From New York Yacht Club

Corinthian Yacht Club (Marblehead, Mass.), fielding the same team (above) that took home the 2022 Resolute Cup, will return in a few weeks to defend its title on Narragansett Bay. This time around, there’s no doubt it knows what it takes to win this prestigious event, and it also has the skills to pull off a repeat. CYC skipper Wade Waddell, a newcomer to the 2022 Resolute Cup, expects his crew’s cohesion and experience in that event will position them well for the battle ahead.

“The competition is intense, the racing is close and it’s hard to win, and that’s why we keep coming back!” says Waddell. “After winning the 2022 event and finishing second in the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, the decision to return was an easy one. Our team – Doug Sabin, Duncan Swain and Miranda Bakos – know each other well and have built a high level of trust over the years, allowing us to perform at a high level when it matters most.”

Waddell finished ahead of San Diego Yacht Club in 2022 and finished second to SDYC in the 2023 Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup. He is excited to compete against the talented West Coast team.

“SDYC has put together a younger team this year, but I’m sure they’ll still have a great team,” Waddell says. “A lot of the people sailing for SDYC I either went to college with or am good friends with, so that makes the rivalry fun. We all have similar college backgrounds, so it was pretty cool to finish 1st and 2nd in 2022 and then finish 1st and 2nd again at the Invitational, but in a different order.”

Since 2010, the Resolute Cup has served as the Corinthian championship for U.S. yacht clubs and is the only guaranteed path for an American club to secure a spot in the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, the most prestigious international competition in Corinthian sailing. The seventh edition of the biennial competition—the event was not sailed in 2020—is scheduled for September 9-14 in the Harbor Court of the New York Yacht Club in Newport, Rhode Island. The 2024 Resolute Cup will utilize the club’s sonar fleet. The provided sails, balanced rigging and on-water umpires ensure the highest level of opportunity in sailing. The New York Yacht Club Regatta Association’s 2024 regatta calendar is sponsored by Helly Hansen, Hammetts Hotel, Safe Harbor Marinas and Peters & May.

Although the pressure seems to have eased for the San Diego Yacht Club – the defending Invitational Cup champions are assured of a berth in 2025 – Jack Egan, who replaces Tyler Sinks as the club’s captain in the Resolute Cup this year, is confident his team will fight to the end.

“In some ways the pressure is off, but I don’t think anyone on our boat has an ‘off’ switch for competing, especially when racing against so many other talented sailors,” says Egan (left). “Tyler and I have discussed what he’s learned and what I should look for; most importantly, he has a lot of confidence in me and the team we’ve put together. We hope that when we come to the regatta we can draw on the experience of the SDYC and all the diverse sailing experience we bring as individuals.”

Tactician Adam Roberts, the link between San Diego’s victorious Invitational Cup team and this year’s Resolute Cup team, agrees with Egan.

“We have so many talented sailors at SDYC and have been able to pack our boat with some great people – each one brings a unique perspective,” says Roberts. “The Resolute Cup is one of the most competitive amateur sailing events in the world and to win you have to show just as much attention to detail as you do at the Invitational. It’s my job to leverage the strengths of our team members to make sure we’re doing our best in every aspect of this event, not just picking up the shifts.”

Clinton Hayes (right) will again lead the Eastern Yacht Club team, which has a good chance of making the podium this year after finishing fourth in 2022 behind Storm Trysail Club. Eastern has always finished near the top of the Resolute Cup in the past, but it’s been a while since they last won, Hayes noted. For the Eastern team, however, their strength in sonar is of value.

“High-level racing in equal, provided boats is the most fun thing about racing on the water,” says Hayes. “Eastern has always been a big sonar club; we spend a lot of time on the boat and believe we can sail it as well as anyone.”

Hannah Lynn, who also sails with Eastern, pointed out the benefits of returning with the same crew in a single fleet of boats.

“The four of us have been racing together for the last ten years and spent most of this summer team racing in Sonars,” says Lynn. “A big reason we decided to race with the same team this year was because we felt our difficulties last time were largely due to getting used to the RS21. Without that factor, we are a very solid Sonar team. We will keep a cool head and not try to take risks or rush into anything, just rely on what we know and what has worked in the past.”

Southern Yacht Club, which won the Resolute Cup in 2016 and the Invitational Cup in 2017 and 2021, finished first in the Silver Fleet standings in the 2022 Resolute Cup and is looking to improve on that performance. The club is fielding a new team with Andy Lovell at the helm. Lovell, a two-time All-American and the College of Charleston’s collegiate sailor of the year, has twice finished second in U.S. Olympic qualifying events, in the 1996 Laser and the 2004 Star. Gifted in a variety of classes, Lovell also won the Hinman Masters Team Race in the Sonar in 2018.

“We need to qualify for the Invitational Cup, that’s a big deal for Southern,” says Lovell (far left). “Our club commodore asked me to put together a good team for the Resolute Cup to try and get back into the Invitational Cup. It’s an amateur championship and our club is mostly amateur sailors so it suits what we do. Our aim is to do really well and the best way to do that is to do as well as we can in every single race and every stage of the race and not get frustrated.”

Racing for the Resolute Cup begins on Wednesday, September 11. On Saturday, September 14, the fleet will be halved for three final double point races. Racing will take place on Narragansett Bay between Rose and Goat Island, starting at 10:30 a.m. each morning and continuing into the afternoon, weather permitting.

—Text by Michelle Slade; Photos by Paul Todd / Outside Images (2), courtesy of Jack Egan and ROLEX / Daniel Forster

2024 Determined Cup
New York Yacht Club Harbor Court
Newport, Rhode Island (State)
9 to 14 September

Participating teams: American Yacht Club, Rye, NY; Austin (Texas) Yacht Club; Bay Waveland Yacht Club, Bay St. Louis, Mississippi; Bayview Yacht Club, Detroit, Michigan; California Yacht Club, Marina del Rey, California; Carolina Yacht Club, Charleston, South Carolina; Charleston Yacht Club, Charleston, South Carolina; Chicago (Illinois) Yacht Club; Corinthian Yacht Club, Marblehead, Massachusetts; Corinthian Yacht Club of San Francisco, Tiburon, California; Eastern Yacht Club, Marblehead, Massachusetts; Edgewater Yacht Club, Cleveland, Ohio; Fort Worth (Texas) Yacht Club; Lakewood Yacht Club, Seabrook, Texas; Larchmont (NY) Yacht Club; Little Traverse Yacht Club, Harbor Springs, Mich.; Mystic River Mudheads Sailing Association, West Mystic, Conn.; New York (NY) Yacht Club; Newport Harbor Yacht Club, Newport Beach, California; Pensacola (Florida) Yacht Club; San Diego (California) Yacht Club; Seattle (Washington) Yacht Club; Shelter Island Yacht Club, Shelter Island Heights, NY; Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, Louisiana; St. Francis Yacht Club, San Francisco, California; Stamford (Conn.) Yacht Club; Storm Trysail Club (Larchmon, NY); The San Francisco Yacht Club, Belvedere, California.

Photos: Paul Todd / Outside Images