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History Alexandra Cup The History of the Cup
Over the years competition flourished and, in 1907, Seattle and Vancouver met in the first match for the Alexandra Cup. The cup was donated by the Province of British Columbia’s Lt. Governor, the Rt. Hon. James Dunsmuir. Both cities commissioned designs for racing sloops in the mid 40 foot range built to the “29” rater rule. Seattle built the Spirit designed and sailed by Ted Geary while Vancouver responded with the Alexandra designed by William Fyfe of England and built in Vancouver by Capt. Billy Watts. The races for the Alexandra Cup caused great excitement in both cities; newspapers gave the match extensive front page coverage and, without radio or television, citizens waited for the breathless dispatches that came every few moments via telegraph. Both cities where young and booming, still small enough to be full of local pride. The 1907 match took place in Seattle and was won by Seattle’s Spirit in a close fought series. In 1908, the action shifted to Vancouver where the Alexandra skippered by Jimmy Deane won the match for RVYC over Ted Geary in Seattle’s Spirit. There has never been a third winner of the Alexandra Cup. During the 1908 match held in Seattle, a dispute over the measurements of the new Seattle yacht Spirit II saw the Canadians withdraw from the event and leave for Vancouver before a winner had been declared. After this acrimonious dispute, there was no competition for the Alexandra Cup for 100 years. In June of 2008, this century long hiatus finally came to an end. In 2007, in recognition of the special relationship enjoyed today between the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and the Seattle Yacht Club, a move was made to resurrect the 100 year old rivalry for the Alexandra Cup. The original deed for the cup was researched and, after securing approval from the heirs of the Dunsmuir family, RVYC formally challenged SYC to a match for the cup in June of 2008. In 2008, the Cup was contested in 40 foot, International 6 Metre sloops. These beautiful yachts were generously loaned by their owners for use in the match. Both of these classic sloops are over 70 years old, each having been built in the mid 1930s. Both boats are owned by members of RVYC. Saskia II (sail number KC 19) is owned by Mr. Rainer Muller and Gallant (sail number KC 10) is owned by Mr. Eric Jespersen. It is interesting to note that Saskia II was designed by William Fyfe - the same designer who was responsible for the original Alexandra in 1907. Through a very exciting competition held at the Roiyal Vancouver Yacht Club on June 26 – 30, 2008, in a match racing series that came down to the last leg of the last race, Royal Vancouver Yacht Club successfully defended the cup. At the conclusion of this series it was decided to form a Board of Trustees to manage and develop the Alexandra Cup. A joint Board of Trustees consisting of 3 trustees from Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and three trustees from the Seattle Yacht Club was formed. The trustees and in the spirit of the Alexandra Charter formed the principles of the modern day Alexandra Cup event. The Alexandra Cup Charter and all challenge documents can be found in aother segments of these web pages.
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