commodore of the royal yacht squadron

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Royal Yacht Squadron commodore: we meet Jamie Sheldon

The Royal Yacht Squadron’s commodore is a team-racing demon but loves nothing more than cruising his wooden dinghy, hears Rob Peake

“ I was going to sail into the harbour and pick you up from the pontoons,” says Jamie Sheldon, holding out a hand as we meet at Yarmouth Harbour on the Isle of Wight. “But I’m afraid the tides aren’t right – and something’s going on.”

We jump in his electric car – “it’s marvellous” – and we’re off at pace towards Fort Victoria on the island’s north shore to see what it is exactly that is “going on”.

It turns out son Charles is about to sail past on the family’s Holman & Pye-designed Hustler 38, Palamedes , en route from Lymington to Brittany.

Charles and crew pass 200 yards off the beach and wave happily in the sunshine as dad waves back.

The yacht sails off towards the Needles and Sheldon turns round to warmly extol the benefits of being up this end of the Solent.

Then it’s back in the electric car to the Sheldon pile, his childhood home on the banks of the River Yar and surely one of the loveliest situations in England, where we settle in the kitchen, two Retrievers panting in the sun outside. “Right, I’m all yours.”

The Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron has been flying the famous white ensign since he joined the club in his mid-twenties.

His father was vice commodore and today his three adult children are members. The prestigious castle premises on Cowes Parade is something of a second home.

Perhaps this is why he is momentarily stumped when I suggest a mystique still surrounds the Squadron.

After all, there are older clubs and there are other clubs with royal associations, but there is something about the Squadron that sets it apart.

“The location, the Castle, is spectacular,” Sheldon says after a pause. “I suppose there is a mystique about the membership and the system of election, which nobody completely understands! There is the connection with the America’s Cup, with the Royal Navy and the Royal family.”

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Will the 37th America’s Cup be around the Isle of Wight?

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The history of the club and its influence on yachting over the past two centuries, as well as the work it does behind the scenes to support multiple sailing initiatives, was well documented during its bicentenary celebrations in 2015.

Squadron members have been working hard since then to maintain the legacy of that summer, a foundation run by Sheldon’s wife Susie to help Isle of Wight youngsters into marine employment.

He says: “We’ve raised about £1.6 million so far – all of the funding has come from Squadron members – and we’ve helped about 40 young people into apprenticeships and training schemes.”

Club members have given one-to-one CV advice, while at the other end of the scale one lucky youngster was funded to do a nine-month boatbuilding course.

The strapline of the initiative is ‘Squadron in the community’, promoting a more down-to-earth and accessible RYS than some might have expected.

The club has been accepting women members since the bicentenary and now has 12, in a membership of around 550 overall.

In 1815 a club member had to be ‘a gentleman owning a vessel not under 10 tons’. Today, says Sheldon: “You need to have a passion for sailing or motorboating and you have to be fun to sit next to at dinner.”

Sheldon went to Eton, then Exeter University, joined Flemings merchant bank and in a successful City career became chief executive of GNI, overseeing the company’s sale to Old Mutual in 2000, before going on to run an educational software business.

As a sailor, he’s a veteran of regattas worldwide, many of which he’s organised himself, often with sister clubs to the Squadron.

“My speciality is team racing,” he says. “I enjoy the intellectual challenge, I love the engagement of close boat to boat manoeuvring, I love short races and lots of starts.”

Sheldon is by all accounts a demon starter, but he is as happy cruising Palamedes with the family, and he had a remarkable adventure in his early twenties on the boat that he had been intending to meet me on in Yarmouth Harbour today.

This we see after a short walk along the River Yar to a private wooden jetty. Sheldon climbs aboard and sits happily in the bows.

“I think the correct name is a Yachting World International 14ft Day Boat. She was built 70 years ago by my godfather on the Clyde.”

Neil Cochrane-Patrick won silver in the Melbourne Olympics in the 5.5m class with Stug Perry and built the 14-footer as a hobby.

Sheldon was lent the boat aged 19 and promptly took off with two friends for a youthful jaunt around the Norwegian fjords.

“I added a trapeze and a Fireball spinnaker. We’d put one of the big guys out on the trapeze and the other two could sit there having lunch. It was quite an adventure but she’s a seaworthy boat.

“We had one very scary moment – we were sailing from Fedje to the Sognefjord, a north westerly F7 came in and we had to beat around these rocks. I did a bad tack and we swamped. You’ve never seen two men bail faster. We chucked everything overboard, all our food, the lot.”

He was reunited with the boat for his 60th birthday and it carried Sheldon’s daughter Sophie from the church to the reception following her wedding.

The commodoreship of the Squadron, he says, is what you make of it. “We’re going to do a lot of musical evenings – gentle music, with a good dinner party.”

Sheldon is a pianist, and judging by the Liszt score on his grand piano, a good one, but swears he will not be performing at the Castle.

Instead he says: “I want our club to have a good and close relationship with other clubs in the country. We’re organising regattas and we’ll have fleet racing with good parties and maybe some music. I want to give the younger generation the opportunity to do those things I was lucky enough to have.

“There’s no better way of forming a close relationship with a club than spending two days on the water and enjoying fine hospitality in the Castle.”

The Royal Yacht Squadron is the official club backing INEOS Team UK in the America’s Cup, giving rise to suggestions the next Cup will be held on the Solent if Sir Ben and crew win in 2021.

“That’s a long way away and we’ve got to win it first. But yes, it might go back to being a round the island race,” suggests Sheldon with a twinkle.

Fun to sit next to at dinner? Without question.

This article was first published in Classic Boat magazine in September 2018.

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Inside the Royal Yacht Squadron – we get a rare view of this most exclusive club

• Belinda Bird
• May 18, 2015

Sarah Norbury jumps at a rare chance to see inside the Royal Yacht Squadron, that unique and intriguing yacht club at the centre of Cowes, in its 200th anniversary year

Photo: Paul Wyeth

Bicentenary celebrations

More immediately, this year the club is celebrating its 200th anniversary in a summer-long extravaganza. The highlight will the Squadron Regatta in July, a week of racing and what’s being billed as ‘spectacular social gatherings’, including a grand ball for members of 25 invited clubs from around the world. Yachts from the USA and the Caribbean will arrive after crossing the Atlantic for the Regatta and then stay on for Cowes Week and the Rolex Fastnet Race.

