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The Lipton Regattas and the GYA
The sport of yachting
nationwide virtually ceased to exist during World War I and affordable
one-design boats that could be raced without handicapping disputes were
seen as the postwar salvation of the sport. In the South, the one-design
fleet that would revive the sport of sailing and bring it to new heights of
popularity on Galveston Bay was the Fish class. This boat
originated at Southern Yacht Club (SYC) where the 20 foot, gaff-rigged
sloop was designed in 1918.
 In 1920, yachtsman Sir Thomas Lipton presented SYC with a
magnificent silver trophy to be competed for among clubs of the Gulf Coast. The British tea magnate, who
made five valiant, but unsuccessful attempts over a 30 year period to win the
America’s Cup, came to be adored by the
American people who regarded him as a great sportsman. While he was
unsuccessful in his America’s Cup challenges, his gift
would have a lasting impact for it became the impetus for the formation of
the now venerable Gulf Yachting Association (GYA). In the fall of 1920,
five clubs representing five states came together to form the GYA: Eastern
Shore Yacht Club of Mobile, Alabama; Southern Yacht Club of New Orleans;
Biloxi Yacht Club of
Mississippi; Pensacola Yacht
Club of Florida; and the Launch Club
(HYC) of Houston. At the heart of the organization was the annual
competition for the Lipton Trophy, sailed in the one-design Fish class. GYA
rules required that the boats must be club owned and member clubs must
provide sailing instruction for members, their sons, daughters, wives, and
sisters.
In 1921, the Club sent their first team to compete for the Lipton Cup in Pensacola. Houston finished third, ahead of
Southern the last and fourth place team. This respectable finish, along
with a stop at SYC on Lake Ponchartrain, prompted the group to return
home and call for major changes. Within three weeks they made an
unsuccessful attempt to change the name of the organization to the Houston
Yacht Club and purchase property on the shores of Galveston Bay at Morgan’s Point. While six
years would pass before the name change and relocation would occur, for the
next twenty-five years the Club’s sailing program was structured around the
requirements of the GYA and focused on the competition for the Lipton Cup.
Beginning each spring, every weekend had a full schedule of sailboat races
as sailors competed to qualify for the privilege of representing the Club
at the annual GYA event. Each skipper was assigned a rating based on the number of races
won. Everyone started at the novice
class and advanced from “C” level to “A.”
Lipton competitors were chosen from the expert “A” level sailors.
When sailing resumed after World War II, HYC purchased six Corinthians and
the Club’s Fish boats were no longer maintained and soon became unsailable.
Without club owned Fish boats HYC was no longer eligible for
membership in GYA. The lack of Fish
boats resulted in HYC leaving the GYA and the subsequent formation of the Texas
Yachting Association in 1953 (now known as the Texas Sailing Association.)
HYC immediately assumed a leadership role in hosting state, regional, and
national championships.
 Although the Houston sailors were never successful
in their attempts to win the Lipton Trophy, HYC hosted the Lipton Regattas
of 1929 and 1941, two events among the highlights of the Club’s
history. Labor Day weekend, 2000, after a hiatus of more than 50 years, a
contingent of
young HYC sailors and a host of spectators once again made
the trip to New Orleans to join the clubs of the GYA in
the annual Lipton Regatta. Now sailed in Flying Scots, the event draws over
20 clubs throughout the South.
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