Newport, R.I., USA (September 12, 2011) – The organizers of the 2011 New York Yacht Club Invitational Cup presented by Rolex have worked diligently to create a path to success for the 22 yacht club teams who will go head to head on Swan 42s over the next five days. The competitors, all amateur sailors, not only have participated in two days of practice racing but also attended a performance symposium, local knowledge seminar and a meeting with the Umpires to prepare them for the racing which begins in earnest tomorrow, Tuesday, September 13, with 11 scheduled races that will wrap up on Saturday, September 17.

With the majority of the competitors having little or no direct experience in Swan 42s, it would seem logical to look at teams that competed in the 2009 inaugural running of the event as potential front-runners: New York Yacht Club (USA), Royal Canadian Yacht Club (CAN), the Japan Sailing Federation (JPN), Nyländska Jaktklubben (FIN), and Royal Cork Yacht Club (IRL), who, in order, finished top-five, as well as Royal Bermuda Yacht Club (BER), Royal Ocean Racing Club (GBR), Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club (HKG), Real Club Nautico de Barcelona (ESP), Norddeutscher Regatta Verein (GER), and Royal Yacht Squadron (GBR). But that might be a bad bet.

“There are some very, very good sailors here, and it would not surprise me one bit if the trophy leaves these shores at the conclusion of racing,” said Regatta Chairman John Mendez, explaining that the yacht club teams have taken the challenge seriously and prepared accordingly. To facilitiate practice and teamwork, most arranged to charter boats similar to the Swan 42 in the months prior to their arrival in Newport.

Read more: Practice Makes Perfect

A large part of the appeal of the New York YC’s Invitational Cup is that it is a unique event. There are very few, if any, regattas like it.

Many of the same things that make it unique, however, also make it difficult to predict the teams that will come out on top. The keys a handicapper would use to determine the final standings are largely irrelevant or absent.

Of course, this only makes trying to guess the winners more of a challenge. So we’ve set up a pick ‘em contest for the 2011 Invitational Cup. Call it an attempt at Fantasy Sailing. Hey every other sport has it, why not us?

It’s a fairly simple contest, at least in theory. To enter, click on this link: surveymonkey.com/s/PKWNYNG, which will take you to an online survey. Enter your name, email (so we can tell you if you’ve won, or not), and then select the top five finishers in the 2011 Invitational Cup.

Read more: Invitational Cup Fantasy Sailing Competition from Sailing World

New York Yacht Club's Harbour Court Clubhouse welcomes the world to the second biennial NYYC Invitational Cup presented by Rolex. 22 teams from 16 nations from six continents are competing. The event is for Corinthian sailors representing their yacht clubs and nations. We turned Dan Nerney, the NYYC photographer, loose on Sunday (September 11) to record the build-up. Enjoy his high-energy slideshow. Racing begins Tuesday (September 13) and runs through Saturday.