The Ladies Drawing Room

The Squadron is gearing up for the events with a complete refurbishment of the ground floor of the Castle, as well as taking on extra staff, compiling special menus and considerably increasing the usual wine orders.

When I was invited inside the Castle for this article I was the envy of sailing friends. Some recalled their own, never-forgotten visits, one to deliver a harp for a musical soiree, another invited by a member for a drink, surprised to discover that there is no bar; instead stewards know when top-ups are needed and appear bearing glasses on silver trays.

Like more and more sailors I had been on Squadron soil before, to the Pavilion annexe built in 2000. To help swell the coffers, the grand marquee-style building can be hired for championship dinners and class parties. With panoramic views of the Solent, as a Cowes Week après sail venue it’s hard to beat, and once there, in your smart shore gear, sipping a glass of fizz and nibbling smoked salmon canapés it’s easy to get above yourself and imagine just slipping into the Castle. If you try it, however, you’ll get short shrift.

You could say the club is very good at welcoming non-members into its garden, or conversely that it’s adept at attracting them to the periphery then holding them at bay.

There’s a painting of the entire membership outside the Castle, circa 1895. In the centre stand the club’s then commodore the Prince of Wales with his nephew and great yachting rival, Kaiser Willhelm II, and the Dukes of York and Connaught, while on the upper left-hand side are ladies, in their finery, standing on a lawn.

RYS members in 1895

That lawn was known as the Deer Park – I’m told the ladies were known as the ‘does’ – and it’s the only part of the Squadron’s domain in which they were allowed to roam. Even Queen Victoria didn’t make it into the inner sanctum – she was kept at bay in an annexe built for her on the front of the Castle, known as the Platform.

In 1964 wives, sisters and daughters of members were given their own annexe, built onto the end of the Castle in matching stone. Here, the Lams (Ladies And Associate Members) could eat in their own dining room, take tea on the balcony and watch the racing. They were not allowed to cross the carpet-rod border into the inner Castle, however.

Since then the rules have relaxed and ladies are free to enter the Castle as Lams and guests, but it was only in June 2014 that finally the new rulebook was approved that allowed women to be proposed for full membership.

The next voting session is due soon and it’s likely that the first female member will be HRH Princess Anne.

• 1. Flying the white ensign
• 2. Bicentenary celebrations
• 3. Inside the Castle

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Maldwin Drummond OBE dies

Maldwin Drummond, former Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, champion of sail training and author of The Riddle , died on 17 February aged 84.

The summer fog had lifted, and from the cockpit of Runa VII , a Marconi cutter designed by Danish naval architect Gerhard Ronne, Maldwin Drummond took his first glimpse of war-torn Boulogne.

‘Wrecked buildings were all around. It was like standing on the tongue of an aged giant, looking outward at a skyline of ill-used and decaying teeth. The little white yacht seemed out of place,’ wrote the impressionable 21-year-old on his first Channel crossing.

It was 1953 and much of continental Europe was still in ruins from the devastation of World War II and as a floating steam crane lifted chunks of sunken ships from the harbour, the young Maldwin lay in his bunk reading a book with a cover depicting a gaff cutter sailing across the iron cross of the Imperial German eagle.

The clanking steam crane added a certain poignancy to Maldwin’s book, The Riddle of the Sands , for it was the novel that had warned of the coming First World War, which, far from being the ‘war to end wars’, had seeded the second, the detritus of which now surrounded Maldwin and his brother Bend’or.

The novel sparked a lifelong passion in Maldwin, who, a decade or so later, was to sail the same route that its author, Erskine Childers, had taken aboard a converted RNLI lifeboat, the gaff cutter Vixen .

As a member of the Royal Cruising Club Maldwin was fortunate enough to be able to access the original log of Vixen and to sail from Dover to Sonderberg, Denmark via France, Belgium, Holland and Germany behind the mysterious Frisian Islands and through the Kiel Canal, to produce his own book, The Riddle , an investigation into the facts which produced Childers’ fiction.

Although that voyage was the leitmotif of Maldwin’s life, he did much else besides.

A leading light in the sail training world, he was instrumental in building, among others, first of all the Sir Winston Churchill , followed by the Malcolm Miller, and later the Captain Scott , all three-masted schooners, and later the Young Endeavour , a brigantine gifted to Australia, to mark that country’s bi-centenary of colonisation. He went on to found Sail Training International in 2003.

As chairman of the Maritime Trust he worked with Euan Strathcona on the restoration of the SS Great Britain, HMS Warrior as well as many local coasting craft including the last sailing vessel to carry cargo under sail alone, the Thames Spritsail Barge, Cambria .

In recent years Maldwin founded the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology raising funds for HMS Invincible for the Maritime Archaeology Sea Trust.

As a sub-aqua diver himself, Maldwin had long been interested in wrecks and was involved in the raising of the Mary Rose and was also a supporter of the Museum of the Royal Navy.

Maldwin came out of retirement to chair the last phase of fundraising to rebuild the Cutty Sark .

He cared passionately about the welfare of the oceans and took a degree in environmental sciences as a mature student. Maldwin was also chairman of the Shellfish Association for many years and Prime Warden of the Fishmongers Company. He was also involved with the RNLI in lifeboat design.

He shared a steamboat, Bramble , with Lord Edward Montague of Beaulieu, and took her up to Henley on a low-loader each year for the Henley Regatta.

As former Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, Maldwin instituted the RYS Camrose Award for the best log and in the 1990s was head of a consortium that launched a bid to design a new £63 million royal yacht: a 370ft square-rigger, with a top speed of 15 knots.

‘Sailing, ships and the sea: what went on it, under it and over it was his passion,’ Maldwin’s wife Gilly told Classic Boat. For the couple’s honeymoon they cruised along the coast of Chile in a fishing boat converted, roughly, into a yacht.

‘Maldwin omitted to tell me that we would be taking naval architect Colin Mudie, plus my brother-in-law, Bend’or with us nor that I would be sharing my cabin with them plus six Chilean sailors. He had a wonderfully zany sense of humour that made everyone love him. I also think he was that rare thing in this age, a great romantic,’ she added.

