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A Brief History of the Chapman Regatta The Chapman Regatta was started in 1950 as an annual race of the Mississippi Coast Yachting Association. Henry B. Chapman of Bay-Waveland Yacht Club and Wallace Chapman of Biloxi Yacht Club donated a perpetual trophy in memory of their father Will J. Chapman and brothers Will W. and Alfred W. who were sailing enthusiasts on the Mississippi Coast for many years. The Chapman Trophy is awarded to the club that wins the regatta and that club is considered to be the Mississippi Coast Champion for that year. The Chapman Regatta is believed to be the oldest consecutively sailed inter club Team Racing contest in the United States. The regatta consists of four races sailed in Flying Scots which are nineteen-foot open sailboats that carry a mainsail, jib and spinnaker. The teams consist of three boats from each of the seven (7) Mississippi Coast Yacht Clubs. Each boat has three (3) or four (4) crew members. No one may skipper more than one time in the four (4) race series. The regatta involves a significant number of sailing enthusiasts from one end of the Mississippi Coast to the other, and it annually attracts many of the best sailors on the Coast. A few stories about the Chapmans may bring back memories of hijinks and adventures. Alfred grew up at the Chapman family home on North Beach Boulevard in Bay St. Louis. His boyhood was spent in and on the bay, first sailing his father’s large Cat boat (when he wasn’t stealing watermelons from the Breath’s garden next door or scaring the daylights out of the horses pulling carriages down the beach road.) Later he sailed his own boat, named Virginia, built by Chapman and Santos Shields. His sailing days were cut short by his tour as a Lieutenant in France during World War I. He stayed after Armistice arranging for the burial of American casualties in military cemeteries. Alfred arrived home just in time to serve as the best man at the marriage of his brother Will to Gladys Weston. The first year of the regatta in 1950 saw one race held at each club with a fleet of four Fish Class boats. The clubs at the time consisted of Bay-Waveland, Biloxi, Gulfport, and Pass Christian Yacht Clubs. In 1956 a change in the format was made to rotate the Chapman Regatta from club to club each year. In the 1960’s the Gulf Yachting Association approved the Flying Scot as the official boat for the GY.A. The Mississippi Coast Yachting Association then changed to the Flying Scot for the Chapman Regatta. Senior members of the Chapman family who are members of the Bay-Waveland Yacht Club include: Commodore Henry G Chapman, Mrs. Ann Chapman Stieffel, and John W. Dupaquier. Henry B. Chapman Wallace Chapman ) ) THE FIFTIETH SAILING OF THE MCYA CHAPMAN REGATTA 1999 A Team Racing Event Past Winners Chapman Memorial Trophy 1950 Biloxi Yacht Club 1975 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1951 Biloxi Yacht Club 1976 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1952 Pass Christian Yacht Club 1977 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1953 Gulfport Yacht Club 1978 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1954 Biloxi Yacht Club 1979 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1955 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1980 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1956 Pass Christian Yacht Club 1981 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1957 Gulfport Yacht Club 1982 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1958 Biloxi Yacht Club 1983 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1959 Biloxi Yacht Club 1984 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1960 Biloxi Yacht Club 1985 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1961 Biloxi Yacht Club 1986 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1962 Gulfport Yacht Club 1987 Pass Christian Yacht Club 1963 Biloxi Yacht Club 1988 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1964 Biloxi Yacht Club 1989 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1965 Biloxi Yacht Club 1990 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1966 Biloxi Yacht Club 1991 Pass Christian Yacht Club 1967 Biloxi Yacht Club 1992 Pass Christian Yacht Club 1968 Biloxi Yacht Club 1993 Pass Christian Yacht Club 1969 Pass Christian Yacht Club 1994 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1970 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1995 Gulfport Yacht Club 1971 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1996 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1972 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1997 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1973 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1998 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1974 Bay-Waveland Yacht Club 1999 Summary of Past Winners Bay-Waveland Yacht Club Biloxi Yacht Club Pass Christian Yacht Club 25 times 13 times 7 times w'O
Bay Waveland Yacht Club Chapman-Regatta-1999-(6)