Well, 135 years was a good run for the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club. After days of waiting out the weather for perfect conditions on the Navesink River, the ice boats came out yesterday morning for the Van Nostrand Cup race, and for the first time since 1891, Red Bank’s home team had to hand back one of the oldest trophies in sports to the New York club that created it.
A team from the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club rode their 130-year-old wooden boat, the Arial, to two straight victories in the best-of-three contest for the Van Nostrand Cup on the frozen Navesink River Monday morning.
The Van Nostrand Cup was created in 1891 by wealthy Hudson River ice boat owner Gardiner Van Nostrand. Navesink had won the cup in each of the four previous contests, including the most recent in 2003 and 1978 (the Navesink River rarely freezes over).
When the six-boat race was over, members of both clubs said they hoped the contest can be held more regularly. The Red Bank club said they’d already typed up the email challenging the Hudson River club to take the cup back to Jersey at the next available opportunity. Check out photos and video at redbankgreen.com.