Bridgeport, Baldwinsville residents win Sea Scout Kiwi Cup
Sixty-four Sea Scouts from 10 different countries and 17 different states set sail on the waters of Offatts Bayou off of Galveston Island, Texas, in the William I. Koch International Sea Scout Cup, which concluded Thursday. Among those participating were Robert Gustke, 19, of Bridgeport, and Andrew York, 19, of Baldwinsvile.
Sponsored by the William I. Koch International Sea Scout Cup Association, Inc., the week-long biannual Sailing Regatta brought together young adults from around the world with a passion for sailing.
The 2018 winners of the Koch Cup, were Max Katz-Christy, 17, and Thomas Craciun, 17, both from Cambridge, Mass. Gustke and York sailed into first place to take the Kiwi Cup.
“I would like to congratulate the winners of the Koch Cup and the Kiwi Cup on a job well done. But I identify more with the sailors that did not win,” Koch wrote in a statement.
For those who did not win he gave the following advice:
“Losing is a good thing,” Koch wrote. “I learned valuable lessons from each loss. So do not think of yourselves as losers, but rather winners in progress.”
Gustke is member of Sea Scout Ship Cricket (876) of the Longhouse Council. He has been active in scouting for 12 years and has earned the rank of Eagle and Able. He will graduate in 2021 from Michigan State University. York is a member of Sea Scout Ship Cricket (876) of the Longhouse Council. He has been active in scouting for 12 years and has earned the ranks of Eagle Scout and Ordinary. He will graduate in 2021 from Clarkson University.
This year’s Sea Scout Cup participants ranged in age from 15 years of age to 20, with two of the participating teams composed of siblings. Teams traveled to Galveston, Texas from as far as Brazil, Australia, Poland, Ireland and South Africa.
The Sea Scout Cup also awards participants on sportsmanship and seamanship, where each year competitors vote for the winner of the honor. This year returning brother and sister team from Australia, Eamon Gray and Orla Gray in the Koch Fleet and Michigan Sea Scouts, Tess De Wilde Kohler and Nicolette Loeding in the Kiwi Fleet were recognized for the distinction.
The William I. Koch International Sea Scout Cup is a Sailing Regatta put on by the William I. Koch International Sea Scout Cup Association, Inc. and Sea Scouts, BSA, where US and international teams compete for the coveted win every other year. An event founded in the 1930s for US Sea Scouts was halted when the Sea Scouts left to serve in WWII. Dr. William I. Koch, America’s Cup 1992 winner and founder of Oxbow Carbon, founded this international regatta in 2002. He wanted a world class sailing regatta that would bring together Sea Scouts from around the world, fostering international relations and camaraderie.
For more information about the William I. Koch International Sea Scout Cup, visit seascoutcup.org.