The Return of the Senator’s Cup

by Lynn Fitzpatrick, US Editor, Sail-World.com on 10 Nov 2007 After falling off the calendar for a number of years, the Senator's Cup Match Racing Regatta, with America's Cup-style match race sailing, kicked off on Thursday with an afternoon practice and landside events. Dave Perry and six America’s Cup skippers - Gavin Brady, Terry Hutchinson, John Bertrand, Cameron Appleton, Chris Larson and David Dellenbaugh and their crews will face off against one another in J105’s on Baltimore Harbor.

Competition starts at 10:30 am on Friday and Saturday, with the victory round starting at 2:00 pm on Saturday. The organizers hope to set the course as close to spectators on land as possible. Good vantage points should be Fort McHenry and Canton Waterfront Park.

The Senator's Cup began 17 years ago as a friendly competition and picnic with a starting line right off Harrison's Pier Five restaurant. The inaugural event was won by Mark Fischer. John Pica, the regatta organizer, came back to win the regatta in 1994 and 1995. Terry Hutchinson, Chris Larson and Gavin Brady – who call the Annapolis area home - have all won the event.

According to Dobbs Davis, this year’s race director, after several years of not holding the competition, and with the Volvo Ocean Race abandoning Baltimore and Annapolis for Boston, the time was right to revive the Cup and bring it back to the Inner Harbor.

A charity event, with proceeds benefiting Living Classrooms, Special Olympics and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Living Classrooms is a non-profit organization that provides hand-on education and job skills training for students from diverse backgrounds, with special emphasis on serving at-risk youth. The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has been instrumental in promoting and supporting regulations to arrest the Bay system’s decline and to restore its health. Special Olympics of Maryland seeks to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for citizens with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

In addition to the championship rounds, Saturday afternoon’s activities include Special Olympics racing and a charity auction and dinner at the Living Classrooms facilities.