Truth about getting old

When the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club (Port Washington, NY) told Scuttlebutt their Manhasset Bay Challenge Cup, founded in 1902, was the oldest yachting trophy competed for annually in the United States, we accepted that as fact. Whoops!

But in 1850, Southern Yacht Club (New Orleans, LA) initiated their annual Race to the Coast, a 50 nm course which starts in Lake Pontchartrain and finishes in Gulfport, MS. They hedge a bit on bold declarations, claiming only that it is one of the very oldest regattas still regularly contested in the Western Hemisphere.

The title of Very Oldest appears to be held by the New York Yacht Club as their annual regatta began in 1845. First held on the Hudson River in New York City, the 168th edition in 2022 offered three days of racing off Newport, RI. The club states with confidence that their event is North America’s oldest annual regatta.

But just in case… anything older, held annually, in the USA?