Royal Thames Yacht Club
London, England
RTYC has competed in every Rolex New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup with the exception of the 2011 edition. The club won in 2015, the first—and still only—team from outside North America to claim the trophy.
RTYC is the oldest continuously operated yacht club in the world. It was established in 1775 when the Duke of Cumberland, brother of George III, put up a silver cup for a race on the River Thames and formed the Cumberland Fleet, which remains the alternative name of the club. The members originally met in coffee houses. From 1857, the club owned various properties in London, moving to 60 Knightsbridge, overlooking Hyde park, in 1923.
The present clubhouse is the result of a development of the site in 1961. Yachting originally took place on the Thames, but the Solent became increasingly important in the 1850s, as the steam train made for easy access to England’s South Coast. The club has had many distinguished flag officers; traditionally the commodore has been a member of the royal family. Earl Mountbatten was commodore for 20 years; the current commodore is HRH Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. RTYC's win in the 2015 Rolex NYYC Invitational Cup—the first for a club from outside North America—was made possible by its excellent academy that boasts 150 high level members chosen from the top sailing universities, top dinghy classes and the British Olympic Yachting Association.
Team Profile
Leading RTYC in the 2019 IC is a powerhouse husband-and-wife team, John and Katie Greenland. Skippering for the team will be John Greenland (left, holding flag), a veteran Rolex NYYC IC sailor from London, England, who has sailed in every edition of the Cup. John skippered for RTYC in 2009, 2013, 2015 and 2017 and did the tactics for Royal Ocean Racing Club in 2011, with his best finishes being first in 2015 and third in 2013. He boasts a long list of winning championships and regattas; for starters, he is a European Team Racing and UK National Team Racing Champion, a three-time winner of the Commodore's Cup, and a one-time winner of the Copa del Rey, Swan Cup, and IRC Nationals.
Katie Greenland (second from left) will be doing the tactics alongside her husband for the RTYC team. Katie is also no stranger to the Invitational Cup; she competed for RTYC in both 2013 and for the club's victorious finish in 2015. Her racing experience is both impressive and varied. She takes up the role of skipper, tactician, strategist, or navigator in dinghy races, and Swan 42, IC37, and J70 regattas. Not to mention, she has also won the Commodore's Cup and the Swan Cup in 2008, the J109 Spring Series in 2013, the IRC Nationals as tactician, and placed first at the Women's Keelboat Championship at the helm.
