Versalite ½ Zip Top

Comfort is all about layering, and the midlayer is where magic happens. For climate control to happen inside your foul weather gear, moisture has to have a way to escape, and for this, Parker’s top recommendation is Helly’s new Versalite ½ Zip Top. It’s a technical, long-sleeved top with a waffle weave on the inside and a smooth face on the outside. The deep contours of the waffle, she says, trap air, which improves warmth and breathability so the shirt will never feel clammy against your skin. It’s an all-purpose layer for warm and breezy days, she says, but under foul weather gear it does the heavy breathing. “Think of your foul weather gear as the walls,” Parker says. “And think of this shirt as your thermostat.”

Foil Flyer Smock

For the “walls” that keep you dry, Helly has launched its new Foil Flyer Smock, which is an advancement of its high-tech Foil line. Wear it once and you’ll know why it gets rave reviews The fabric is incredibly lightweight and supple. “Buttery,” is how Parker describes it; it’s nothing like the stiff and crunchy fabrics of yesterday.

The Foil’s Helly Tech Professional fabric is a robust new four-layer construction, featuring a bi-component membrane sandwiched in the middle for even greater waterproofness and prolonged protection. The outer face layer is super stretchy, and the inner scrim, which protects the membrane, is silky smooth. The outer layer’s PFC-free water-repellent coating, used in lieu of banned water-repelling chemicals, effectively sheds water droplets, but it will need to be occasionally reapplied.

There are no shoulder seams, Parker points out, which are common leak points in foul weather gear tops, and the articulated elbow design minimizes fabric bulk in the sleeves. The smock’s high, quarter-zip neck gusset is offset so the zipper doesn’t dig into your chin, and when the gusset is unzipped, it fans open to ventilate. One great feature, Parker says, is the extended back panel with a neoprene and grippy waistband, which helps it stay put when bending over or hiking. There’s plenty of pocket action in this smock as well, with a chest pocket and a kangaroo pouch that’s easily accessible when wearing a PFD.

Helly’s Foil Flyer Salopettes

What pairs best with the Foil Flyer Smock, is Helly’s Foil Flyer Salopettes, which uses the same new four-layer Helly Tech Professional fabric. These awesome salopettes are loaded with features that dinghy and sportboat sailors will especially appreciate.

Start with reinforcements on the knees and seat, which Parker says are durable but not overly stiff. For excellent mobility, the stretchy upper panel does the trick and the knees are articulated to minimize bulk and excessive fabric in the folds behind the knees. Like the Foil Flyer Smock, the front gusset fans open for venting, and adjustable side cinch straps keep the salopettes above the waist. Thigh pockets have drainage and the ankle closures have both elastic and Velcro to get a snug fit around your ankles to avoid the dreaded flush.

Combine the Salopettes with the Smock, Parker says, and you’ve got yourself a legit high-end wet-boat gear setup that, when taken care of, will last many seasons.

Women’s HP Leggings

Now that we have our walls built, let’s take the conversation back to base layers, and here Parker is keen on the Women’s HP Leggings. These are all about fit and comfort, she says, with a high waist design and a half-moon stitch pattern over the backside, which ensures they sit securely on the hips. A polyester and elastomer fabric blend, she adds, has four-way stretch for unhindered movements and a snug fit. Flatlock seams prevent chafing. Parker says these leggings are excellent for warm, sunny conditions, but perfect as a thermal base layer, too. This is her go-to piece for sailing, perfect under shorts or foul weather gear.

Women’s Shine Solen

With a greater awareness of sun protection today, lightweight hoodies have become the fashion-forward statement of smart high-performance sailors. But hoods are often flappy and hard to keep fit on the noggin. With the Women’s Shine Solen half-zip sun hoodie, however, Helly has the ultimate design.

With UPF 50 protection, the elasticized hood on the Solen fits snugly around the face for maximum coverage, and thumb holes in the sleeves keep the cuff over the back of the hands—a common area for sun damage. The Solen’s raglan fabric sleeve material is smooth and less bulky, Parker says, and its shoulder seam design provides better mobility.

