NY Yacht Club pulls out of ‘37th’ America’s Cup
NEW YORK, Oct 20, (AP): The New York Yacht Club is pulling out of the 37th America’s Cup due to the uncertainty about when and where it will be sailed.
The decision, announced Tuesday, came less than three months after the yacht club dropped the American Magic sailing team, which represented it in the 36th America’s Cup, and brought on the Stars+Stripes team in an effort to field an all-American squad.
Commodore Christopher J. Culver said the club is responsible for acting in the best interests of its membership.
“Given the continued uncertainty regarding the 37th America’s Cup, we have decided to pause our challenge for this edition,” he said.
Cup holder the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron has delayed announcing a venue for the 37th America’s Cup, which could be held in Ireland, Spain or Saudi Arabia rather than returning to Auckland.
“Time is never on the side of new teams in this great contest, but at some point, we must recognize when there simply isn’t enough of it left to build a competitive challenge,” Culver said.
SAILING
The New York Yacht Club once held the America’s Cup for 132 years, the longest winning streak in sports.
Stars+Stripes is led by Mike Buckley and Taylor Canfield. They launched a campaign for the last America’s Cup but failed to raise enough money and didn’t make it to the starting line.
“We are disappointed that NYYC reversed its decision to participate in the next cycle of the America’s Cup,” Buckley said. “However, nothing has changed for Stars+Stripes USA. We remain even more committed to competing in AC37 in order to change the sport of sailing in the US.
We will continue building a diverse team that reflects our country and represents modern American values.”
Buckley said he’s optimistic Stars+Stripes will sign on with a yacht club and sail in the next America’s Cup.
American Magic executive director Terry Hutchinson said his team is in negotiations with yacht clubs but declined to be specific.
American Magic suffered a catastrophic capsize in the challenger series round-robins in the 36th America’s Cup earlier this year and was eliminated without winning a race.