Maldwin’s home, Cadland House, in the New Forest, is set within grounds laid out by Capability Brown and had visitors over the years, from King George III, and Queen Victoria, through to Napoleon III.

The estate, which includes Gilly’s home, has been run by his son Aldred and wife Fiona since Maldwin’s retirement.

Throughout his life it was Erskine Childers’ novel that Maldwin returned to over and over again. Maldwin considered purchasing Erskine Childers yacht, Asgard , in which the Irish republican supporter had smuggled rifles to the Irish Volunteers in 1914. When Maldwin looked her over at a boatyard in Anglesey he was told that a forgotten rifle had been found in the lining!

He sailed through East Friesland with a German speaking nephew in 1982. The following year he sailed with Gilly around the Frisian Islands in a traditional Visserschouw.

In 2003, for the 100 th anniversary of The Riddle of the Sands’ publication, both he and Gilly returned to the Frisian Islands with three members of Childers’ family aboard.

And in January this year his book, The Riddle , was republished by Unicorn Press with drawings and paintings by Martyn Mackrill, Artist in Residence of the Royal Yacht Squadron.

‘All my pictures were a homage to Maldwin,’ Mackrill told CB.

In a speech made just a month before his death, Maldwin said: ‘My greatest piece of good fortune was to be lent the log of the 1897 voyage of the Vixen , by Robert Childers, Erskine’s youngest son. His classical education enabled Erskine to write exquisite prose directly onto the page with scarcely a crossing out. This is the captivating element of a truly remarkable and timely story which woke up England.’

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Published on April 14th, 2020 | by Editor

Celebrating moments in yachting history

Published on April 14th, 2020 by Editor -->

The Herreshoff Marine Museum / America’s Cup Hall of Fame will award the Sir Richard Francis Sutton Medal to co-recipients, the late Maldwin Drummond (1933-2017) and Antony Matusch (1940-), for volunteering thousands of hours of their time to lead the Royal Yacht Squadron’s effort to produce the 2001 America’s Cup Jubilee, one of the finest moments in yachting history.

The Sir Richard Francis Sutton Medal, instituted by the America’s Cup Hall of Fame in 2018, recognizes the spirit of the America’s Cup, as set down by the founding donors in their Deed of Gift “to promote friendly competition between foreign countries.” It is awarded, from time-to-time, to persons or entities that have exemplified that spirit, in the course of their association with the America’s Cup.

The 2001 America’s Cup Jubilee achieved what many thought impossible – it remains a once in a lifetime experience for all those who participated. Great endeavours such as this are the work of an international army of people, both acknowledged and unsung. For all of these, seeing the fruition of their efforts during those remarkable days in August 2001 was all the reward they sought.

Bruno Troublé, a member of the America’s Cup Hall of Fame Selection Committee who was integrally involved in the planning and execution of the event notes, “The thoughtful planning of the Jubilee by Drummond and Matusch reflects the Royal Yacht Squadron’s enduring ethos of sportsmanship, volunteerism, and cordiality.”

The presentation of the Sutton Medal was originally intended to take place during the America’s Cup Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the INEOS Team UK base in Portsmouth, UK on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. However, in light of the global health crisis and the subsequent cancellation of the America’s Cup World Series event, the 2020 America’s Cup Hall of Fame Induction will take place at a later date and location which will be announced once the situation becomes clearer.

Antony Matusch

The 2020 Co-Recipients of the Sir Richard Francis Sutton Medal

• Maldwin A. C. Drummond OBE DL HON DSc FSA (United Kingdom; 1933-2017) • Antony H. Matusch (United Kingdom; 1940-)

In 1993, the photographer Keith Beken asked Maldwin Drummond, then Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron, what the Squadron would do to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the first race for the America’s Cup.

Drummond immediately embraced the idea of marking the occasion and he dared to have the vision of a grand regatta. His reach and genius for inclusivity, combined with his infectious enthusiasm, soon brought the Squadron, local authorities, and national sailing associations behind the idea.

Maldwin Drummond

In 1995, the 2001 America’s Cup Jubilee was announced and Drummond was appointed the Chairman of 2001 Limited, the company created to manage the financial aspects of the event and Antony Matusch, then the Squadron’s Rear Commodore Yachting, was selected as Chairman of the Regatta Committee.

Matusch, who worked tirelessly on the details of the event, earned praise from Peter Nicholson, the Squadron’s Commodore during the Jubilee: “The 2001 regatta, which was such a phenomenal success, would probably not have happened at all had it not been for Antony Matusch.

“He traveled the world, at his own expense, to persuade clubs, Commodores and owners to come to Cowes. He was the main mover in getting some wonderful sponsorship; he planned pretty well everything and worked day and night for at least two years to get the show on the road.”

The America’s Cup Jubilee, held over a week in August 2001 at Cowes, attracted 208 yachts from all over the world and many sailors including America’s Cup legends such as Olin Stephens, Dennis Conner, John Bertrand, Russell Coutts, Ted Hood, Bill Koch and Bruno Troublé.

It was a dazzling week that yachting writer David Glenn concluded, “Nothing like this has been seen before and it will never be seen again.” Yachting historian John Rousmaniere regarded the Race Around the Island as “one of the most thrilling I’ve ever spent on the water…the greatest regatta in history.”

The modesty of the Jubilee organizers helped make it the epitome of a friendly competition between foreign countries—living up to the intended spirit of the America’s Cup.

About the Herreshoff Marine Museum The Herreshoff Marine Museum, located in Bristol, Rhode Island, USA, is a maritime museum dedicated to the history of the Herreshoff Manufacturing Company and the America’s Cup. The Herreshoff Manufacturing Company (1878-1945) was most notable for producing fast sailing yachts, including eight America’s Cup defenders, and steam-powered vessels. The museum, situated near Narragansett Bay on the grounds where the manufacturing company once stood, has a collection of over sixty boats including Nathanael Greene Herreshoff’s Clara, built in 1887, Harold Vanderbilt’s Trivia, and the 1992 ACC yacht, Defiant.

