Last Sunday, on a frigid day on the Navesink River in Red Bank, NJ, the Hudson River Ice Yacht Club (HRIYC) won back the Van Nostrand Challenge Cup from the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club (NSIBYC), which held the cup for the last 135 years.
The cup was created by Gardiner Van Nostrand, a wealthy Hudson River ice boat owner who, in 1891, had crafted a Tiffany silver cup to be kept by the winning team. The contests, including the most recent in 2003 and 1978.
The Van Nostrand Cup is often referred to as the America’s Cup of ice yachting. The most recent sailing of the America’s Cup was the 37th competition since the first race was hosted by the New York Yacht Club in 1870. The Van Nostrand Cup Challenge, by contrast, has been sailed only four times, since the first race 135 years ago: in 1891, in 1978, in 2003, and in 2026.
Unlike the America’s Cup Races, which are held every several years on dates agreed between the defender and the challenger, the Van Nostrand Cup Challenge is sailed whenever the weather is cold enough to freeze the ice thick enough on the rivers to allow racing the ice yachts. The Van Nostrand ice boat races are hosted by the winner of the last round of races. As the North Shrewsbury Ice Boat and Yacht Club of Red Bank, NJ, won the previous races have been held on the Navesink River. The next race, whenever the ice is thick enough, will be sailed on Orange Lake, NY.
Six classic wooden iceboats, each more than a century old, gathered to race. Two-man crews bundled like Arctic explorers stood by boats weighing half a ton, poised to push their vessels across the starting line.
- Ariel : Representing Hudson River Ice Yacht Club (HRIYC), a 130-year-old wooden boat that won the 2026 challenge.
- Whirlwind : HRIYC entry.
- Ice Queen : HRIYC entry.
- Snowflake : North Shrewsbury Ice Boat & Yacht Club (NSIB&YC) entry.
- Georgie II : NSIB&YC entry.
- Ruth : NSIB&YC entry.YC defender.
Thanks to Larry Witmer for contributing to this post.