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| In 1921, Commodore Herbert M. Sears of the Eastern Yacht
Club at Marblehead, MA placed in competition a Cup bearing his name for competition among
juniors of Massachusetts yacht clubs. The next year eligibility broadened to include clubs
such as Larchmont and Seawanhaka Corinthian on Long Island Sound and Cedarhurst on the
south shore of Long Island, NY. How racing has changed since then is reflected in a
comment about the 1923 & 25 victories of the Duxbury Yacht Club team on which C.
Raymond Hunt (designer of the 110 and 210 classes and the Boston Whaler) was helmsman,
"Boys in those days were required to wear caps, neckties and jackets while sailing
and girls dresses." In 1930, Commodore Sears of the Eastern Yacht Club at Marblehead, confident that NAYRU was here to stay and deeming it desirable that the competition be national in scope, deeded the trophy to NAYRU for triple-handed sailing among juniors over 12 and under 18 whose parents or guardians are members of some Yacht Club in the United States recognized by the Union. Under the deed, the Cup is "for the purpose of promoting the sport of yachting by encouraging proficiency in seamanship and sportsmanlike conduct in sail yacht racing on the part of boys and girls of school age". Also, the finals were to be held in home waters of a yacht club on the Atlantic Coast north of Sandy Hook - both conditions mirroring those for the Adams Trophy. As Member Associations of NAYRU proliferated to include all parts of the continent, the Sears Cup likewise became trans-continent. By the 1950’s. NAYRU was inviting the Associations to make selections of teams to compete. Until the US Yacht Racing Union was formed in 1975, teams from Canadian Yacht Clubs also competed. In 1931 the minimum age was raised to 15. The Championship is a ladder event in which eliminations are held among the 1000+ yacht clubs and 150+ community sailing programs in the Yacht Racing, or District, Associations that today comprise US Sailing. Winners thereof compete in eliminations for the Area group in which their respective YRA or District is located for a berth in the finals. The Sears Cup was fortunate to have as first Chair of the NAYRU Junior Championship Committee from 1932 - 1940 Hugh M. Wharton of the Pequot Yacht Club, Southport, CT. He was a dedicated and able yachtsman who also was a founder in 1924 and first President of the Junior Yacht Racing Association of Long Island Sound. The JYRA of LIS was called the ‘parent’ of such organizations that were instrumental in developing competition and training among juniors in YRA Districts across the continent. Wharton was succeeded by a fellow member of Pequot, D. Verner Smythe who also served as Chairman for a long tenure as well as Chairman of the Championship Coordinating Committee. The Vineyard Haven Yacht Club dominated the NAYRU Championships in their early days producing five wins in the Sears Cup - two with Frank Jewett, Jr. as helmsman, two with John (Jack) H. Ware and one with Chandler (Buzz) Hovey, Jr. Previous Winners (Sears Cup) (Cox Sportsmanship Trophy) |
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