Marlborough wins premier trophy in Scout Sailing - the Koch Cup

by Sail-World.com on 24 Sep 2016 Just as celebrations over New Zealand's successes in the Olympic and Para Olympic Games there has been more Kiwi sailing success - this time with strong ties to the America's Cup in California, USA

A crew from the Marlborough Sea Venturer Unit won the William I Koch International Sea Scout Cup at Long Beach California in a regatta in which crews from nine other countries competed.

The 2016 NZ team was Nicholas Gardiner and Nicholas Williams who sailed superbly throughout and were well ahead on points at the finish. NZ has been trying to win this event for 14 years and have finally made it and recorded another first that of being the first crew from outside the USA to win the regatta.

Nic Gardiner and Nic Williams from the Marlborough Sea Venturer Unit were supported by a team of four Sea Scout leaders and officials. When the final results were posted it was a very decisive win with New Zealand gaining fifteen points which was seventeen points clear of the second place getters USA 31 crew. The last crews in the Kiwi Cup gained 206 points such was the comprehensive win by the New Zealand crew.

The William I Koch International Sea Scout Cup has been running since 2002 every two years and usually moves it's location around the United States to a different venue each time and this year it was held at the Long Beach Yacht in California sailing both in the Pacific and in the estuary where the yacht club is located. The competitors must be between the ages of 14 and 21 years of age.

Scouts New Zealand has been sending teams since it commenced and has had an amazing success rate having finished second six times, and once fourth.

The event commences with races to decide which division the crews will compete in and then this year the forty crews sailing in two person sailing dinghies similar to the 420's set off under the watchful eyes of a team of international regatta officials and safety staff.

The timing of this years regatta was significant as it was 90 years to the actual day since the very first international Sea Scout Regatta was held in Belgium.

The cup itself is Silver and modelled on the Americas Cup, was manufactured by Asprey Garrad company Ltd the same UK based company who made the America's cup and is valued at $US250,000 and which was donated by Bill Koch of the USA, a previous America's Cup winner. The Koch cup is not allowed to leave the USA and is kept in a display vault at the Boy Scout Museum in Irving Texas.

In 2000 New Zealand donated the Kiwi Cup which is a Maori statue for competition in division two. The cup is competed for by teams from every part of the USA and this year nine other International teams from New Zealand, Poland, Ireland, Finland, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, Germany and Norway and the crews took part in 23 races

On the final night the two hundred an ten guests and competitors assembled in the Long Beach Yacht Club for the prize giving which was a full dress uniform function at which dinner and drinks were served.

William Koch mixed with everyone before the formal part when he presented some information on sailing America's Cup style of craft.

At the end of the regatta, one New Zealand visitor to the Regatta was challenged by the organisers to get one
more international crew to attend ad participate in the next regatta..