In a letter to the Trustees of the New York Yacht Club, the Flag Officers of the Club announced the Club was pausing its pursuit of the America’s Cup.
New York Yacht Club Commodore Christopher J. Culver: “There are few private clubs that enjoy a stronger bond with a single competition than the New York Yacht Club does with the America’s Cup, which we founded and held for 132 years. However, we ultimately have a responsibility to act in the best interests of our membership. Given the continued uncertainty regarding the 37th America’s Cup, we have decided to pause our challenge for this edition.”
“For more than six months, the New York Yacht Club along with other potential challengers have waited for clarity regarding the venue, timing and rules for the 37th America’s Cup. Time is never on the side of new teams in this great contest, but at some point, we must recognize when there simply is not enough of it left to build a competitive challenge.”
“We will continue to advocate for what we believe to be essential changes to the structure of the America’s Cup. This evolution will retain the competition’s unmatched history and appeal while enabling it to compete on today’s increasingly competitive modern sports landscape. Our passion for this competition remains as strong as ever.”
“Stars+Stripes USA, led by members Mike Buckley and Taylor Canfield, will carry forward with their plans to challenge for the 37th America’s Cup. We wish them the best of luck. They represent the future of American yachting.”
The announcement comes as a surpise to many, especially as NYYC had submitted a Challenge for the 37th America’s Cup to the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron in Auckland, New Zealand in May. The challenge was accompanied by a draft Protocol, which would have seen the Cup Match take place in New Zealand during early 2024, utilising the AC75 class. However, the America’s Cup Defenders, along with the Challenger of Record, rebuffed the unexpected Challenge from NYYC with the British team saying: “As the Challenger of Record for the 37th America’s Cup, we are working collaboratively with the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron and Team New Zealand to write the Protocol that will define the rules moving forward.”
In July, NYYC announced that they would be working with Stars+Stripes USA, a late entry team accepted for the 36th America’s Cup in Auckland who ultimately did not participate, rather than American Magic, which was their team for the 36th America’s Cup. For now we will wait and see which clubs the two American teams, Stars+Stripes US and American Magic, will now be working with, and for an up-date from Emirates Team New Zealand as to the venue for the next America’s Cup.
