There was recently an article in Sailing Anarchy from a yacht club claiming to host the oldest long distance race. The oldest, continuously held long distance race is the New Orleans to Gulfport, MS race (around 60 miles)held by Southern Yacht Club (second oldest yacht club founded in 1849) first officially raced on July 4, 1850.
The Race to the Coast is the oldest still running point-to-point distance race in the United States and the second oldest regatta after New York YC’s Around the Island Race, which traces its roots to 1845. The regatta follows a 60-mile steeplechase format along a course that has been raced for 163 years—minus a few finish deviations over the years and the interruption during the War of Northern Aggression when New Orleans fell to Union forces.
-Anarchist Billy
