Recently Chesapeake Bank continued its support of the Hospice Turkey Shoot Regatta (HTSR) by displaying in its Kilmarnock main branch the new “Three-time Winner Trophy” and distributing literature on how to enter the regatta, coming up on October 4-6.
The trophy is an original painting of the first Turkey Shoot winning boat—Nick England’s Herreshoff-designed Virginia. Now the framed painting has small engraved plaques affixed, one for each sailor who has won first place in this regatta three times over the subsequent years.
The painting of the Virginia was by a member of the Rappahannock River Yacht Club (RRYC), Jerry Mumma, who passed away earlier. Jerry, the corporate architect for Marriott Hotels, was also known at RRYC in the 1980s to be a competitive sailor and an accomplished artist. In support of the regatta, he volunteered to paint a picture of the winning boat each year as an added trophy in honor of the accomplishments of owner and crew.
Also in the painting is the Miss Ann, then the flagship of the Tides Inn and a local favorite for many years. Here she was employed as the spectator or judging boat, where up to 100 guests would select the Most Beautiful Boat.
When the sailors were returning to their dock they sailed past the Miss Ann and the guest judges voted so that by the time the race winner had been determined, the best looking boat had also been chosen.
This year, the historic 1911 skipjack Claud W. Somers has agreed to be the judging boat, also to be berthed during the regatta at the Tides Inn.
The Turkey Shoot Regatta, started in 1987 by John McConnico, then owner of Yankee Point Marina, and based upon an idea for a classic sailboat race by Chuck Harney, a local classic wooden sailboat enthusiast, was originally held after Thanksgiving, hence the name. But when colder weather began to arrive in November, the racers voted to move the race to late September or early October, but the name remained.
In 1996 the Turkey Shoot became an event benefitting Hospice Support Services of the Northern Neck and later, in 2003, this was expanded to include Riverside Hospice Agencies as well. This race, now named the Hospice Turkey Shoot Regatta, is held each fall on the Rappahannock and is the largest of the 25 hospice races, once attracting as many as 142 boats. It has been named twice as the Best of the Bay—Regattas by readers of Chesapeake Bay Magazine.
For more information on the regatta, visit www.turkeyshoot.org.
