America’s Cup Charters Honors Newport’s Own

Submitted by America’s Cup Charters; September 3, 2020
For more information on this event contact Julie Lassy (401) 849-5868

A Sailing Salute to Hometown Heroes

In recognition and appreciation of the workers who have kept the City of Newport thriving during this pandemic, America’s Cup Charters will host a Hometown Heroes Regatta on Wednesday, September 9, 2020, 12:30-4:30pm.

America’s Cup Charters 12 Metre fleet includes Weatherly (US-17), Intrepid (US-22) and Heritage (US-23)

At the beginning of the 2020 season, after over 30 years under the same owners, Jack Curtin took the helm of America’s Cup Charters, right in the midst of the pandemic. Being the owner of Intrepid for more than 20 years, Jack knows the thrill of racing 12 Meters first hand. He wanted to do something to honor the people who have kept Newport a vibrant destination throughout this ordeal so he sent out an invitation to participate in a Hometown Heroes Regatta.

“We’re part of the fabric of Newport’s community of enthusiastic entrepreneurs and we want to do something to acknowledge and appreciate the people that make Newport special. To blend the storied history of our yachts sailing in Newport with the great recent achievements of this group in these challenging moments is only appropriate. It’s our pleasure to donate a special day.”– Jack Curtin

“America’s Cup Charters has historically been involved with nonprofit organizations using their 12 Meter yachts as platforms to aid in various fund raising activities so why not use them to give back to our community. Sail to Prevail, Mystic Seaport, Mass General Hospital, The Nature’s Conservancy and numerous charities involved in the Sag Harbor Charity Cup Challenge have raised substantial funds by orchestrating their own America’s Cup style regatta, using our fleet of classic 12’s.” -Julie Lassy, manager of America’s Cup Charters

The America’s Cup Charters fleet has a storied history with the America’s Cup from the 60’s and 70’s when it was held here in Newport. The America’s Cup is the oldest international sports trophy and was held in Newport from 1930 to 1983. New York Yacht Club’s team, American Magic, hopes to bring the trophy back to Newport by winning the 2021 America’s Cup in New Zealand.

The 1962 Cup winner Weatherly (US-17) designed by Philip Rhodes, has quite a history from when she first competed in the 1958 trials, winning the Cup in 1962 and continuing to compete through 1970. She’s a legend in American sailing. At her helm is Captain Erica Lush, a Jamestowner who’s logged over 40,000 nm offshore including numerous crossings of the Atlantic & Indian Oceans.

The renowned two-time America’s Cup winner Intrepid (US-22), designed by Olin Stephens is a dream for any sailor to have the chance to race aboard. Intrepid is one of the most famous racing yachts of all time. In 1967, skippered by Bus Mosbacher, she completely crushed all competition. In 1970, she was revamped and well sailed by Bill Ficker to win the Cup a second time. At the helm of Intrepid will be Captain Mike Patterson, of Middletown. Mike’s a managing partner of America’s Cup Charters, having been at the helm of Intrepid for over two decades. He’s very active in the 12 Meter class having managed numerous refit projects.

Heritage (US 23), will round out the fleet for this regatta. One of the challengers to Intrepid in 1970, she was designed, built and sailed by Charlie Morgan, and although she had her moments, Heritage was ultimately no match to Intrepid. With her eye-catching varnished hull, Heritage looks and sails like a champion. Shivani Sood is the captain of US-23. Though Captain Sood grew up on the west coast, she’s been sailing the local waters of the east coast for many years, making Newport her home port.

All three of these famous yachts can be seen racing for the Hometown Heroes trophy. The lucky chosen participants will gather socially distanced and masked up at The Newport Harbor Hotel Marina, to draw for their boat and get instruction, then sail out to Narragansett Bay off the shore of Fort Adams for a series of short races.

Lieutenant Amaral of Newport Community Policing Unit said, “Once our officers heard about this community event, they are excited to participate because it has been a very long year for them.”

Spectators are welcome to cheer on their favorite team and view this spirited race from the water, or onshore from Fort Adams and along the Bay.

America’s Cup Charters wishes to thank all the workers in the City of Newport from our retails stores, restaurants, hotels and other local businesses who keep going to make sure our beloved Newport is thriving and healthy.

America’s Cup Charters is following all current safety protocols including thoroughly sanitizing each boat, symptom checking of all guests, social distancing & wearing masks.

#end#

Submitted by America’s Cup Charters; September 3, 2020
For more information on this event contact Julie Lassy (401) 849-5868

A Message from Commodore LeFort

June 12, 2020

Dear 12mR Friends,

12 MYC Commodore &  Americas 12mR Fleet Captain, Jack LeFort

I am excited to announce details of the next chapter of the 12 Metre Yacht Club and Newport’s 12mR Racing fleet!

Over the past 10 months, we have been working behind the scenes to combine the Americas 12mR fleet, formerly managed by Peter Gerard and the 12 Metre Yacht Club, Newport Station, a 501(c3) organization stewarded since 2013 by Commodore Emeritus, James Gubelmann.

Today, we are ready to reveal some of the progress that we have made, most of which may be viewed on our renewed website. As is the case with all sailing organizations, our 2020 racing schedule continues to evolve, but you will always be able to find the most up to date information in the RACING section of our website. Under the SUPPORT US tab you will find the opportunity to join or renew your 12 MYC Membership online.

