Sailing & Regattas | Smyrna Yacht Club

The Lipton Cup

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Lipton Cup Weekend - April 4th - 6th, 2025
Sir Thomas Lipton is famous for his many America's Cup Challenges with his famous "J Boats." As a yacht racing enthusiast, Sir Thomas encouraged the sport by giving a number of prestigious trophies to yacht clubs around the world. In 1922 he donated a beautiful sterling silver cup to perpetuate the sport of yacht racing in the Central Florida area. The history of this cup is shrouded in mystery up until 1941, at the beginning of World War II, when the cup was placed in a bank vault for safety and forgotton until 1982. At that time, having sponsored International Lipton Cup regattas in the early 1930'2, SYC adopted the cup in order to preserve the tradition. The trophy resides in its exclusive trophy case at the Smyrna Yacht Club in a place of honor for over twenty years.

The Brewers Cup

The Brewers Cup takes place annually in October. It is a downwind pursuit race with a staggered start for any and all sail boats that can navigate the Indian River. More specifically, it is a downwind “FUN” race occurring between the Smyrna Yacht Club and Mosquito Lagoon, a distance of about 10 miles. The direction – either racing North or South -- is chosen to create a downwind race, which allows many of the boats to fly their colorful spinnakers. The race will have a staggered start so that as many boats as possible will finish close together. This can be particularly exciting. This is one of the most spectacular sailing events of the year based on close quarter spinnaker competition. Participants and spectators should prepare for a fun race! Participating sailors do not have to be members of any yacht or sailing club. Note: Overnight dockage is available at SYC. In addition, there are two boat ramps within 1 mile of SYC. The easiest is Edgewater just to the south of SYC.

The Binnacle Navigation Regatta

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Smyrna Yacht Club, sponsor of the annual “Lipton Cup Regatta,” has announced creation of a unique new regatta. On October 19th the organization launches its first ever “Binnacle Navigation Regatta” (BNR) open to all competitors. Most races have boats begin from behind a start line, all in a class at the same time and sailing a fixed course. Usually the fastest boat with the most capable crew wins. The BNR operates differently.
This course will be composed of five virtual marks taken from previous race documents. Each skipper will take all marks to port, and must traverse within 10 feet of the location. However, marks can be taken in any order. Race completion will be verified by taking a photo of the GPS screen or using RaceQ app. Each leg will be a minimum of 2 miles, for a total of 10-12 miles. Race begins at 11 AM with entrants given fixed start times. Each contender determines their vessel’s optimum course to sail based on wind, sea, and boat characteristics. Total time should require 3-4 hours.