Viken SS Shirt

Now let’s take the action from the deck to the dock. For this, Helly has the Viken SS Shirt, which is made with a blend of organic cotton and polyester. Call this one a hybrid. The organic cotton part of the blend, Parker says, is what gives the shirt its soft feel. The polyester’s job is to extend the life of the cotton so it doesn’t wear out as quickly—plus it helps the shirt dry faster. For those who dislike the slippery feel of technical shirts, she adds, you’ll love the cotton touch.

The post Gear to Get, While It’s Hot appeared first on Sailing World.

Hello sailors and welcome to the 2026 season. Our friends at Quantum Sails are on deck to get everyone up to speed—on the water and on the next shift—with a weekend of coaching services and in-depth morning weather briefings with ace meteorologist Shea Gibson. Here are the essentials to take advantage of amazing services for your daily race planning.

Quantum Sails Weather and Coaching

Weather Briefings will be hosted on race-day mornings at 0800. To register for the briefings, Hit the Zoom link to register in advance.

Quantum Coaching Dave Gerber and Carter Cameron, the dynamic duo, will be onsite beginning Wednesday, February 11, working with early-arriving Melges 24 teams alongside Quantum’s Scott Nixon and Peter McClennan’s Team Gamecock for a Melges 24 clinic (see specific Melges 24 details at bottom). All regatta entries are encouraged to participate in Quantum Sails’ Thursday afternoon practice racing sessions with race starts, short courses, and live coaching. It all starts with joining the Quantum Sails St. Pete Coaching WhatsApp Group as a great way to stay connected with the coaches during and after the regatta.

Quantum Coaching Schedule—AVAILABLE TO ALL REGATTA ENTRANTS

Thursday, Feb 12, 2026

1200—Meet the coaches at the St. Petersburg YC Grill 1909 Patio (next to main entrance yard arm) for a pre-practice brief.

1300-1500—Practice Racing with Quantum Sails Coaches, monitoring VHF 72

Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Feb 13 to 15

1000-1100—Individual Coaching by Quantum Sails, coaches monitoring VHF 72. As there are five race circles and more than 200 entries to date, we strongly encourage you to connect with the coaches in advance to let them know you’re interested in having them connect with you on the water. All of Quantum’s event resources are available to all entries, so don’t be shy to reach out and get faster.

QUANTUM SAILS DAILY TROPHIES

Win a race, win a Cup. During the post-race regatta socials, Quantum reps will be on station in the SPYC ballroom to present your hard-earned race-win cup(s). Stop by to collect your hardware, pop a question to the coaches or thank them for their go-fast advice.

OVERNIGHT SAIL REPAIR SERVICE

It happens. But so does the overnight repair service provided by Quantum. On your way in from the racecourse, text ‭+1 (843) 693-9435‬ and let them know you have a repair service request. The sail drop off and pickup location will be just outside the gate to the St. Petersburg YC marina. Look for the sign.

MELGES 24 CLINIC WITH GAMECOCK AND QUANTUM SAILS

All Melges 24 teams are encouraged to take advantage of this session. Teams can expect practical, race-course-focused coaching centered on boat handling, rig tuning, communication, and decision-making—everything needed to get the most out of a Melges 24 on Tampa Bay. This is an ideal opportunity to kick off the Midwinter Championship with structured practice, shared learning, and direct access to some of the class’s most experienced voices in a collaborative, fleet-building environment. The Clinic WhatsApp group is your connection to participate.

Quantum Melges 24 CLINIC SCHEDULE
Wednesday, February 11 (Optional – Early Arrivals)
1:00 PM – Meet on the docks at SPYC with on-water sailing to follow.