Also today, we are launching 4 new 12 MYC social media channels on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Linked-In to join our pre-existing YouTube channel. Going forward we will be posting great content and news throughout and ask that you please “like”, “follow” and “share” our posts to help us grow our 12 Metre Yacht Club, Newport Station community.

The 12mR fleet racing at Newport

Our goal is to get as many 12mRs racing on Narragansett Bay and Rhode Island Sound as possible while making 12mR sailing opportunities known to everyone. Sailing a 12mR at Newport is a truly iconic experience, one that we will be proudly promoting in partnership with our outstanding 12mR charter companies. With your support we will continue the momentum started at the spectacular 2019 World Championship to keep 12mR racing active and vibrant in Newport.

Please “tune-in” to all of our online channels for exciting announcements about new boat owners, programs and activities in the near future.

Let’s go sailing!

Jack LeFort

Commodore, 12MYC Newport
ITMA Vice President, Americas 12mR Fleet

New Organization & Leadership

 

A Message from Jack LeFort, Vice President 12mR North American Fleet

Hello fellow 12 Metre Owners, Crew Members and Enthusiasts!

Jack LeFort

As a young kid watching these magnificent boats race in Narragansett Bay, I never dreamed that one day I would own KA-10 and have the joy of sailing in one of the most revered and iconic classes of this century. The past 3 years have been a blast!

As we move into 2020 and beyond our #1 commitment is to help get as many 12mRs as possible out on the water racing. Before I get into some key changes in the 12 Metre Yacht Club and North American fleet, I want to extend several well earned and sincere THANK YOUs.

First to Commodore James Gubelmann for building and stewarding the 12 Metre Yacht Club. Jimmy’s passion and commitment to 12mR racing here in Newport along with the invaluable talent and depth of knowledge of SallyAnne Santos, has created a communication and social foundation which will help springboard us to the next level of participation and enthusiasm for all things 12mR. We are grateful and enthusiastic that SallyAnne will continue her work with the NA fleet and 12MYC. She is an invaluable asset to our team. Jimmy and SallyAnne, Thank You for all your hard work theses many years with the 12 Metre Yacht Club.

Congratulations to outgoing N. American Fleet Captain, Peter Gerard and his incredible 2019 12mR Worlds committee at Ida Lewis Yacht Club for winning U.S. Sailing’s St. Petersburg Trophy for the best managed regatta of the year! This world-class event set the stage for a fantastic rebirth of the 12s here in Newport. Due to the overwhelming success last year, we are looking to host another World Championship in Newport in the near future. We hope it will be as well attended and fun as the last; way to go Peter and team!

Changing of the Guard:

We are very grateful to Commodore Gubelmann and Fleet Captain Gerard. Both are stepping down from their leadership roles with the 12mR Yacht Club and North American Fleet respectively, but have agreed to ‘stay near’ and ‘help out’ as we transition to a new organization model and management structure. With their departures we have retained a professional fleet manager as is done by other successful, sustainable fleets.

Linda Lindquist-Bishop

Given our vision and plans for the future we feel it is imperative that the North American fleet makes this commitment. So I am thrilled to announce that Linda Lindquist-Bishop has joined us as Fleet Manager and Executive Director of the 12 Metre Yacht Club. Linda represents what is terrific about our sport both on and off the water. She will be combining our fleet racing activities into the 12 Metre Yacht Club, which will bring new focus and opportunities in membership, events, participation and partnerships. Linda is our go to person for all your questions and ideas.I ask you to join us in welcoming Linda to our 12mR community.

2020 Racing and Boats:

The 2020 N. American fleet schedule, found here will feature 4 sanctioned events this season, including our North American Championship in late September. In addition to scoring on a boat-for-boat basis we will introduce a handicap system to give all boats the opportunity to be competitive and have the joy of winning. This handicap system is under development and will continue to be a work in progress. Our goal is to get as many boats on one starting line as possible. We are encouraging increased owner participation in the strategy and management of the fleet as we look to innovate and build on our current base of success.

After chartering a boat for the New York Yacht Club’s 175th Anniversary, we are thrilled to have Mr. Okura and his Sled team join the Newport 12mR fleet. Mr. Okura has purchased Freedom (US-30) and will balance 12mR racing along with his TP52 program in the Med. Mr. Bertelli and his team are currently giving Kookaburra II (KA-12) an upgrade and will be joining us on the water in June. We also welcome new owners to our strong charter fleet, comprised primarily of Traditional division boats; they are the backbone of 12mR experiences here in Newport. If you haven’t yet sailed on a 12, I encourage you to experience a day on the water on these boats. As Brad Read, afterguard crew of New Zealand, KZ-3 said to me once, “There is nothing like sailing these boats to windward in 12 knots– it’s just breathtaking.” A bucket list item for sure!

While we welcome new teams and revitalized programs – our hearts are heavy with the loss of Freedom (US-30) owner, Charles Robertson. Charlie exemplified everything that was good and right about our sport. He gave many sailors their first opportunities to compete in the big leagues; he was passionate about racing and the legacy of 12mR yachts, and he loved each day he spent on the water. Charlie will be greatly missed by all of us.

This is a tremendous building year for our 12mR fleet and community here in Newport!

In closing I want to thank everyone who is part of our history now… and into the future.

Jack LeFort,
Vice President North American Fleet
Owner, Challenge XII (KA-10)