From September 14th through the 17th, teams representing 30 clubs from every coast and corner of the United States will race Melges 20s and Sonars on Narragansett Bay. The top team will claim the 100-year-old silver trophy and a berth in the 2017 Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, the premiere international Corinthian regatta. The regatta will be hosted out of the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court in Newport, R.I.
The 2016 Resolute Cup is an invitational fleet racing regatta to be sailed in one-design keel boats. The primary goal is to run a Corinthian keelboat championship amongst preeminent U.S. yacht clubs. The Resolute Cup will also serve as a path for a U.S. yacht club to receive an invitation to the 2017 Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup to be held in Swan 42s. Teams will sail a qualifying series in both Sonars and Melges 20s, with the top teams moving to the Championship Series in Melges 20s and the remaining teams competing in the silver fleet in Sonars.
A broad diversity in the entry field, both in terms of the location and the size of the competing clubs, has been a hallmark of the Resolute Cup since the inaugural edition, then called the U.S. Qualifying Series for the New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, in 2010.
“By expanding the field to 30 entries, we have been able to invite a full range of American sailing clubs,” says Patricia O’Donnell, the event chair. “We can’t wait to welcome back old friends from clubs such as Larchmont, Newport Harbor, Eastern and Carolina, which have raced in all three previous editions. We’re also excited to see first-time entries from lesser-known sailing hotbeds such as Austin, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire, and Wisconsin’s Lake Geneva. We anticipate an extremely competitive regatta.”
The regatta is broken up into two parts. The 30 teams will be split into three divisions for two days of qualifying, sailing in both the Melges 20 and the Sonar fleets. The top 10 teams will qualify for the Championship Fleet, which will sail the final two days in the Melges 20s. The Silver Fleet will race the New York Yacht Club’s fleet of Sonars.
Live race tracking for the duration of the regatta and a live webcast of the event’s final two days will enable friends, family and fellow club members around the country to follow their team as compete for one of sailing’s most challenging Corinthian honors.
PRELIMINARY SCHEDULE
| Day | Date | Time | Event |
| Monday | September 12 | 1300-1600 | Registration and weigh-in |
| 1400-1700 | Optional Practice | ||
| 1700-1800 | Registration and weigh-in | ||
| 1800 | Classification Protest Time Limit | ||
| Tuesday | September 13 | 0900-1000 | Registration and weigh-in |
| 1000 | Competitors Meeting (mandatory) | ||
| 1100-1700 | Practice (mandatory) | ||
| 1800 | Competitors Meeting | ||
| 1830-2000 | Opening Reception | ||
| Wednesday | September 14 | 1030 | Race Day 1 – First Warning Signal |
| Thursday | September 15 | 1030 | Race Day 2 – First Warning Signal |
| Friday | September 16 | 1030 | Race Day 3 – First Warning Signal |
| Saturday | September 17 | 1030 | Race Day 4 – First Warning Signal |
| 1900-2300 | Final Awards Banquet |
2016 Competing Clubs
American Yacht Club (Rye, N.Y.)
Austin (Texas) Yacht Club
Balboa Yacht Club (Corona del Mar, Calif.)
Bayview Yacht Club (Detroit)
Beaufort (S.C.) Yacht and Sailing Club
Beverly Yacht Club (Marion, Mass.)
Carolina Yacht Club (Charleston, S.C.)
Chicago Yacht Club
The Cleveland Yachting Club (Rocky River, Ohio)
Coral Reef Yacht Club (Miami)
Corinthian Yacht Club (Marblehead, Mass.)
The Corinthian Yacht Club of Philadelphia (Essington, Penn.)
Eastern Yacht Club (Marblehead, Mass.)
Lake Geneva Yacht Club (Fontana, Wis.)
Larchmont (N.Y.) Yacht Club
Long Beach (Calif.) Yacht Club
Nantucket (Mass.) Yacht Club
New Bedford Yacht Club (South Dartmouth, Mass.)
New York Yacht Club
Newport Harbor Yacht Club (Newport Beach, Calif.)
San Diego Yacht Club
Sandusky (Ohio) Sailing Club
Sea Cliff (N.Y.) Yacht Club
Shelter Island Yacht Club (Shelter Island Heights, N.Y.)
Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans)
St. Francis Yacht Club (San Francisco)
Storm Trysail Club (Larchmont, N.Y.)
Wadawanuck Club (Stonington, Conn.)
Winnipesaukee Yacht Club (Gilford, N.H.)
