OCEAN CITY — The Ocean City Beach Patrol’s Annual Captain Schoepf Relay will be held at 10 a.m. on Sunday, June 10 starting at 7th Street.
George Schoepf served as captain of the Ocean City Beach Patrol from 1987-1996, although his leadership role on the beach patrol was quite extensive, beginning with his appointment as "assistant" to Captain Craig in the late 1960s. Every year in June, in honor of his many years of service to OCBP, a relay is held where a classic steel rescue buoy is passed along by alumni guards and current lifeguards.
The relay begins at 7th Street, Schoepf’s old stand, with a run to the end of Ocean City followed by a swim the entire length of Ocean City. The buoy is returned to the beach and run back to the starting point at 7th Street. The direction of the relay is contingent upon the direction of the ocean current on the morning of the relay.
Sergeants and crew chiefs on quads cover each stand as each SRT takes a turn running or swimming the buoy along the beach toward the inlet or the Delaware line (depending on the current that day). This honorary relay begins with a prayer and has been led off by various people that have been influenced by Schoepf, including his daughter, his wife as well as former beach patrol members that served under him.
Each year either a family member or OCBP alumni begins the starting leg of the relay. This relay is open to the Ocean City Beach Patrol as well as anyone that has worked for the beach patrol in the past or has a personal connection to Schoepf. The relay takes place during the regular workday beginning at 10 a.m.
It usually takes approximately five hours for the buoy to make the full circle from 7th Street and back.
