The New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup U.S. Qualifying Series, where 24 preeminent yacht clubs in America will compete, will be held in Newport, RI next week on September 7-11. The top three U.S. teams from next week's event will join the top six teams from the 2009 Invitational Cup.
Among the competitors, who must be amateurs (Corinthian) sailors and members of the yacht clubs they represent, is Bora Gulari, skipper of the entry from Bayview Yacht Club, founded in 1915 in Detroit. Gulari is the 2009 Rolex Yachtsman of the Year in America on the strength of his win in the Moth World Championship in 2009. “This is a great honor to be invited to compete. I’m very excited to race against other U.S. yacht clubs. This is like an amateur championship in the States. I hope to do well, but this is not my usual type of sailing," explained Gulari who sails a fast-singlehanded hydrofoil-equipped dinghy. "I look forward to representing my club Bayview and am going to give it an all-out effort." Bora is good friends with Frank Kern's gang on his J/120 CARINTHIA...after all, good sailors who have fun are a small crowd in "Day-twah".
The skipper for the team from Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Mass. is Bill Lynn (pictured above), who is no stranger to the Sonars and J/22s. Billy is the 2007 Sonar World Champion and 2004 North American titleholder. Eastern Yacht Club was founded in 1870 and fielded three successful defenders to the America’s Cup: Puritan, Mayflower and Volunteer in 1885, 1886 and 1887, respectively. Billy is a classmate of the Editor, an All-American, a great J sailor (J/22, J/24, J/105, etc) and will be a force to reckon with.
The St. Francis Yacht Club Team from San Francisco is skippered by Russ Silvestri, who sailed a Finn in the 2000 Olympics and competed in the 2009 NYYC Invitational Cup for this same yacht club team, which finished seventh. The St. Francis Yacht Club, founded in 1869, is the oldest yacht club on North America’s Pacific Coast and boasts a number of Olympic and America’s Cup sailors. Russ is a long-time J sailor and friend having raced amongst others the J/22, J/24, J/105-- and is using ex-J/24 North American Champion Ed Adams as his coach-- we're expecting big things from you guys!
Other notable J sailors and friends helping guide their steeds fast around the track include: Peter Duncan from American YC; Peter McChesney and Scott Snyder from Annapolis YC; Teddie Moore and Larry Rosenfeld from Boston YC; Travis Weisleder and Rob Whittemore from Fishing Bay YC; Jamie Hilton, Chris Lash and Stu Streuli from Ida Lewis YC; Chris Raab from Newport Harbor YC; the Dellenbaugh's from Pequot YC; Bill Campbell from San Diego YC; Alan and Dave Constants from Seawanhaka YC; and John Jennings and Tito Vargas from St. Pete YC. Should be quite a show and a LOT of FUN! :) For more information regarding J Sailors in the New York YC Invite.