Blog

Block Island Race Week’s final tent party was abuzz with anticipation and excitement, as sailors and spectators awaited the announcement of cumulative awards for the regatta’s 60th anniversary. For the first time in recent memory, BIRW featured racing on all five days of the week, featuring fierce competition and extraordinary sailing June 23-27. “This regatta saw 140 races across 17 classes and multiple championship contests,” said Race Director Dick Neville. “The weather definitely cooperated, allowing […]

A battle played out in the J/111 fleet between Brad Kimmel and Steve Young’s Diablo and Kevin and Seth Young’s Black Seal, and while the two teams were mere boatlengths apart for the first two legs of the day’s first race, a mechanical failure with a forestay fitting on Black Seal on the third leg had them scrambling to keep the mast upright. They were able to reconnect the forestay and finish the race, but […]

The Warsash Sailing Club (UK) concluded the Warsash Spring Championship. A total of nine races were sailed for the tenacious sailors taking on the ever-changing Solent. The J/111s prevailed again in the IRC 1 Division, with Chris Jones & Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II taking class honors, followed by Paul Griffiths’s JAGERBOMB. For more Warsash Spring Series information, visit https://warsashsc.org.uk/.

Day 2 of SDYC’s Yachting Cup started with a bit of rain and overcast coastal skies. The race management team was concerned about the forecast conditions – specifically the sea state, which built as a result of an overnight offshore front. A race committee boat went out about 7:30am to check the conditions on both ocean courses; the decision was made to postpone racing by one hour, and to move both courses to more protected […]

The 2025 Islands Race kicked off the west coast offshore racing season with the 15th annual race from Point Fermin around San Clemente and Catalina Islands to the finish in San Diego off of Point Loma. Thirty-one teams racing in six ORR & ORR-EZ classes crossed the start line mid day on Friday. NHYC PRO Charlie Welsh managed the starts to the race. “Racers were greeted at the starting area in the vicinity of Pt. […]

The fifth and final day of The Southernmost Regatta delivered a thrilling conclusion to an incredible week of racing in Key West, Florida. With the course axis set at 000° and wind velocities holding at 17 knots, gusting to 24, the conditions brought a fittingly dramatic end to this year’s competition. Ten J/111s competed to determine their 2025 North American Champion from January 20-24. Under the direction of Chip Till and his efficient Race Committee, […]

The 43rd running of the Hamble Winter Series has completed, thanks to the amazing volunteers at Hamble River Sailing Club. Chris Jones & Louise Makin’s JOURNEYMAKER II won seven races with 9 points net total to take the class title. Second was Paul Griffiths’s JAGERBOMB counting three firsts and five seconds for 13 points net. In third was the Jolene Syndicate’s JOLENE with 22 points net. For more Hamble Winter Series information, visit https://www.hamblewinterseries.com/.

Over Columbus Day weekend was the Gearbuster race run annually every fall by Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT. It’s a long day race around various government buoys in western Long Island Sound. Winning the 10-boat PHRF B Division was Bill & Jackie Baxter’s J/111 FIREBALL by nearly 24 minutes corrected time. As a result, they also took PHRF Overall honors too. For more Stratford Shoals Race information, visit https://yachtscoring.com/emenu.cfm?eID=16310.

The Royal Ocean Racing Club’s Solent racing season came to a conclusion with the Vice Admiral’s Cup with two days (14-15 September) of windward leeward and tight round the cans races. High pressure dominated the weather conditions, with early autumn sunshine providing brilliant sunshine. On both days, the racing schedule was delayed allowing a seabreeze to fill, and it was worth the wait. Five superb races were run for all classes in up to 15 […]

The 19th Ida Lewis Distance Race hosted 45 teams. The competition’s 24-hour format saw seven classes leave Newport Harbor at 11:00 AM Friday, August 16, and return on Saturday to a finish line sighted from host Ida Lewis Yacht Club. “With the forecast for light air, we chose a course of 135.0nm for all three ORC classes and a shorter 120.0nm for the four PHRF classes,” said Will Museler, a member of the race team. […]