The Toms River Challenge Cup, The second oldest American sailing trophy

This past Saturday the Toms River Yacht Club and the Barnegat Bay Yacht Racing Association held the Toms River Challenge Cup race for the A-Cat fleet. The Toms River Challenge cup was established by the TRYC in 1871. The A Cat fleet has raced for this cup since 1922; The A-Cat Torch won the cup this year. Below is an excerpt from the A-Cats website describing the ancestries of the trophy and race.

By 1871, there were enough sailboats informally racing on Barnegat Bay to prompt the town of Toms River to organize the Toms River Challenge Cup and to create the Toms River Yacht Club to host the race. Captains and crews of boats that plied their trades along the coast took great pleasure in outsailing each other. Wagering was prevalent, passions ran high during these races. A suitable trophy for the Toms River Challenge Cup, a 3.5 -pound ornate silver “mug” with an anchor and line on the handles, was made by the Tiffany Company for the enormous sum of $175. This is the second oldest American sailing trophy in continuous competition, second only to the America’s Cup.

Gary Jobson also writes about the Challenge Cup in his book Chasing Roosters A Century of Sailing on Barnegat Bay. “Every yacht club on Barnegat Bay has a unique story. One year after the New York Yacht Club defended the America’s Cup in New York, the Toms River Challenge Cup was launched. According to author, Edwin J. Schoettle, “Toms River was a small town where almost every man owned a boat, and every man and child knew how to sail.

To read more about the Toms River Challenge Cup and sailing on Barnegat Bay pick up a copy of Chasing Rooster A Century of Sailing on Barnegat Bay at www.bbyra100th.org

There was other exciting sailing competition on Barnegat Bay over the last two weekends.

The campaign between BBYRA champion sailors John/Elaine Applegate LA150, and Susie Kerr Cundey/John Harkrader BH11 in the M-sloop fleet is shaping up as expected. John Harkrader is racing in his 66th season and for John Applegate his 63rd season. Week three saw LA150 take first place, LA22 Curt Morton in second, and BH11 third place in the first race of the M-Sloop fleet. In the second race LA22 took first, Susie and John H. BH11 finished second. Unfortunately the Applegate’s had to leave the course with equipment failure before the start of the second race.

This past Saturday, week four of racing, the Applegate’s, LA150, finished first in both races. John Harkrader was sailing with Janet Davis in BH15. BH15 finished the first race decently in 6th place. LA22 sailed by Curt Morton finished second and Sean Bradley MC32 took third place also in the first race. In the second race Sean Bradley MC32 came in second and Dave Applegate LA50 (son of John) finished third. Equipment gremlins this week moved over to BH15 during the second race; the mast on BH15 failed forcing BH15 to retired from the race. I have confidence in these two seasoned veterans; John Harkrader and John Applegate, they are proving that they are more resilient than their boats!

In the M-Sloop Championship series LA150 is in first place. LA22, Curt Morton is in second and BH11 in third. Remember BH11 did not sail this past Saturday. I am looking forward to watching the M-sloop races in the coming weeks. The M-sloop fleet has 15 boats registered to race this season. Will LA22 or MC 32 continue to gain in the standings? Will young Dave Applegate, LA50, beat his mentor and father? We’re almost at the half way point of the season and several M-Sloops still have a chance of winning the series. For complete scores of all the fleets please visit www.bbyra.org

Scores from week four of the 2015 BBYRA Championship Series

E Sloop AM Race 1
1 T17 Hunter Chad Hillyer TRYC
2 T76 HONK Kyle Rogachenko TRYC
3 MA6 Gater Wright Sayia MYC

E Sloop AM Race 2
1 T18 Showtime Erik Johnson TRYC
2 T53 FOX Brian Gabriel TRYC
3 MA10 Rocinante Richard Wight MYC

M Sloop AM Race 1
1 LA150 John J. Applegate LYC
2 LA22 Curt Morton LYC
3 MC32 Sean Bradley MCYC

M Sloop AM Race 2
1 LA150 John J. Applegate LYC
2 MC32 Foiled Sean Bradley MCYC
3 LA50 Rip Tide Dave Applegate LYC

Laser AM Race 1
1 272727 Had Brick IHYC
2 199583 Brendan Gilman BHYC

Laser AM Race 2
1 272727 Had Brick IHYC
2 199583 Brendan Gilman BHYC

Laser Radial AM Race 1
1 195967 Thomas Quinn BHYC
2 185840 Bridget MacCormack TRYC
3 152137 Emily Fuller MRYC

Laser Radial AM Race 2
1 195967 Thomas Quinn BHYC
2 152137 Emily Fuller MRYC
3 74416 Max Cool BHYC

Sneakbox AM Race 1
1 T1 Old Black Magic Russell Lines OGYC
2 OG2 Jersey Girl Paul Raceon OGYC
3 MR13 Michael Bukosky SPYC

Sneakbox AM Race 2
1 MR13 Michael Bukosky SPYC
2 S4 Double Trouble Chris Bukosky SPYC
3 IH3 Billy de Rouville OCC

Sandpiper AM Race 1
1 BH24 Marie Jim Cadranell BHYC
2 MC2 Fanny Paul Gelenitis MCYC
3 NB4 Peter Schwartz NBYC

Sandpiper AM Race 2
1 PB1 Wild Cat John O’Leary PBYC
2 MA18 Zoar Mark Lewis MYC
3 MC1 Mimi Dimon MCYC

Sunfish AM Race 1
1 81033 David Thompson LYC
2 81096 Tine Mooney BYC
3 78967 Alan Dittenhofer OGYC

Sunfish AM Race 2
1 78460 John King OGYC
2 81033 David Thompson LYC
3 80979 David Sikora OGYC

E Sloop PM Race 1
1 T37 Blind Squirrel John Brown TRYC
2 LA99 Magnum Force Dave Magno LYC
3 T17 Hunter Chad Hillyer TRYC

E Sloop PM Race 2
1 T17 Hunter Chad Hillyer TRYC
2 T37 Blind Squirrel John Brown TRYC
3 MA6 Gater Wright Sayia MYC

A-Cat Toms River Challenge Cup

1 TORCH Tyler Kennedy MYC
2 IHSPY Gary Steward IHYC
3 WASP Nelson Hartranft OGYC

Flying Scot PM Race 1
1 5508 Hot Tub Too Peter Sayia SPYC
2 5290 John Van Derslice SPYC
3 6019 Glenn Shaffer TRYC

Flying Scot PM Race 2
1 5508 Hot Tub Too Peter Sayia SPYC
2 6019 Glenn Shaffer TRYC
3 550 Bill Warner TRYC

Ensign PM Race 1
1 1085 Lorelei Bud Brown TRYC
2 491 Marista Thomas Healey IHYC
3 176 Chowder Bill Murphey SPYC

Ensign PM Race 2
1 1085 Lorelei Bud Brown TRYC
2 491 Marista Thomas Healey IHYC
3 1247 MerMaida Had Brick IHYC

Sanderling PM Race 1
1 BH1 Mini Cat Bob Adams BHYC
2 L7 BARNECAT Mark Q Schleckser LYC
3 IH12 Bart Art Bailey IHYC

Sanderling PM Race 2
1 L7 BARNECAT Mark Q Schleckser LYC
2 SA4 NautiCat Brian Harris SAYC
3 IH12 Bart Art Bailey IHYC