It was no small feat, defending the 109-year history of a cross-border sailing trophy that, for 99 years, went uncontested by U.S. rivals and was harboured at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club.
Ben Mumford, a 34-year-old skipper, and his skilled crew safe-guarded Canada’s honour and the prestigious Alexandra Cup by defeating elite septuagenarian Seattle sailor Bob Cadranell in a match sailing race on English Bay over Sept. 13 and 14.
“We were defending a challenge from the St. Francis Yacht Club [of San Francisco, Ca.] and we were honoured to be chosen,” said Mumford. “The people who accepted the challenge asked who they felt was the most capable crew in the yacht club to defend it.”
In fact, on the previous weekend Mumford had won the 6 Metre class North American Championship. The fastest Canadian and American boats were chosen to compete for the Alexandra Cup. Mumford, seen by many as a rising star in the sport, did not disappoint.
The head-to-head match race for the Alexandra Cup was decided in six races held over two days. Each race was weighted differently: the first two races were valued at one point, the second two at two points each and the third pair at three points each. Essentially, said Mumford, the first team to six points would win the Alexandra Cup.
Cadranell won the first two races but Mumford countered, and tied the tally, by winning the third race. He also won the fourth race, which gave him four points to the American’s two.
“We were aware of the deficit after the first two,” he said. Mumford sailed St. Francis 9 with an experienced, albeit young, crew that included Connor MacKenzie at the bow, Jeremy Baxter on the lines, Jason Vandergag trimming the Genoa sail and Erik Jespersen on the main sail.
“The interesting thing about these boats is that they’re a development class boat, so they can constantly be changed. Like an F1 car, you’re able to tweak the fins and the sails,” said Mumford of the specialized 6 Metre class sailboats. “We knew we had to beat them on the water.”
The Alexandra Cup was decided in the fifth race. Cadranell couldn’t win (three points would give him only five, total) but Mumford knew he could secure the trophy by charting the correct course.
The trick was to cross the start line (which boats approach under sail in an attempt to time their crossing with the start gun) already ahead of their competitors. Then, they could outmanoeuver the Americans on the course itself.
“The crew worked flawlessly together,” said the helmsman. In the last two races, in fact the whole weekend, the crew didn’t make one single mistake. It was really an honour to sail with those guys.”
It’s an honour they can share with the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club.
99 years in the making
It may be nearly a century old, but only nine races have been held over the Alexandra Cup.
At the turn of the 19th century, sailing was an exciting, front-page sport that drew spectators and investors, and the first Alexandra Cup was contested in 1907, two years after the trophy was presented by the B.C. lieutenant governor.
The first match race was held in Seattle between 45-foot, 29-raters. The U.S. boat Spirit won over Canada’s Alexandra. The next year, Alexandra bested Spirit. But then, in 1909, the race ended in an acrimonious dispute over the measurements of the new U.S. yacht Spirit 2. Competition ceased — the Canadians packed up the Cup and shelved it at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club. For nearly a century, it gathered dust.
Then, nearly a century later in 2008, thanks to a rekindled relationship between the Seattle Yacht Club and RVYC, sailors contested the Alexandra Cup again. Now with 6 Metre yachts, the competition was back on 99 years after its debut.
This information was compiled with the help of Royal Vancouver Yacht Club historian David Williams
