iceboat.org Read on blog or Reader In The News – AFTER 135 YEARS, RED BANK ICE BOATERS RELINQUISH CUP By Deb Whitehorse on February 9, 2026 Photo: Brian Donahue for Red Bank Green ice sailors never forget! Talk about patience, this is next level. Congratulations to the Hudson River crew on winning back the Van Nostrand Cup after 135 years and for keeping this remarkable piece of ice sailing history alive. And thank you to Red Bank Green, the independent local news outlet, for giving this regatta practically play by play and for their continuing coverage of ice sailing at Red Banks. As the boat built by 19th-century architect Archibald Rogers came to a stop after their second straight win in the best of three, skipper Luke Lawrence and sheet tender Max Lopez exchanged hugs and gloved high fives with friends and family. One of several drones filming the action crashed into the sail and fell to the ice. Then, Lawrence paused for a quiet emotional moment, kneeling silently in the basket amid the hoots and hubbub. “I did this one for pop pop,” he said a few moments later, referring to his grandfather, Bob Lawrence, a boat builder and sailor. “He won a lot of stuff, but never this one. So this one is for him. Read more