Website: www.herreshoff.org/achof

Tags: America's Cup Hall of Fame , America’s Cup Jubilee , Antony Matusch , Maldwin Drummond , Sutton Medal

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The man who holds the key to the America's Cup

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Aaron Young is the holder of the key to one of the world’s hottest sporting properties.

As commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, Young has the key to the safe that holds the key to the case that holds the America’s Cup.

It’s on him at all times, day and night. Except for right now.

We’re sitting in the Members Lounge of the Squadron – once the room that housed the world’s oldest sporting trophy, until it was clobbered by a sledgehammer in 1997 – and it’s raining so heavily, you can no longer see the Auckland Harbour Bridge right outside the window.

Young is patting the pockets of his trousers. Then he remembers he’s entrusted the key to Cooper, one of the younger staff members, so the Auld Mug could make an off-site visit with Emirates Team New Zealand chairman, Sir Stephen Tindall.

When the key is back in his care, he proudly shows it to me – an impressive chunk of old brass almost the length of his hand. “It’s pretty serious, not like a car key you leave in your pocket,” he says.

It’s quite a rigmarole to unlock the Cup from its alarmed, bulletproof glass housing; a process that requires a few of staff. “The security is a lot tighter than it used to be,” Young says.

He bears a lot more responsibility than just custodian of the prized silverware. Especially in this year, one of the biggest in the Squadron’s illustrious history, as it celebrates its 150 th anniversary on top of hosting the America’s Cup.

“We certainly didn’t plan it this way,” laughs Young, who’s not complaining. He was “right amongst it” in Bermuda on board a Team NZ chase boat four years ago, when Peter Burling’s crew whipped the Auld Mug out of Oracle’s hands.

At 48, he’s one of the youngest commodores to have ever sat in the throne-like chair in the auspicious Committee Room, and part of a new generation in the RNZYS – including, waiting in the wings, the first-ever female commodore in the Squadron’s history.

“We’re growing in the right areas, moving away from the exclusive old boys’ club that the Squadron was traditionally perceived to be,” Young says.

Regarded as one of the most prestigious, and most successful, sailing clubs in the world – the only club, it maintains, to have won every major yachting race on the globe – the Squadron now boasts its highest-ever membership of 4000.

The number of women and young people joining up continues to buck the trend of many sports clubs who are losing members.

The America’s Cup, of course, has had a lot to do with it.

Aaron Young was born into one of New Zealand’s great sailing dynasties. His grandfather, Jim Young, was one of the country’s leading yacht designers, as well as an accomplished sailor and boat builder.

Up until he died last year, aged 94, Jim could often be found in Cobweb Corner in the Squadron’s ballroom – sharing old stories with other august members.

Jim Young had a huge impact on his grandson’s early sailing career. “I was sailing dinghies and he would chase me up the harbour in a tinny, yelling ‘Hike harder! Work harder!’,” Aaron Young recalls.

Well ahead of his time, Jim Young designed a yacht with a canting keel (which helps a boat stay upright) back in the late 1950s – a move which put him offside with traditionalists at the Squadron. He later chuckled at the fact his grandson, as commodore of the very same yacht club, had bought a Melges 40 – a high-performance canting keeler.

The commodore bought his racing yacht, Checkmate, out of Europe and convinced three mates to do the same, so there’s now be a racing fleet in Auckland.

“Part of my goal as commodore is to enhance club sailing. The reason New Zealand is so strong in the America’s Cup, ocean racing and the Olympics is because we have good grassroots club sailing,” he says.

“I love the boat, but it’s hard work. Running a racing campaign, and a business and being a commodore of the largest club in the country is time consuming.” A director of a number of companies, he’s also a husband and dad to two young kids.

Young races Checkmate every Wednesday night, and last weekend finished second at Kawau Island for the 150 th Squadron Weekend. Jim Young would no doubt have been proud.

In his early 20s, Aaron Young sailed Pied Pipers against Gillian Williams – now the Squadron’s first female rear commodore (third in the chain of command behind the commodore and vice commodore). In 2024, the Auckland lawyer is expected to become the first woman to fill the commodore’s role in the club’s 153 years.

“It’s long overdue,” Young says. “I’ve known Gill for a while, and she’s a very good sailor and she’ll be great in the role.”

If Team NZ successfully defend the America’s Cup in March, you won’t see Commodore Young on the final race day. He will squirrel himself away in a secret location – the subterfuge all part of one of the Cup’s many mysterious traditions.

One of Young’s close friends, Steve Mair, was the Squadron’s commodore in 2017. Mair was below the decks of Imagine, the superyacht of Team NZ principal Matteo di Nora, on Bermuda’s Great Sound for the final race of the America’s Cup. Boat staff stood guard around the deck, ready to kick any unwanted packages into the sea – the first challenge received once the winner crosses the finish line must be accepted as the Challenger of Record.

Young – then the Squadron’s rear commodore – was on a Team NZ chase boat with long-time team supporters Tindall and Bob Field. “It was very emotional – seeing people who’d been with the team for 30-odd years – the tears of joy were so real,” Young says.

“It’s very different being the defender, especially in Auckland. All eyes are on you. And there are more complications. There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes. It’s almost a relief for the team to go sailing at the end of it.”

As the holder of the America’s Cup, the Squadron sign off everything in the Cup protocol – the rules that bind the competition – and manage the licensing and protection of trademarks, including the name and the image of the trophy.

The Squadron also took the Auld Mug on a nationwide tour after it returned to New Zealand. Young accompanied the Cup from Hawkes Bay to Oamaru, and has an enduring memory of its arrival in Picton with hometown hero and Team NZ grinder, Joe Sullivan.

“We were on the interisland ferry with the Cup on the bow, and boats came to greet us,” Young says. “Joe expected a few 100 people waiting to see it. But there were 7000 – he had tears in his eyes walking off the ferry.

“In Greymouth we took the Cup to a pub on a Friday night and sat it on the bar. I don’t know if the New York Yacht Club would have liked it much, but we wanted to show it off to New Zealand.”

He wanted to take it on tour last year too, but Covid-19 got in the way.

The global pandemic threatened to be the party pooper in the Squadron’s 150 th birthday. It forced the cancellation of the Youth America’s Cup, which had 19 mixed-gender national crews from around the world. “That was a pretty significant disappointment,” Young says.  