Thursday, February 12 (Full Clinic Day)
10:00 AM – Dockside meeting covering rig tuning, setup, and techniques
1:00 PM – Practice Racing begins, led by Quantum Sails, with on-the-water coaching from Dave Gerber and Carter Cameron, followed by dockside briefing.

The post Get Faster with Quantum Sails Coaching and Weather Services in St. Petersburg appeared first on Sailing World.

Heads up Melges 24 and J/70 sailors. This important PSA is for you.

With the support of the US Melges 24 Class Association, which will provide the necessary race committee units, Vakaros RaceSense technology will be used for both the Melges 24 and J/70 fleets at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in St. Petersburg. 

Vakaros Atlas 2 units are required for RaceSense integration. For teams that do not own a unit, Vakaros has rental units available at vakaros.com. Go to the “Event” drop down menu, scroll to the bottom of the list and select “HH SWRS St. Pete 2026.” 

Rental units will be shipped directly to Ed Furry, of Sail22, who will be onsite in St. Petersburg for the duration of the regatta to assist with setup and usage.

Important note: Competitors will need to reserve a rental unit at least 7 days before registration check in on February 12.

Ed Furry will be stationed in the Parkview Room at St. Petersburg YC (second floor, door adjacent to pool and Tiki Bar) during the Regatta registration window (1600 to 1900) on February 12 to assist with RaceSense unit sync, support and tutorials.

For direct contact or questions regarding Vakaros and RaceSense, contact Doug Wake at doug@vakaros.com or Ed Furry at ed@sail22.com

The post Vakaros RaceSense Deployed for St. Pete appeared first on Sailing World.

With more than 200 entries for the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta in St. Petersburg, berthed and beached across multiple locations, the waterfront will certainly be active for the regatta weekend, so early registration and early arrivals are encouraged to help our team better prepare for your overall regatta experience. Please review the following and reach out the St. Petersburg YC waterfront team with any questions before your arrival. SPYC Dockmaster can be reached at dockmaster@spyc.org

Launching and Hauling

The majority of launching will take place on Thursday, February 12 and nearly all the boats haul out after racing on Sunday, February 15. Anyone who is able to launch earlier in the week, or haul on Monday is strongly encouraged to do so to avoid long lines and allow traveling teams a timely exit.

A couple of two considerations when launching from the Sailing Center: there is one 2-ton crane and one 3-ton crane. Traffic between Bayshore Drive and the Sailing Center will be strictly controlled.

Fleet berthing locations

29ers, Melges 15s, Nacra 15s and Windmills will be stored and launched at Elva Rouse Park (901 North Shore Drive NE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701) for the duration of the regatta. These fleets may arrive to Elva Rouse Park on Wednesday, February 11, and must vacate the park on Sunday, February 15.

Please note, vehicles are not allowed on parkland grass and overnight RV parking and/or camping is not permitted.

There will be overnight event security at Elva Rouse Park, as well as the temporary dockage location south of the Sailing Center. Contents and belongings left unattended are entirely at owner’s risk.

The Lightning Fleet will launch at the Sailing Center prior to the start of the day’s racing and will haul at the conclusion of racing each day. These fleets may arrive to the Sailing Center on Thursday, February 12, and must vacate the Center on Sunday, February 15.

All other fleets will be distributed between the St. Petersburg Sailing Center and the SPYC Downtown Marina. Please refer to the dockage map below for the division of fleets.

Parking

Please note that there is no vehicle parking allowed at the Sailing Center for the duration of the event. There is also no regatta vehicle parking available at the St. Petersburg YC. A map with our recommended parking locations can be found by Clicking here.

Also, consider using widely accessible rental bikes. The City of St. Petersburg has partnered with Lime to offer bike share service in downtown St. Pete. Lime’s smooth, eco-friendly, and comfortable e-bikes are available for rent through the Lime app.

