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« Back Post Date: Monday, September 11, 2017
SOUTHERN wins Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup
NEWPORT, R.I.—(9/16/17, 5:30p CDT) In an extremely gratifying, if somewhat anticlimactic, starting sequence in the final Race 12, SOUTHERN held a solid leeward position as Royal Sydney YS struggled to find the front row. SYC extended to the left was able to cover RSYS from several places ahead for the entire race. Despite keeping an eye solidly in the rear view mirror, SYC posted yet another second place on a remarkably consistent scoresheet. RSYS finished in 8th place. SYC is the 2017 Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup champion! Click thru for past updates.

Racing on September 12–16, 10a CDT

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Past Updates

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  (9/16/17, 5:30p CDT) In an extremely gratifying, if somewhat anticlimactic, starting sequence in the final Race 12, SOUTHERN held a solid leeward position as Royal Sydney YS struggled to find the front row. SYC extended to the left was able to cover RSYS from several places ahead for the entire race. Despite keeping an eye solidly in the rear view mirror, SYC posted yet another second place on a remarkably consistent scoresheet. RSYS finished in 8th place. SYC is the 2017 Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup champion!
  (9/15/17, 3:30p CDT) SOUTHERN leads Royal Sydney YS by 8 points with one race remaining. RSYS holds the tie-breaker, so SYC must finish Race 12 within 7 places of the Aussies to win the regatta. Piece o' cake, right? The start should be interesting!
  (9/15/17, 2:10p CDT) In Race 11, SOUTHERN paradoxically benefited from arguably their worst start of the regatta.  After being the deepest boat in the mid-line sag, SYC was flushed-out to the right and ducked half the fleet.  As if on cue, the breeze built and veered sending SYC into first place for a while. SYC & Royal Sydney YS continued to slug it out like heavyweights with RSYS ultimately taking yet another race win and SYC in third.  SYC's lead is cut to 8 points with just one race remaining, scheduled for tomorrow.
  (9/15/17, 12:40p CDT) SOUTHERN had an excellent start in Race 10.  SYC, the leeward-most boat at the pin, was able to force Royal Sydney YS up and underneath YC Argentino to weather, who was then forced OCS.  RSYS was slowed as YCA flogged their sails to restart. RSYS did not stay down for long, however, making a quick escape.  On the first run, SYC gybed away from the race lead to cover their rival.  Royal Thames YC was the beneficiary as SYC continued to cover RSYS all the way to the finish.  The finish order was RTYC, SYC, RSYS.  SYC's lead stands at 10 points.
  (9/15/17, 11:30a CDT) Just two races are planned for Friday which will leave the 12th and final race for Saturday.  The R/C has selected the inshore course on Narragansett Bay.  SOUTHERN will once again fly the gold spinnaker marking the regatta leader.
  (9/14/17, 2:10p CDT) SOUTHERN and Royal Sydney YS teased at some match racing at the start of Race 9, but ultimately the pair had a solid start to leeward of the fleet.  From there, the two teams led around every mark.  SYC took a couple of looks at passing, but in the end, they were content to stay close and take a conservative second-place finish.  Their lead stands at 9 points after Day 3.
  (9/14/17, 12:15p CDT) The match racing claws came out at the start of Race 8 as SOUTHERN and Royal Sydney YS mixed it up.  SYC got the best of it and got off the line to leeward of the fleet with RSYS in the second row.  SYC owned the left and found a nice shift to cross the fleet.  From there is was all defend and extend to lead at every mark.  RSYS placed 7th to return the margin to 10 points.
  (9/14/17, 11:15a CDT) SOUTHERN misjudged the adverse current at the start of Race 7 and despite being bounced towards the first shift on the right, found themselves behind the lead pack and mired in mid-fleet.  RSYS had a similar start, but was able to stay in the front row up the first beat and parlayed that into a solid race win.  SYC finished 7th, dropping their regatta lead to 4 points.  The wind in the bay is notably shiftier than offshore.
  (9/14/17, 9:45a CDT) Due to fog offshore, today's racing will be held up Narragansett Bay, north of the bridge.  As the regatta leader, SOUTHERN will again fly the gold spinnaker.
