Regatta held in conjunction with the Sea Scouts' 100th anniversary

(Vallejo, CA – March 27, 2012) – The California Maritime Academy (Cal Maritime), a campus of The California State University, has been selected as the site for the 6th William I. Koch Sea Scout Cup, which will be held from July 22-28, 2012. Named after Florida international businessman William "Bill" Koch, who successfully defended the America's Cup in 1992, the biennial sailing regatta is devoted to young men and women between the ages or 15 and 21 years of age.

Sea Scout teams from around the world will compete in the weeklong regatta at the Vallejo campus, marking the first time the competition will be held on the West Coast. Cal Maritime was chosen because of the great sailing venue and spectacular waterfront view of the racing area. The public will have an opportunity to view the competition from Cal Maritime’s waterfront.

"We are thrilled that Cal Maritime has been selected to host this summer's William I. Koch International Sea Scout Cup Regatta," said Dr. Gerald Jakubowski, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Cal Maritime. "A large percentage of our cadets come to us with Boy Scout or Sea Scout experience, many of whom hold the highest rank of Eagle Scout. Therefore, the regatta will serve as an excellent recruiting tool for us as well."

Jakubowski added that tours of the Cal Maritime campus, including its state-of-the-art ship simulators, will also be provided to the scouts. The regatta is being held in conjunction with the Sea Scout’s 100th Anniversary.

Currently registered are more California teams than ever before, including competitors from San Francisco, Pleasanton, Portola Valley, San Clemente, Laguna Niguel, Newport Beach, Redwood City, San Juan Capistrano, and Daly City. The international Sea Scout community will be represented by the likes of Brazil, England, Finland, New Zealand, South Africa, Trinidad, and Turkey.

The William I. Koch Sea Scout Cup is the culmination of nearly two years of hard work by Scouts who have been practicing to earn Sea Scouting's top prize. The winners receive a gold medallion and an opportunity to have their names engraved on a silver trophy designed by Asprey-Gerrard’s of London, which Koch commissioned and donated to the Boy Scouts of America. The trophy, which is similar in height and prominence to the original America's Cup, is on permanent display at the Boy Scout Museum in Irving, Texas.

Cal Maritime’s own sailing team has proven themselves both a successful dinghy team as well as national and international prominence in college sailing. In 2010, they won the College National Offshore Championship, which qualified them for the Student Yachting Worlds. In addition, Cal Maritime has won the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup, the only big boat college regatta on the west coast, the last two years in a row.

For more information on the William I. Koch Sea Scout Cup, visit www.seascoutcup.org.

ABOUT CAL MARITIME
Established in 1929, The California Maritime Academy, a campus of The California State University, is the only degree-granting maritime academy on the West Coast. Cal Maritime was recently ranked by Forbes magazine as #18 in the “Top 20 Best Value Colleges” in the nation – and the #1 Best Value in California for providing students with the highest quality education for their academic dollar. Located in Vallejo, Calif., the campus serves approximately 900 students and offers undergraduate degrees preparing students for careers in engineering, transportation, international relations, business, and global logistics. It also offers a master’s degree in Transportation and Engineering Management, as well as a number of extended learning programs and courses.

ABOUT THE SEA SCOUTS
Sea Scouting is a co-ed program for youth age 14-21 and part of the Boy Scouts of America. Sea Scouting uses boats, seamanship and nautical skills to develop character and leadership qualities in young people, following a Sea Scout Motto “Leadership through Seamanship for 100 years”. Sea Scout units are called Ships and are one of the fastest growing areas of scouting today. For more information about Sea Scouting or how to get involved, please visit www.SeaScout.org.