Daily parking is available at the following locations:

• Al Lang Stadium 72 1^st Ave SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 (Not available for Saturday, February, 14)
• South Core Parking Garage 101 1^st Ave S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
• McNulty Garage 175 2^nd St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
• Sundial Garage 117 2^nd St N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701

Trailer Storage

Free trailer parking is available at Harborage Marina. Trailers must be registered and tagged before going to the Harborage Marina, and all trailers must be removed from the Marina property no later than February 16. Register Trailer Here and receive your trailer tag by visiting the Sailing Center at 250 2^nd Ave SE, St. Petersburg, FL 33701).

Notice of Area Sand Bars

All competitors should be aware of two shallow areas they may encounter while transiting to and from their respective racecourses.

The post 2026 St. Petersburg Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series Logistics appeared first on Sailing World.

His tan has long since faded, but Paul Nuechterlein still can’t get the smile off his face from that time when he, his son Ross, a crew of his best mates and a mothership catamaran full of rowdy racer-chasers won the regatta of their lives.

The regatta was, of course, the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series Championship in the British Virgin Islands. Months earlier, Nuechterlein and his friends on Never Alone had won their Cal 25 division at the series’ Detroit stop, which scored them a championship berth, a 42-foot bareboat monohull from Sunsail and six days of Caribbean vacation racing.

The unknowns they had to top for the title included Jeff Padnos’ S2 7.9 aces (K2) from Holland, Michigan; Craig Roehl’s Tartan 10 Meat entourage from Chicago; Carolyn Corbett and her Elektra squad of IOD and Viper 640 sailors from Marblehead; and Brad Tindall and Greg Turman’s J/105-racing Texans on TNT. Rounding out the fleet was veteran pro George Szabo from Quantum Sails San Diego. He had nine souls crammed onboard his vessel, three of them pre-teen girls.

K2, Meat, TNT and Never Alone were each sporting motherships laden with friends, so the flotilla was indeed a grand one when it set off from Sunsail’s base in Road Town, Tortola. The itinerary for the racers was simple: Day 1, race around a bunch of islands. Day 2, race to a resort. Day 3, enjoy a lay day at said resort. Day 4, race to a pool, a deserted island and then a dance floor. Day 5, sprint to another anchorage and then buoy race through its mooring field. It would all end with awards on the beach and cannonballs from the upper deck of the legendary Willy T.

That was the plan, and the crew of Never Alone was ready for it. Upon winning their berth back in June, they did what all good race teams do: recon. They got tips on how to locally source materials for a whisker pole, how to get maximum speed from their untunable bareboat and how to get around and through the BVI’s towering islands.

“There was a lot of information available to us to find out which islands we would be sailing to and how to trick out the boat a little bit,” says Ron Sherry the greatest American iceboat racer of our time and Never Alone’s all-purpose crewmember, “what we would need to bring to make our whisker pole and trimming aids and all that kind of stuff.”

They arrived in Tortola with a veritable chandlery of hardware, tools and ropes. And lo and behold, the planning immediately paid off. They had a decent start in the first race, a circumnavigation of the islands Cooper, Ginger and Salt, which at one point had them calling for water at reefs awash.

“We had to really hug the shore with the crashing waves and there were three boats all trying to get as close to those rocks as possible,” says Ross Nuechterlein, Never Alone’s captain for the week. “That was nerve wracking.”

Overlapped as they rounded the top of Ginger Island and turned downwind toward the finish, Never Alone’s preparation was on display. The 14-foot 2×4 they’d crafted into a whisker pole was working its magic, as was its handler, Ken Swetka. They had a sophisticated contraption with multiple handy-billies that gave them multidimensional control of the floppy jib’s profile.

They almost pipped Szabo and his team at the shortened finish.

“Another couple of hundred feet,” says trimmer Tom Dawson, “and we would have had them.”

The next morning, following a morning scramble through the boulders of The Baths—the BVI’s iconic natural wonder—the race committee dispatched the sailors and motherships to their second destination: The Bitter End Yacht Club.

In preparing for this leg, Sherry had called a friend who knew the area well, and his advice was well taken. “He said, ‘just look for the puffs and stay where the pressure is,’” Sherry says.

