New York Yacht Club
Original Grandmasters Return to the Mountaintop
From the inception of the New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Regatta in 2010, Noroton Yacht Club, from Darien, Conn., was the undisputed champion of grandmasters team racing. But the club’s streak of six straight wins ended in 2016 and despite usually being in contention, Noroton had been unable to replicate its previous successes. Until today, that is. With a 4-1 record on the final day of the 2024 New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Regatta, Noroton put daylight between itself and Day 2 leader Texas Corinthian Yacht Club and clinched the win. Newport Harbor Yacht Club finished third and Southern Yacht Club took fourth.
“We are thrilled to have won the New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race,” says Noroton Yacht Club Team Captain Michael Rudnick. “We pay attention to the scores, but it’s one race at a time, always one race at a time. We really didn’t know that much after the first couple of races today. We checked right before the last race to see where things stood. So that was pretty good when we figured it out.”
The New York Yacht Club helped usher in a new era of adult team racing with the creation of the New York Yacht Club Invitational Team Race Regatta for the Commodore George R. Hinman Masters Trophy in 2000. That race, which requires skippers to be at least 45 years of age and crew to be over 40, was soon followed by the New York Yacht Club Invitational Team Race Regatta for the Morgan Cup, an all-ages event, in 2003 and, in 2010, the New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race Regatta, which mandates skippers be at least 60 years of age and crew at least 50. The three team races are traditionally held over consecutive weekends in August at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court, using the Club’s fleet of 22 Sonar keelboats, and annually attract some of the best adult team racers in the United States and Europe. New York Yacht Club Regatta Association sponsors for 2024 include Helly Hansen, Peters & May, Hammetts Hotel and Safe Harbor Marinas.
One of the many key ways that team racing differs from fleet racing is the focus on what’s going on behind you. While this happens occasionally in fleet racing, it’s essential in high-level team racing. This weekend, that meant attacking the opposing team early in the race, right after crossing the starting line, if not before.
“Everybody wants to chase,” says Noroton skipper Tom Kinney. “Coach Karl [Ziegler] says there’s always a play, and it’s always behind you. This has nothing to do with fleet racing. If you fleet race, you’re dead.”
Retraining life-long fleet racers to think this way, however, is easier said than done. The strength of the Noroton program lies in regular practice sessions.
“We try to race every Thursday night from April until late August,” says Rudnick. “And we’ve been doing that for years with all ages. It’s really a great opportunity. Everybody mixes it up. We run races, and nobody really keeps score, but it’s just race by race, and it gives everybody a chance to sail, gives us a chance to train, and it’s great for the club.”
Rudnick says the weather also played to Noroton’s strengths. Over the course of the three-day regatta, the breeze rarely gusted above 12 knots and was often below 10.
“We’re good in light air,” he says. “Western Long Island Sound is a very light-air venue. We know the boat. We know the conditions here. We spend a lot of time up here, so I think the conditions really were helpful for us. We practice with kites all the time. So the more kites, the better.”
Time will tell whether this is the start of another extended winning streak. The Texas Corinthian team, which won the event in 2021 and 2022. is eager for redemption next year. And the rest of the fleet isn’t far off the standard set by the top teams. One thing that is for sure is the genuine enjoyment all the Grandmaster competitors. While the events with younger sailors may be more intense, this event always seems to have the best atmosphere.
“New York Yacht Club just does an amazing job,” says Rudnick. “W’ve done a lot of masters regattas. I’ve sailed to Morgan a bunch of times. I think at the Grandmasters the camaraderie and the sportsmanship is top flight, and it’s just so nice. Last night, it was really great being in the tent. Just fantastic. We really enjoy it every time.”