  (9/14/17, 8:15a CDT) The sailing term "Moving Day" applies to multi-day regattas and is often thought to mean the last good chance for teams to move up - or down - in the standings.  However, the more apt meaning is that it's the day when teams "unpack their boxes" and "take-up residence" in their final positions for the regatta, give or take a place or two.  Before Moving Day, teams are looking to live in the best neighborhood in town.  After Moving Day, teams just hope to have a nicer house than their neighbors.  On this Moving Day, look for SYC to either "decorate the penthouse" or fall into the clutches of a handful of worthy challengers.
  (9/13/17, 4p CDT) SOUTHERN returns to rarefied air in Race 6 with an excellent second place finish behind YC Argentino.  More importantly, Royal Sydney YS finished in a three-way skirmish to avoid last place.  This will give SYC a 10-point cushion going into Day 3.
SOUTHERN (gold spinnaker) on their way to a second-place finish in Race 6.
  (9/13/17, 3:20p CDT) SOUTHERN has been steadfast in their conservative mid-line starts and it paid off in spades in Race 6.  Royal Sydney YS flopped from their typical leeward-end starts to fight full-on at the crowded boat end - with disastrous results.  SYC will round the first mark in third while RSYS will round second-to-last!
SOUTHERN (gold spinnaker) in third place with rival Royal Sydney YS (near horizon) in last place.
  (9/13/17, 2:30p CDT) SOUTHERN and Royal Sydney YS showed a bit of tunnel vision in Race 5, hinting at some match race tactics at the start.  After four races favoring the left, the right came in strong on the first beat and SYC & RSYS found themselves solidly in mid-pack. The race turned into loss-management for SYC, who will lose only one point to RSYS and fall into a tie for the regatta lead.
  (9/13/17, 1:30p CDT) CORRECTION: It appears the Royal Sydney YS took the win in Race 4.
  (9/13/17, 1:15p CDT) SOUTHERN pulled-off a rare pass for the lead on the last leg to the finish of Race 4 to steal the win from Royal Sydney YS, who had led the fleet around every mark.  SYC had a better chute set and quickly gybed towards more breeze.  RSYS gybed underneath, but too close, and SYC was able to roll over the top to take the lead.  At the final gybe, SOUTHERN threw in a head-fake to get RSYS to peel off sooner, but then lost the breeze.  In a photo-finish, SYC was able to squeak-out an excellent win in Race 4.
SOUTHERN (gold spinnaker), RSYS (center) and YC Argentino finish overlapped.
  (9/13/17, 11a CDT) AP is down and the fleet is headed out to the racing area for Day 2.  SOUTHERN will fly the gold spinnaker today as the points leader of the regatta.
  (9/13/17, 9:45a CDT) SOUTHERN will fly the gold spinnaker today as the points leader of the regatta.  Like yesterday, racing has been postponed to wait on the breeze.
  (9/12/17, 3:45p CDT) SOUTHERN sailed a perfect Race 3 for a wire-to-wire win.  Royal Sydney YS split with the leaders on the second beat and fell into the clutches of Eastern YC, handing SYC a two-point lead in the regatta after Day 1.
  (9/12/17, 3:20p CDT) SOUTHERN has parlayed an excellent start in Race 3 into rounding the first two marks in the lead.  However, SYC's nemesis Royal Sydney YS and Eastern YC have kept the fight for second place close behind.
  (9/12/17, 2:30p CDT) In Race 2, SOUTHERN came back from a mid-fleet start to round in second place at the first mark. From there, they kept an eye on the very quick Royal Sydney YS team, who nearly caught SYC on the last gybe to the finish, but fell 1 second short!  SYC finished second to Royal Hong Kong YC.
  (9/12/17, 1:20p CDT) Race 2 is underway.  Unfortunately, the live video feed is currently not working, but you can follow the action via the Race Tracking link.
(9/12/17, 1p CDT) SOUTHERN finished second in Race 1, between Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron in first and Royal Thames YC in third.
  (9/12/17, 10a) AP is down and the boats are headed for the racecourse!  First warning will be at 11a CDT.
SOUTHERN crew headed out to the first start (Clerc is behind the camera!)
  (9/12/17, 9:30a) Racing is postponed for at least 30 minutes for light wind, but it is expected to fill in. 
  (9/12/17, 8:00a) The SOUTHERN crew enjoyed an evening of hospitality at NYYC's Harbor Court before the battle begins in earnest today. 
Click image to view full size.  (Left to right, front) Baker Potts, Jackson Benvenutti, Marcus Eagan, Andrew Eagan, Stephen Murray, Rick Merriman, Jay Kuebel, Rob Rogers, Johnny Lovell; (rear) Ed Adams, Clerc Cooper, Sam Fitzgerald.  Note: Merriman & Fitzgerald are the (2) allowed non-SYC-members on the roster.  Coach Ed Adams does not race with the crew.
  (9/11/17, 5:30p) Racing starts tomorrow for the 2017 Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup.  By all indications, the SOUTHERN crew is ready.  They led at every mark of both practice races on Monday, with solid starts and excellent speed upwind and down.  We will be posting periodic updates here.