* Friend, 470, J/24 and J/105 sailor- Terry McLaughlin along with fellow friend, J/24 sailor John Hele (owner of DARING),
won the NYYC Invite Cup on Swan 42s. In fact, the entire top FIVE
finishers in the NYYC Invite Cup were all comprised of top J sailors in
various J classes. Besides John and Terry, Ken Colburn and Phil Lotz
were champion J/105 sailors themselves racing for NYYC; Peter McChesney
and friends from Annapolis YC in third were champion J/22 and J/24
sailors (many in the crew); Billy Lynn and friends from Eastern YC in
fourth were champion J/22, J/24 and J/105 sailors; and in fifth was Jim
Madden from Newport Harbor YC of STARK RAVING MAD fame (J/125) and BRAND
NEW DAY (J/65 Bermuda winner). Apparently, unless you had some form of
"J/One-Design" experience, you were "toast" in this event-- the
evidence is clear and unmistakable. 
For
Terry Mclaughlin and John Hele, it was a "redemption" regatta. In a
reversal of fortunes from the inaugural event two years ago, they
cleaned-out their competitors starting from the very first day. Terry/
John and crew sailed a nearly flawless series with seven top five
finishes out of eleven races. In races where they were deep in the
fleet, they inevitably overhauled the boats ahead. Terry said, “I think
we came back quite well this series. It's important because you can’t
get off the line in great shape or get around the first mark in great
shape for eleven races in a row.”McLaughlin won a silver medal in the Flying Dutchman class in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics and was the skipper of CANADA I in the 1983 America’s Cup challenger series. These days Terry's business is importing the famous DUBARRY clothing and footwear from Ireland, and his sailing more relegated to occasional racing with friends-- like J/105s for serious competition with Ken and other friends in Toronto! Gotta test out those boots, eh!?
In a new addition to the event, the team leading in points at the end of each day flew a “gold” spinnaker in the following day’s races (e.g. a "borrowed" idea from that famous French bike race- The TOUR DE FRANCE- remember the famous "yellow jersey"?). Cute! The Royal Canadian team quickly took that honor after the first day and never relinquished it for the week (one wonders, was it as fast, or faster?).