It’s decimated the fleets of superyachts that would have lined up in two regattas over the next fortnight.  

Next week is the Millennium Cup regatta in the Bay of Islands, which has five sailing superyachts entered. The following week is the Mastercard Superyacht regatta, four days of racing in the Hauraki Gulf expecting eight sailing yachts and three motor yachts.

“Two years ago, we would have been expecting around 150 superyachts here this summer. Now we have a third of that number,” he says. “We’re still trying to get a few more boats through from the islands. But we have to respect where New Zealand is at in terms of the worldwide situation.”

They’ve also had to pull the plug on the Sydney-Auckland ocean race. 

Other events, though, are still going ahead as planned, including the Bridge-to-Bean race on February 28 – a new event encouraging all dinghies and foiling craft to race from the Harbour Bridge to the Bean Rock Lighthouse.  

At the other end of the time scale, it’s the 100 th anniversary of the Lipton Cup – New Zealand sailing’s oldest trophy – donated to the Ponsonby Cruising Club by the five-time America’s Cup challenger Sir Thomas Lipton and made by the same silversmith as the America’s Cup.

The Squadron joins Ponsonby in hosting the regatta for mullet boats on March 20. The winner of the very first race – the 108-year-old Valeria – will be on the start line.

Young is expecting a big crowd of members in the Squadron this weekend to watch the first races of the Prada Cup final between INEOS Team UK and Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli on the ballroom’s big screens.

“It’s quite a neat atmosphere. You’re sitting downstairs and you look up above to the mezzanine and there’s the America’s Cup sitting upstairs. It’s kind of a weird connection,” he says.

While rumours swirl around the waterfront Team NZ could take the Cup away from New Zealand if they successfully defend it, Young’s focus right now is making sure that under his watch, upstairs is exactly where it stays.

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History of The America’s Cup

The America’s Cup is the oldest international sporting trophy in the world. It predates the FA Cup, the Ryder Cup and even the modern Olympic Games by 45 years. The first America’s Cup took place in 1851, 35 years before the car and 52 years before the inaugural flight of the Wright Brothers. Though it started in Britain, a British team has never won it. “50 years of hurt” – how about 171?

The lack of success for Britain is, however, not for a lack of trying. Over the past 171 years there have been many British challenges for the Cup, some more successful than others, but they all have one thing in common. Not one of them has ever brought the famous “Auld Mug” back home.

When It All Began

1851 – 1895.

The first edition of the America’s Cup took place in 1851. It began when during that year’s Great Exhibition the Earl of Wilton, the Commodore of the Royal Yacht Squadron (RYS), sent an invitation to members of the recently-formed New York Yacht Club (NYYC), suggesting that they might like to enjoy the club’s facilities in Cowes. The New York Yacht Club’s 30 metre schooner ‘America’ won the trophy, an ornate sterling silver bottomless ewer crafted in 1848 by Garrard & Co, and the ‘America’s Cup’ was born.

In 1885 the New York Yacht Club would face their first challenge to win back the Cup from the Royal Yacht Squadron, it was the fifth challenge they faced to date and came from Sir Richard Sutton’s Genesta. He lost 2-0. The RYS would not give up, however, and challenged the NYYC both in 1893 and 1895 again, this time through the Earl of Dunraven. He too, was defeated each time, and accused the Americans of cheating for which he was pilloried at the time.

1899 – 1930, The Lipton Era

From the turn of the century through to 1930, the British challenge for the America’s Cup was dominated by one man, Sir Thomas Lipton.   Lipton would challenge five time in thirty years for the America’s Cup, all unsuccessfully. His fourth campaign is the closest Britain has come to bringing the Cup home.  

Perhaps ironically, however, in the first three Cups he contested, Lipton was beaten by a boat skippered by another Brit, Charlie Barr. Barr is Britain’s most successful America’s Cup skipper and the only Briton to have been onboard an America’s Cup winning boat until INEOS BRITTAINIA Skipper Ben Ainslie won the Cup with Oracle Team USA in 2013.

1934 – 1937, Sir T.O.M Sopwith

The final pre-Second World War British challenges were led by Sir T.O.M. Sopwith, who bought Shamrock V from Sir Thomas Lipton. Sopwith was a sportsman in all senses; he raced cars and motorcycles, and he held the world waterspeed record in a powerboat.   Sopwith brought that sporting desire and scientific, innovative approach to yacht racing.  

There is widespread agreement that Sopwith’s first Endeavour, the 1934 J-Class Challenger ‘Endeavour’, it was the fastest and best prepared boat ever to leave Britain. She went to meet a weak American fleet, with the NYYC elite still struggling with the impact of the Great Depression. After initlal wins in the first races, it was not to be and the team were outsailed to a 4-2 loss.  

1958 – 1964, Post World War 2

Due to the austerity after the war, the size of the boats competing was greatly reduced.   The 12 metre class led the way and in 1958 Britain’s Sceptre, steered by Graham Mann, lost by significant margins and a 4-0 scoreline to the American entry, Columbia.

British losses continued in 1964 as Tony Boyden’s Sovereign did not win a single race to the American challenger.   The post war depression had a significant impact on the British challenges, with America outdoing them on multiple fronts from number of entries to resources and the technology available.

1980 – 2003, New Winners

It would be over 15 years before a British challenger would come forward, in that period both the French and Australians has begun their own challenges and made significant progress in developing their boats.   In 1983 for the first time in its 132 year history, America lost the Cup to the boat Australia II, and Australia became the new defenders. A decade after losing the Cup for the first time in history it returned to American waters in as America 3 took victory.

It was during this period that the International America’s Cup Class of yachts is introduced. These boats are longer, quicker and much more powerful than before. From 1995 to 2003 the Cup changed hands multiple times with new winners in the form of Team New Zealand winning twice consecutively. In 2003, after a 16 year break a British entry backed by Peter Harrison and skippered Ian Walker, were ultimately beaten in the semifinal and the Swiss entry went on to win the Cup for the first time, returning it to Europe more than 150 years after the first race on British waters.

2010 – 2013, The Greatest Comeback

Oracle Team USA claim the Cup and returned to America ushering in a new era of highly technical yacht design with their lightweight catamaran.

