The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club will be represented at the prestigious Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup, which gets under way today in Newport, Rhode Island.

The local team is headed up by helmsman James Macdonald, the honorary RBYC secretary, whose seven-member crew includes past club commodores Jon Corless and Tom Miller, daughter Lexa Macdonald, Alison Hill, Paul Watson, Jeff Roach and Walter Smith.

Macdonald is an experienced sailor who has also competed in the international one-design J105 and former Olympic class Tornado catamaran.

His daughter, Lexa, also competes in the local J105 fleet.

The seventh instalment of the Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup will be contested for the second time in the one-design Melges IC37, which will again provide the ultimate platform for high-energy, amateur sailing on a level playing field.

“This is very a prestigious event,” Nicole Butterworth, the RBYC sailing secretary, said. “The club is thrilled to be invited.”

The regatta consists of 12 races to be held off Newport on Rhode Island Sound or in Narragansett Bay from September 14 to 18.

As many as four races may be held on any given day on a windward/leeward course with a windward offset mark.

All race scores will count towards a boat’s overall series score, with a minimum of one race required to be completed to constitute a series.

The fleet was denied the opportunity to sail during Sunday’s scheduled practice day because of high winds.

Yesterday was the second and final day set aside for practice before racing begins today.

For the first time since the inaugural event in 2009, there is no defending champion owing to re-entry concerns and strict quarantine protocols related to the Covid pandemic.

This has created opportunity for new international entries as well top amateur talent in the United States.