There was much celebration and excitement this past February (2026) as the Van Nostrand Cup came back to Orange Lake after the decisive sailing victory of Luke Lawrence & Max Lopez aboard Ariel in the big race against the North Shrewsbury ice boaters. The silver Tiffany cup, raced for only the 4th time in 135 years, is an incredible artifact dating to the days of gilded age estate owners, wealthy sportsman and fierce racing skippers. Much speculation has been floated as to why the trophy was not raced for over so many years; its special place in ice yachting history; and whether it was the preeminent trophy in ice yacht racing. I'd suggest that what makes it so unique is that it still exists! After the first race in 1891, won by the North Shrewsbury Club, it seemed to fall off the map in importance. I've only seen one article regarding the Orange Lake Club looking to contest for the trophy after that first race. Truth is, silver cups (and silver plates, and silver lamps....) were raced for regularly, going back to the 1860s. And, for many ice yachtsman of the day, The Ice Yacht Challenge Pennant was THE symbol of supremacy - the Americas Cup of Ice Yachting. Not to diminish the importance or the stunning quality of craftsmanship in this silver pitcher, it was just another trophy! After losing the Cup, Gardiner Van Nostrand had another Cup made that was raced for by the Orange Lake boats. And in 1912 the New Hamburgh Ice Yacht Club drew up a deed of gift for a silver cup to be known as 'The Challenge Cup of America." (I've never seen an accounting of a race for it...) Where did all these prizes end up? Do any still exist?
I recently discovered - through contact with descendants of Hudson River Ice Yacht skippers - that several silver prizes do still exist.
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| The Roosevelt Prize |
Aaron Innis was a founding member of the Poughkeepsie Ice Yacht Club (PIYC) and a competitive racer. He had many ice boats but his champion yacht was Haze. These photos of prizes Innis won were shared by a great great grandson.
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| This is a silver cup (likely put up by John A. Roosevelt) which Innis, skippering Haze, won on January 27 1872. It was a race Between the PIYC and boats of the New Hamburgh Ice Yacht Club. |
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| January 1882 article in Poughkeepsie Papers. This "Prize valued at $100" may be referring to the Roosevelt Cup |
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| Silver Plate, from Aaron Innis' racing trophy collection. That's Haze in the etching(?). |
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| The "Club Plate" of 1872 may very well be the silver plate in the photo. |
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| Innis aboard Haze, circa 1876 Another prize that I've wondered about for a long time... In John A. Roosevelts scrap book (at the FDR library/archives) he kept several articles on races for a silver tiller. Local papers reported on the delays in racing for it due to conditions. It seems it was pulled off in 1881. While this article doesn't confirm it, I believe Roosevelt won it, sailing Icicle.  In recent communication with a descendent of JAR, it turns out the tiller still exists! I'm hoping to get some photos of it sometime soon. Stay Tuned! Back to what happened to all those trophies raced for? Well, one answer may be found in this Poughkeepsie Newspaper headline from 1916: The text may be hard to read - the second part highlights a section about particular items.   So, perhaps many of those old silver trophies/prizes ended up melted down and lost to the sport. Still, nice to know that they do turn up on occasion. here's more: More about silver prizes can be found at this post. Gildersleeve Prize S.R. Rogers won many trophies racing with the Hyde Park Ice Yacht Club in the early 1900s. Fortunately many survive and are kept by family. See those trophies here. I'll end here with the farthest traveled Ice Yacht trophy.  "The Rainbow Cup" was discovered in New Zealand several years ago, and now is back, in the collection of the Hudson River Ice Yacht Preservation Trust. Read the story HERE. (you'll need to scroll down some.)  |