In 2013 the world witnessed the greatest comeback in sporting history as Oracle Team USA overcame Team New Zealand in one of sports most incredible wins recording a 9-8 victory on the waters of San Francisco Bay. Onboard was tactician Sir Ben Ainslie, the first British sailor to win the Cup since Charlie Barr over 80 years ago.

2013 onwards, The British Challenge returns

Sir Ben Ainslie Britain’s most successful Olympic sailor of all time alongside the Royal Yacht Squadron announced the formation of a British team to challenge for the America’s Cup. Ben led the British challenge into the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda in 2017. Despite some successes including victory in the America’s Cup World Series, it was not to be for the first-time British challenger as they exited the Cup at the semi-final stage against Emirates Team New Zealand.

In 2018, INEOS and Sir Jim Ratcliffe came onboard to back Ben Ainslie’s British Challenge in the 36th America’s Cup. A change in some key personnel followed, including four times America’s Cup winner Grant Simmer joining the team as CEO and Nick Holroyd, who was previously Technical Director for the Kiwi team that revolutionised the America’s Cup by introducing foiling, joining the team as Chief Designer.

INEOS TEAM UK challenged for the 36th America’s Cup in their bold and innovative new AC75 raceboat, BRITANNIA, in Auckland in 2021. Despite a remarkable late turnaround in performance which culminated in the team winning the PRADA Cup Round Robin Series with a clean sweep to qualify for the Challenger Series Final, the British team was ultimately beaten in the final by the Italian Challenger.

Together with the Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd, the renamed INEOS Britannia (formerly INEOS TEAM UK) will also become the first British Challenger of Record to compete in the America’s Cup since Boyden’s Sovereign in 1964. The Challenge letter was signed on 17th March 2021 onboard the yacht IMAGINE, by Bertie Bicket, Chairman of Royal Yacht Squadron Ltd and accepted by Aaron Young, Commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron as Emirates Team New Zealand crossed the finish line to win the America’s Cup for the fourth time.

“Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves”

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Christian brook elected as the new commodore of the royal sydney yacht squadron.

The historic and much-loved Royal Sydney Yacht Squadron conducted its 159 th Annual General Meeting last night with over 190 members in attendance.  To comply with Covid regulations, the meeting was held online.

In opening, Commodore David Ward marked the passing of their Patron the Duke of Edinburgh and a moment’s silence was held to pay respect to departed Members.

Commodore Ward thank the Club CEO and staff for adroitly adapting club services to engage Members and generate income. Though curtailed by the pandemic, our sailors scored notable individual successes and collective achievements. He expressed gratitude to our dedicated race management volunteers.

Commodore Ward explained that “the clubhouse has not lain dormant – the carpark remedial work is almost complete; refurbishments to the Carabella Room and Careening Cove are underway. The Conceptual Master Plan is progressing to the design phase to develop our assets, the better to meet Members’ future requirements. Concluding, Commodore Ward thanked his fellow Flag Officers for their untiring support and dedication, and paid tribute to the Members who have loyally supported our Club through this difficult period”.

The Hon. Treasurer Ross Littlewood presented his financial report. He drew attention to recent progress towards environmental care and sustainability; foreshadowed new initiatives to appeal to families and youth at our Club; and promised to harness technology to improve clubhouse services and administration.

Well known Boating identity Christian Brook was elected as the new Commodore.  Other RSYS Flag Officers nominees were elected unopposed, Vice Commodore Russell Taylor, Rear Commodore Karyn Gojnich, Captain Michael Lindsay.

Nominations to the General Committee were elected unopposed. They were David Albert Robert Dickson, Amanda Hicks, John Taylor

With the meeting proceeding, Commodore Brook then announced the award of Life membership to the Squadron to Robert Albert OA RFD RD. Fellow Members John Diacopoulos and David Albert paid tribute to Mr Albert’s many achievements in sailing; service and devotion to the Squadron; as well as his cultural and philanthropic accomplishments. The proposal was enthusiastically endorsed from the floor by Gordon Ingate.

Rounding off the evening, Commodore Brook announced that two Members have received awards from Australian Sailing NSW: Will Ryan for winning Gold in the Men’s 470 class at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Rear Commodore Karyn Gojnich – the SheSails Award for the advancement of women in sailing.

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Former RNZYS commodore passes away

Being commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is a prestigious position but it took on even more significance on May 15, 1995.

On that day, Peter Hay, as Squadron commodore, officially received the America's Cup from the San Diego Yacht Club after Team New Zealand had whitewashed Stars and Stripes 5-0.

Hay, who passed away on August 4, will forever be known as the first New Zealand commodore to receive the America's Cup (and second in the Cup's long history) but he contributed so much more to the New Zealand yachting and boating landscape.

He gave 45 years service to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron, joined the general committee in 1983, served as commodore from 1994-96, was a trustee from 1999 and made a life member in 2015.

"He was the ultimate gentleman," said Ian Cook, who was Squadron commodore from 2018-20. "He really listened to everyone and was a guiding hand when I was commodore.

"He put an awful lot back into the sport in terms of administration and guidance that people probably don't realise."

Hay worked closely with Sir Peter Blake as a member of the planning group for the 2000 America's Cup defence, and also served on the Sir Peter Blake board.

It wasn't all good memories for Hay during that period and in 1996 he received a phone call from his wife Jan alerting him to the fact the America's Cup trophy had been vandalised inside the RNZYS.

“Do you want the good news or the bad news?” she asked Hay.

“What is the bad news?” he asked. “The Cup has been smashed,” she replied.

“Well, what is the good news?” Peter asked. “You are not the commodore anymore,” was her reply.

One of Hay's last races on his beloved Zamzamah was at Bay Week earlier this year when he helmed the boat to a race win, which was a fitting result.

Peter Hay is survived by his wife, three children and seven grandchildren. A celebration of Hay's life will be held at St Mary's-in-Holy-Trinity on August 14.

Pic: Peter Hay, right, lifts the America's Cup in 1995 with Sir Peter Blake. Photo: Ivor Wilkins.

