Newport, Rhode Island provided the backdrop for one of the most dramatic finishes in the history of the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, as three clubs scrapped over the title all the way to the final gun of 2025.
Heading into the last race, San Diego Yacht Club held the lead, their yellow spinnaker a familiar sight at the front of the fleet throughout the regatta. Yet their advantage had been trimmed. Royal Vancouver Yacht Club had stormed into contention after posting a 5-1-1 scoreline on Day 4, and their maths was straightforward: get seven boats between themselves and San Diego by the finish, and the trophy was theirs. Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club sat close enough to make it a genuine three-way contest for one of Corinthian sailing's most coveted prizes.
San Diego nearly handed the regatta away before the first windward mark. A crash tack early on the opening beat dropped them into a bad lane, and the starboard layline soon turned into a nightmare of congestion. Tactician Adam Roberts described the experience plainly: "We had an unexpected crash tack come at us… everybody was stacked up on the layline and there was no where to go. We ended up ducking everybody. It was a definite down moment." By the time the fleet reached the top mark, San Diego had fallen to 17th, with both Hong Kong and Vancouver sitting well clear. At that point the championship was anyone's to claim.
Royal Hong Kong responded with aggression. A bold jibe set carved them through the fleet and up to fourth place. "The jibe set was pretty strong, and we gained a lot from that," said 21-year-old tactician Duncan Gregor. Vancouver took a different approach, working their boatspeed steadily through the pack. Skipper Ben Mumford reflected on just how demanding the conditions had been: "The plan was to go left… It didn't materialize, we struggled to get back into the fray. That was the tightest stadium-style racing that we've done."
As the fleet rounded the second leeward mark, the three title contenders were separated by a knife-edge margin: Hong Kong fourth, Vancouver seventh, San Diego thirteenth. The Cup was still wide open.
The turning point came at the final leeward gate. An umpire penalty called on a rival boat opened a lane, and San Diego didn't hesitate. Skipper Jake La Dow threaded through the gap with four-time Cup champion Rick Merriman on the mainsheet and Roberts calling the shifts. "It starts with that leeward mark rounding… Luckily, we did. Then we had a quick tack, found our wheels, had clean air… and that's what it takes," Roberts said. From 15th, San Diego charged up to eighth on the final beat, crossing just ahead of Royal Vancouver at the finish. It was enough.
The final points tally told the full story of how close it had been: San Diego 63, Royal Hong Kong 68, Royal Vancouver 70.1. Mumford was generous in defeat. "We passed San Diego twice, and it just didn't materialize in the end. Hong Kong sailed an amazing series, and San Diego just crushed it, just top notch." For Roberts, the win carried the particular relief of someone who had come close before without converting. "It was relief, like just a huge weight off our shoulders. But also, extreme excitement. It's such a difficult event. I feel like this was one of the strongest Invitational Cups ever."
Corinthian Yacht Club finished fourth on 80 points, with Royal Cork Yacht Club, the only club to have competed in all nine editions of the event, rounding out the top five on 93 points. Royal Swedish Yacht Club and Royal Canadian Yacht Club both finished inside the top ten, while New York Yacht Club recovered to ninth on 108 points with a dominant performance in the final race. For Australia's Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club, 14th place on 158 points reflected how unforgiving the IC37 fleet can be when every team is closely matched. Itchenor Yacht Club, Yacht Club de Ilhabela, and Yacht Club Argentino each showed flashes of quality across the regatta but were unable to sustain the consistency needed to climb the standings.
The full final results:
San Diego Yacht Club (USA) – 63 pts Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (HKG) – 68 pts Royal Vancouver Yacht Club (CAN) – 70.1 pts Corinthian Yacht Club (USA) – 80 pts Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL) – 93 pts Royal Swedish Yacht Club (SWE) – 95 pts Royal Canadian Yacht Club (CAN) – 99 pts Royal Thames Yacht Club (GBR) – 105 pts New York Yacht Club (USA) – 108 pts Eastern Yacht Club (USA) – 109 pts Yacht Club Costa Smeralda (ITA) – 116 pts Howth Yacht Club (IRL) – 126 pts Japan Sailing Federation (JPN) – 131 pts Royal Prince Alfred Yacht Club (AUS) – 158 pts Yacht Club Italiano (ITA) – 165 pts Royal Irish Yacht Club (IRL) – 168 pts Itchenor Yacht Club (GBR) – 176 pts Yacht Club Punta del Este (URU) – 182 pts Yacht Club de Ilhabela (BRA) – 190 pts Yacht Club Argentino (ARG) – 201 pts
The 2025 edition underlined the extraordinary depth of the Invitational Cup fleet. From Hong Kong's attacking race tactics to Vancouver's relentless pressure and New York Yacht Club's late surge, the competition across all 20 teams never eased. Racing in identical IC37 one-designs, every crew knew the results would come down to skill, preparation, and the ability to perform when it mattered most. Harbour Court and Newport delivered their usual stage, and the international fleet responded with a contest that raised the bar for Corinthian one-design racing.
