Published: Sunday, May 2, 2004 at:11:46 PM




New York Yacht Club Team Racing Invitational


The overall winning NYCC team celebrates at the awards banquet at the Carvery.

by Mark O’Riordan

During a week of record-breaking rain and thunder squalls, three intrepid teams took part in the New York Yacht Club Team Racing event at Bitter End Yacht Club in early November. New York Yacht Club hosted fellow sailors from historic Royal St George Yacht Club on the south side of Dublin Bay, Ireland, and English mariners from the Royal Thames Yacht Club. Both British Isles teams felt right at home with the less-than-ideal weather. The aim of this event was to pit the team members from the yacht clubs against each other in a series of races, beginning with a round robin and culminating in a final between the top two teams.

Racing was held over four days in Bitter End’s fleet of Hunter 216s, which provided an ideal one-design for this competitive team racing event. NYYC Principal Race Officer Bill Waggoner battled against the intermittent rain, menacing thunder storms and frequent white-outs to provide world-class racing on choppy North Sound. Throughout the rain, the Race Committee aboard Bitter End’s Ponce de Leon was kept sharp by Boots, Nancy, and the two Dottys, who loyally kept score throughout the week.

Despite the weather, the teams utilized the stiff winds and the 216s to provide spectacular, nail-biting team racing. Two teams of three boats raced against each other in each round of the event. Racing was extremely close and at some stages it was very hard to tell who would win out with the magic combination of placings. Royal Thames Yacht Club was the first to falter, leaving an American-Irish final between the lads and lassies of the Royal St George Yacht Club and the New Yorkers. The final was set to be the best of five races, but due to an almighty thunder storm on the final day, the full complement of races could not be held. The teams were drawn on two races each. To break the draw, Bill Waggoner turned to see the total points scored by the teams throughout the week—guess what? It was another draw on 42 points a piece. The next step was to see who had won the last race, and due to a very unfortunate finishing combination by the Irish, the New York Yacht Club had won.

Ireland's Royal St. George Yacht Club leads New York Yacht Club during an exciting early heat at the 2003 NYYC Team Race Invitational.

Throughout the week, spirits were kept high at various social functions, including Royal St. George’s legendary “Bailey’s Party.” On Friday, the water-logged crews retired to the Carvery Restaurant for a delicious prize-giving meal. Everyone agreed that the week of racing was superb despite the unusually damp Caribbean weather. To the losing teams, New York’s response was “come back next year and give it another shot” –-no doubt the sun will be shining!

Editor’s note: Mark is a Bitter End sailing staff who hails from the olde sod.