Queen’s Cup Setting Sail For St. Joseph

wsjm949depend-2016-28
wsjm949depend-2016-28

The annual Queen’s Cup yacht race gets underway Friday morning in Milwaukee and will end in St. Joseph Saturday. The event is one of the oldest cups in world yachting that is still open for competiton every year. St. Joseph River Yacht Club member Dr. Stuart Boekeloo says the race across Lake Michigan spans generations of sailors.

“Since 1938, there have been over 80 races from Wisconsin to Michigan,” he says. “The first time it’s ever come to St. Joseph is this year.”

The Queen’s Cup trophy dates to 1853 when the American yacht Silvie placed second in a regatta in England, and the English were so impressed by its new engineering designs they gave a new trophy to its skipper. It was put in storage a few decades later and was deeded to Milwaukee’s South Shore Yacht Club for an annual race on Lake Michigan 78 years ago.

“This is one of the most coveted trophies in sailing,” says Dr. Boekeloo. “The only active trophy you can get in the world that has a higher significance in sailing would be the America’s Cup.”

Hundreds of boaters will be in town at the conclusion of the race on Saturday. Traditionally the race has ended in Ludington, but has also sailed into South Haven in recent years.