Ship 1886 hosted the Elroy Cup on November 7, 2021, in the shallows off the southwest end of Shelter Island. The Elroy Cup is a qualifying event for the 2022 William I Koch International Sea Scout Cup scheduled for July in Galveston, Texas.
Sunday was a sunny San Diego day on the water beginning around 1100, when the first starting sequence began. The course was a windward – leeward, with the marks about 200 yards apart, and the start/finish line approximately in the middle. We raced 8 races, racers ate lunch in their boats with the series ending at 1430.
Along with racing, it was my privilege to chair this year’s event under the coaching of the Adult Elroy Cup Chair Mr. Robert Curry and Skipper Ms. Lynn Kramer.
Ship 1886's Pierce Curry and RJ Hansing took first place. The second place winners are Jacob Wilson, and me, Erik Johnson also of Ship 1886. 1886’s Gabe Ponce was given the sportmanship Award, and he and Zander Kobold took third place. Mr. Curry’s tradition of grilling a steak dinner for guests at the awards dinner in the pool pavilion was a fantastic and delicious way to wrap up our memorable day of racing.
The Elroy Cup was first held at SDYC in 2017 and named after Jim Elroy who was a principal organizer of the Koch Cup, and the chairman of the regatta until he stepped down following the 2016 competition. Mr. Elroy has graciously offered to cover the registration fees or the first place winners of the Elroy Cup to compete in the Koch Cup.
Special thanks to: the San Diego Yacht Club; Erik Hallback, SDYC Junior Program Director; Jeff Johnson, SDYC Regatta Manager; Jared Wohlgemuth, SDYC Regatta Admin / Webmaster / IT; Keith Ericson; Pete Evering; “Rags” Laragione; Rob Schramm, and volunteers of Ship 1886 all for generously giving of their time, talent, and treasure.
In addition to the Elroy Cup, I have had a blast with Sea Scouts since joining in June. Including sailing to Catalina over the summer on a 38’ racing boat, so I invite and encourage teens to participate in Sea Scouts.