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Auckland’s hills and shores wrap around the sparkling Waitemata Harbour, making it a natural venue for boating of all types. The foundations of the city were laid in 1840 and the occasion was immediately marked by a regatta on the harbour. It was an appropriate portent of things to come as yachting and boating flourished on the harbour and ultimately grew to enjoy an international reputation.

Eleven years later, a small group of yachtsmen made the first attempt to establish an Auckland Yacht Club. It was shortlived, as were several subsequent efforts at getting a club off the ground.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron traces its origin back to the 1871 incarnation of the Auckland Yacht Club, with 30 yachts and 120 members on its register.

By then, the city had grown from a scattering of tents and shacks into a much more substantial and thriving venture, with the harbour playing a central role in its progress.

By the turn of the century, yacht racing was a thriving sport, attracting crowds of spectators and detailed reports in the local newspapers. Under the leadership of some of the city’s prominent captains of industry and commerce, the AYC showed continued growth.

A tremendous rivalry between the Logan and Bailey boatbuilding families spurred the growth of an outstanding fleet of racing yachts, most of which joined the AYC fleet.

In 1901, the AYC changed its name to the New Zealand Yacht Squadron. The following year the Squadron celebrated a major milestone when it received a warrant in the name of King Edward VII elevating its status to a Royal club.

With this recognition membership numbers almost doubled from 157 in 1901 to 300 in 1903.

During both world wars, yacht racing was largely suspended in Auckland. Members of the RNZYS served in all theatres of both wars and in all the armed services. A number of members who owned launches and were not able to serve abroad, were involved in harbour defence and patrol duties.

To accommodate steady growth, the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron moved through a succession of rented premises in the city until in 1955 it bought a handsome two-storey brick house in Parliament Street with sweeping views over the Waitemata Harbour. A decade later, the RNZYS acquired its current premises at Westhaven, first as a lease and subsequently as a purhase.

From the 1960s, the RNZYS was at the forefront of a steady rise in international competition. In 1966, James Davern sailed his yacht Fidelis across the Tasman Sea and swept to line honours victory in the grueling 630 mile Sydney-Hobart Race. Fidelis set a new race record and the 17-hour margin between 1 st and 2 nd still stands as the longest in the race’s history.

Three years later, Chris Bouzaid and a RNZYS crew took on the elite of international yacht racing. Travelling to Heligoland, Germany, Bouzaid and his Rainbow II crew won the prestigious One Ton Cup against a line up of seasoned competitors from the USA, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Holland and Switzerland.

On the foundations laid by these successes, the RNZYS trophy cabinets have played host to some of the biggest prizes in world yachting including the Half, One and Two-Ton Cups, the Admiral’s Cup, the Kenwood Cup, the Champagne Mumm World Cup, the Whitbread Round the World Trophy, the Louis Vuitton Trophy and the America’s Cup.

Carrying the RNZYS burgee into battle, Team New Zealand won the America’s Cup in San Diego in 1995, then successfully defended it on the Hauraki Gulf in 2000.

After losing to Switzerland in 2003, the RNZYS became the only yacht club in the world to challenge and win the America’s Cup twice when Emirates Team New Zealand scored a 7-1 victory over Oracle Team USA in Bermuda in 2017.

Coinciding with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron’s 150th sesquicentenary in 2021, Emirates Team New Zealand successfully defended the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland, defeating Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli 7-3 in the America’s Cup Match and ensuring the RNZYS remains the Home of the America’s Cup.

By agreement between the RNZYS and Emirates Team New Zealand, the 2024 defence of the America’s Cup will take place in Barcelona, Spain. The Challenger of Record is the Royal Yacht Squadron.

COMMODORE Andrew Aitken

VICE COMMODORE Gillian Williams

REAR COMMODORE David Blakey

CHAIRMAN OF THE HOUSE Matt Cole

Marguerite Delbet

Sheryl Lanigan

Barry Martin

Anna Sullivan

Garry Scarborough

Scott Wilson

PAST COMMODORES

1871 – 1880 – Aitken, W – Daphne 1880 – 1882 – Kissling, G S – Toroa & Daphne 1882 – 1887 – Street C H – Muritai 1887 – 1888 – Stone, C B – Matangi 1888 – 1890 – Waymouth, J – Mapu 1890 – 1894 – Wiseman, J – Matangi 1894 – 1896 – Bloomfield, J L R – Viking 1896 – 1898 – Henderson, T – Volunteer 1901 – 1907 – Murdock, C P – Ida 1907 – 1918 – Bloomfield, J L R – Thelma 1918 – 1920 – Blomfield, E C – Pastime 1920 – 1922 – Johnston, J B – Waitangi 1922 – 1924 – Burt, A – Waitangi 1924 – 1926 – Gifford, A E – Rawene 1926 – 1928 – Frater, J W – Waitangi 1928 – 1930 – Endean, W P – Prize 1930 – 1932 – Macky, N L – Ariki 1932 – 1934 – Frater, J H – Waitangi 1934 – 1935 – Northcroft, E H – Ilex 1935 – 1937 – Gifford, A E – Rawene 1937 – 1939 – George, H J C – Victory 1939 – 1942 – Draffin, M K – Kotuku 1942 – 1944 – Macky, Dr F – Medina 1944 – 1946 – Tewsley, C S – Waitangi 1946 – 1947 – George, H J C – Victory 1947 – 1949 – Wilson, W S – Tawera 1949 – 1951 – Mitchelson, E J – Little Jim 1951 – 1953 – Miller, A S – Moana                                                               1953 – 1955 – Gifford, J – Rawene 1955 – 1957 – Angel, A A – Ariki 1957 – 1959 – Ellis, J S – Anthea II 1959 – 1961 – Faire, J F – Katrina

