New American Team To Challenge For The America’s Cup

Chris Welch (left) and Karel Komárek Ben Peter Catchpole I was young, skinny, and had a mouth full of orthodontics when Dennis Connor and his team representing the New York Yacht Club lost the America’s Cup off Newport, Rhode Island in 1983. Why do I remember the braces? Because my orthodontist (a pseudo-preppie-long-haired-sailor from Scituate, Massachusetts) was in mourning—he even sported a black armband—during my appointment in his office the day after the historic loss.

And as a skinny young American sailor, I was in mourning too. The New York Yacht Club had been undefeated for 132 years until—5:21 PM on September 26, 1983—when Australia II won the final race in story book fashion. Actually, I’m still in mourning.

The competition, technology, money, egos, rivalries, intellect, and intrigue of the modern America’s Cup series never returned to Newport after the Aussies ripped the Cup away from the NYYC all those years ago. But that could all change now that a brand new America’s Cup team from Newport, Rhode Island— American Racing Challenger Team USA , representing Challenging Yacht Club Sail Newport—has become an official challenger for Louis Vuitton 38th America’s Cup in Naples, Italy next year. The team is led by co-founder & chairman Karel Komárek, co-founder & vice chairman Chris Welch, and legendary American sailor Ken Read.

“The America’s Cup represents the pinnacle of sailing innovation, performance, and international competition,” said Karel Komárek, American Racing Challenger Team USA Co-founder and Chairman when the new team was announced. “We’re proud to bring an American contender back to the forefront of this historic event. This is a decision we have approached with great care and clear intent.