Seawanhaka Cup moves west in 2021

The Long Beach Yacht Club has confirmed they will host the 2021 Seawanhaka International Challenge Cup on June 2-5 in the waters off Long Beach, California.

The Seawanhaka Cup, a historic international challenge for the purpose of promoting small yacht racing and developing the Corinthian spirit among competing yachtsmen, is considered to be the oldest yachting trophy originated in the United States that is still in active competition. The first challenge in 1895 was held in Oyster Bay, New York.

The Seawanhaka Cup is a match racing event open to international teams who are all regular members of the yacht club they are representing and a national of the country where the club resides.

The Long Beach Yacht Club won the 47th challenge for the Seawanhaka Cup in 2019, sailed in Match 40s in Oyster Bay. Remarkably, among all of the competing yacht clubs, the finals came down to Long Beach Yacht Club and the host, Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club. The LBYC team consisted of Scotty Dickson and fellow teammates John Busch, Ben Wheatley, Daniel Gorman, and Trent Turigliatto.

Previous winners include the Royal Yacht Squadron, which is one of the most famous yacht clubs in the world and the host of the original challenge of what is now the America’s Cup. Other international winners came from Scotland, Tasmania, Norway, and Quebec.

More information about the event’s history can be found on the Seawanhaka website at this location: https://www.seawanhaka.org/Upcoming_Regattas/2019_Seawanhaka_Cup

More details will be forthcoming when the Notice of Race is posted, and while not a solicitation for challenges at this time, a club’s expression of interest is welcome and encouraged.

For more information: Jess Gerry, LBYC Race Director, racedirector@lbyc.org

Source: LBYC