danish Yacht Club (Hellerup, Denmark)
Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (Hong Kong, China)
Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron (Auckland, New Zealand)
Royal Ocean Racing Club (London, England)
Royal St. George Yacht Club (County Dublin, Ireland)
Royal Thames Yacht Club (London, England)
Royal Yacht Squadron (London, England)
St. Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco, Calif., USA)
Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (Porto Cervo, Sardinia, Italy)
Yacht Club de France (Paris, France)
Yacht Club Italiano (Genoa, Italy)

The Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (RHKYC) is one of the oldest and most prestigious sports clubs in Hong Kong, and is proud of its rich and colourful history, which stretches back over 150 years of social and competitive sailing and rowing. All these activities are strongly backed by the Club’s training courses which are available to members and non-members, details can be found at RHKYC website www.rhkyc.org.hk.