1961 – 1963 – Speight, G D – Waiomo 1963 – 1965 – Duder, A N – Spray 1965 – 1967 – Colville, S – Kahurangi                                                          1967 – 1969 – Marler, B M – Rawhiti 1969 – 1971 – Brooke, J B OBE – Kiariki 1971 – 1973 – Thompson, B B – Prize 1973 – 1975 – Beckett, W G – Panui 1975 – 1976 – McKenzie, J W – Sirius 1976 – 1978 – Littler, H A – Northerner 1978 – 1979 – White, W N – Charlemagne 1979 – 1981 – Stanton, R W – Pampero 1981 – 1983 – McDell, R M – Sunset 1983 – 1985 – Green, R H – Strategy 1985 – 1987 – Alison, D J – Eldaroma II 1987 – 1989 – Brooke, D E – Favourite 1989 – 1991 – Kerr-Taylor, E V – Amnesty 1991 – 1992 – Endean, R J – Ariel 1992 – 1994 – Maples, B L – Capella V 1994 – 1996 – Hay, P B – Zamzamah 1996 – 1998 – Heise, W J – Sambuca 1998 – 2000 – Kingston, P S – Mahia 2000 – 2002 – Taylor, P B – Seahawk 2002 – 2004 – Endean, W A – Go 2004 – 2006 – Charlesworth, D A – Oki Max 2006 – 2008 – Crawford, J C – Krystle 2008 – 2010 – Colebrook, S W – Accord 2010 – 2012 – Masters, R A – Outrageous 2012 – 2014 – Burrett, J S – V 2014 – 2016 – Anderson, A – Sure Thing 2016 – 2018 – Mair, S M – Clockwork 2018 – 2020 – Cook, I M – Ranger                                                                   2020 – 2022 – Young, A R – Checkmate

Images of each of our Past Commodores and their boats are hung in the Committee Room.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is New Zealand’s leading yacht club, with an illustrious history dating back to our formation in 1871. The RNZYS is still the official home of the America’s Cup after Emirates Team New Zealand, representing the RNZYS, defended the oldest sporting trophy in the world at the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland in 2021. The RNZYS has a wide range of events taking place to mark this momentous occasion. With thousands of races per calendar year, many social events and a Members Bar open seven days a week, we invite you to join us and enjoy what we have to offer.

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Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron Inc 181 Westhaven Drive, Westhaven Marina, Auckland 1011, New Zealand (09) 360-6800

By SuperyachtNews 28 Nov 2019

Visiting New Zealand in 2021

Alongside the america's cup, what does the 2021 calendar in new zealand have in store for visiting superyachts.

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron will be marking its 150th anniversary in 2021 alongside the America’s Cup. This means a packed year of events and celebrations, offering an exciting opportunity for visiting superyachts to experience the best of what New Zealand has to offer.

“The 150-year legacy of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is worthy of more than just one event at one time,” says Aaron Young, vice commodore of the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron. “So we are marking this with a year of celebratory events and occasions, the pinnacle of which will be the hosting of the 36th America’s Cup. New Zealand is certainly the place to be in 2021 and visitors to Auckland during this time are in for a treat like never before when it comes to celebrating our rich sailing heritage.”

The Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron is particularly looking forward to hosting many visiting superyachts and owners. “A full calendar of events from December 2020 through to April 2021 means fun on and off the water,” adds Young. “Owners and visitors can expect good down-to-earth and relaxed ‘kiwi’ hospitality. Our amazing and unique cruising waters around New Zealand are a must for any visiting yacht and we are doing all we can to make sure visitors won’t want to leave too quickly.”

“Our amazing and unique cruising waters around New Zealand are a must for any visiting yacht and we are doing all we can to make sure visitors won’t want to leave too quickly.”

The celebrations kick off with a race to Kawau Island on New Year’s Eve 2020, followed by the Kawau New Year’s Day Regatta, both of which are expected to attract the attention of visiting superyachts. An exciting and diverse calendar will then begin, including superyacht regattas in both the Bay of Islands and Auckland, as well as a superyacht fishing competition to ensure motoryachts are involved in the action. The Squadron also expects a number of J Class Yachts to come to New Zealand, with planned sailing in the Bay of Islands in February and Auckland in March.

To ensure that yachting and various associations are properly represented during this auspicious year, the RNZYS set up a 150th anniversary committee to roll out this series of events and regattas. The committee is working closely with Emirates Team New Zealand and supporting associations such as NZ Marine.

“We appreciate that New Zealand is a long way to come for a lot of yachts – it’s a destination – and we want to make it as enjoyable as possible for owners and crew,” says Peter Busfield, executive director of NZ Marine Industry Association. “As well as a month-long event calendar, part of the plan has been to build up facilities, optimise the country’s existing business potential and work with the government to ensure we are a user-friendly destination.”

New Zealand has a long-established marine industry renowned for maintenance and refit, and this is being enhanced by the development of berthing and facilities in anticipation of an influx of yachts in 2020/21 for the America's Cup. As well as being able to take advantage of New Zealand’s yacht-friendly regulations that allow foreign-flagged vessels temporary entry for up to 24 months and the ability to charter in its waters, yachts will have access to new infrastructure including a superyacht marina in the Bay of Islands, a superyacht village in Auckland for the America’s Cup, a new 320-tonne travelift at Vessel Works in the Bay of Plenty and a new 720-tonne travelift at Orams Marine in Auckland. DYT Yacht Transport is also putting on extra sailings to bring yachts to New Zealand for 2020/21 and take them back to Europe in time for the summer in the Mediterranean.

Having considered the lessons learned from the berthing and anchorage arrangements at the last America’s Cup in Bermuda, NZ Marine will be organising a superyacht VIP programme for yachts anchored in Auckland Harbour during the event. “From the registrations of interest that we have already received, we are expecting around 160 superyachts over the America’s Cup period,” says Busfield. “With only 100 berths available, that means there will likely be around 60 yachts at anchor, so we are working on a VIP programme to give those yachts easy access to the village and marinas and make their experience as smooth as possible.”

The America’s Cup has a longstanding superyacht following and, with the Pacific rising in popularity as a superyacht destination , the 36th edition is sure to see an increase the numbers of yachts in the region in the lead up to, during and after the event. Some yachts will also be planning to make the most of the trip south and extend their itineraries to the nearby cruising grounds around Fiji, French Polynesia and Australia. This will be an important time for the Pacific because many destinations are ramping up their superyacht offering in anticipation of increased activity and, for superyacht owners, the buzz forming around the region makes it an optimal time to visit.

For more information on cruising in the Pacific, be sure to get your copy of The Pacific Superyacht Report . Click here to purchase your copy .

Image: The Millennium Cup in Auckland by Ivor Wilkins

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