Clubs pursuing national bragging rights

There’s no set formula for evaluating the entry list for an invitational event. But among the critical criteria would be a healthy number of former champions, geographic diversity, and a handful of new entries. Collectively, the selected entrants for the seventh edition of the Resolute Cup, a Corinthian Championship for U.S. Yacht Clubs, checks all three boxes.

The list has 28 clubs that will race New York Yacht Club’s fleet of 23-foot Sonars on September 9-14 in Newport, RI.

“When it comes to creating our invite list, we’re at the mercy of the event’s stature in many ways,” says event chair A.J. Evans. “We know roughly what we’re looking for but must hope that our request for invitation process pulls in the right quality and quantity.

“In looking at the roster of clubs slated to contest the 2024 Resolute Cup, I’m extremely excited: all six former champions will attend, as well as five clubs that have never previously raced. Plus, we have the geographic diversity that is so important for a national-championship-level event, with five teams from the Gulf Coast and four from the Midwest along with the typically solid representation from the Atlantic and Pacific coasts.”

The Resolute Cup was first run in 2010 as the U.S. Qualifying Series for the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup. The biennial regatta has since developed an identity of its own as yacht clubs from around the United States send their best amateur sailors to compete for national bragging rights in addition to a coveted berth in the Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, sailing’s premiere international Corinthian big-boat regatta.

Corinthian Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA), the defending champ, is one of the six former winners that will return to the event this September. CYC’s rapid rise through the ranks should give hope to any of the rookie teams, or even those with just one appearance.

In its first Resolute Cup, in 2016, the venerable club finished 12th. An eighth followed in 2018 before an emphatic win in 2022. Last September, Corinthian Yacht Club finished second at the 2023 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, an impressive showing for a first-time competitor.

“There was no question the Corinthian Yacht Club would be back to compete and defend the Resolute Cup in 2024,” says Wade Waddell, the team’s skipper in 2022 and at the Invitational Cup last fall. “After winning the event in 2022 and finishing as the runner-up at the Invitational Cup, it was an easy decision.”

Past Winners: Eastern YC (2010), Larchmont YC (2012), Newport Harbor YC (2014), Southern YC (2016), San Diego YC (2018), Cancelled/COVID (2020), Corinthian Yacht Club (2022)

Details: https://nyyc.org/2024-resolute-cup

Invited Clubs: American Yacht Club (Rye, NY), Austin Yacht Club (Austin, TX), Bay Waveland Yacht Club (Bay St. Louis, MS)*, Bayview Yacht Club (Detroit, MI), California Yacht Club (Marina del Rey, CA), Carolina Yacht Club (Charleston, SC), Charleston Yacht Club (Charleston, SC)*, Chicago Yacht Club (Chicago, IL), Corinthian Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA)#, Corinthian Yacht Club (Tiburon, CA)*, Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, MA)#, Edgewater Yacht Club (Cleveland, OH)*, Forth Worth Yacht Club (Fort Worth, TX), Lakewood Yacht Club (Seabrook, TX), Larchmont Yacht Club (Larchmont, NY)#, Little Traverse Yacht Club (Harbor Springs, MI), Mystic River Mudheads Sailing Association (West Mystic, CT)*, New York Yacht Club (Newport, RI), Newport Harbor Yacht Club (Newport Beach, CA)#, Pensacola Yacht Club (Pensacola, FL), San Diego Yacht Club (San Diego, CA)#, Seattle Yacht Club (Seattle, WA), Shelter Island Yacht Club (Shelter Island Heights, NY), Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans, LA)#, St. Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco, CA), Stamford Yacht Club (Stamford, CT), Storm Trysail Club (Larchmont, NY), San Francisco Yacht Club (Belvedere, CA).

#designates former champion
*designates first-time competitor

Source: NYYC