With another decent start, Never Alone’s navigator Tom Dawson nailed the layline to the first reef, then did the same to the next set of islands—skirting their 10-foot fathom—and then called a perfect layline into Virgin Gorda Sound from a million miles out.

Buoyed by their race win, they were intent on dominating the Hobie Wave racing at Bitter End YC (the race committee didn’t bother recording finishes), the Mount Gay Rum drink recipe contest (close, but no) and the SUP-tow surf challenge (maybe, but again “scoring issues” prevailed). Still they and the flotilla devoured all that Bitter End and Virgin Gorda offered for the lay day: snorkeling reefs, winging off the beach, windsurfing and nighttime tomfoolery.

The idle hours of the lay day, however, were torture for Szabo, who couldn’t put a finger on what was off with his boat. Naturally, he sought advice from the guy winning the regatta. It didn’t help.

“I was standing on the back of our boat at the dock and George was beside himself,” Nuechterlein recalls. “He came over and said, ‘You gotta help me out. There’s something wrong with our boat—the rudders don’t line up. They’re not parallel.’

“So, he then asks, ‘do you mind just going on your wheel and moving it back and forth?’

“I did while he was walking back and forth looking at my rudders. And then he finally says, “Hmm, yours don’t line up either.”

Never Alone carried their mojo straight into the next day’s race to the pit-stop pool at Scrub Island Resort and Marina. To get there, they had to short-tack their way out of Virgin Gorda Sound before weaving through more islands where they once again found themselves nip-and-tuck with Szabo and his family. The San Diegans got the win at Scrub, but Never Alone returned the favor with a runaway victory in afternoon’s second race to Sandy Cay.

With the overall results confirming the top three boats mere points apart, the championship’s final leg was a win-or-lose deal for the Detroiters. To win, they had to first navigate the current-and wind shift-riddled Great Thatch Cut. The Cut is divided by a tall island, so there were only two strategic choices: leave it to starboard and run the gauntlet or leave it to port and work the St. John’s shore.

The latter option rarely works, but Szabo went for it. As did Never Alone, the two of them split from the leaders as they entered the cut. Szabo, however, centered on the rhumb line too early while Never Alone kissed St. John’s and slam-dunked the fleet with truly astonishing upwind boatspeed.

They had their Sunsail 42 smoking. Having applied their own telltales to both the mainsail and the jib was crucial, as was their trimming technique and the use of their handy-billies.

“The jib tracks on these boats are too far forward and too far inboard,” Swetka says. “It’s perfect for ergonomically walking around the boat with a bathing suit on, but it’s ridiculous for racing. So, when we were going upwind I always pulled the jib outboard and back a little bit.”

Ross Nuechterlein, alone at the helm, had his work cut out keeping the boat up to speed, but his Cal 25 skills were well applied.

“Anytime you start pinching with these boats, you just completely stop,” he says. “When you load them up to get moving out of a tack you can really feel the whole boat going sideways.”

As a first-time helmsman of a 42-foot charter boat, he adds, it was especially good having his wife Karly in the middle. “On the Cal, you have two people behind you and one person right in front of you so you can hear what everyone’s saying,” he says. “But not on this boat, so it was great to have her there funneling information to me about what’s going on at the front of the boat.”

The buoy racing portion in The Bight at Norman Island was ultimately a one-race dud, but Never Alone won that one too, and so, before shot-skis, jumps and another late night with their new friends on the Meat mothership, they were crowned Caribbean Champions. And there, on the sands of Norman Island, emerged the mile-long smile that is stuck on Nuechterlein’s face.

The post How <i>Never Alone</i> Won the Caribbean Regatta Championship appeared first on Sailing World.

FINAL RESULTS

REGATTA PHOTO GALLERY

The final day of the 2025 Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week presented eager sailors with challenging conditions as morning rain showers gave way to lumpy seas and shifting winds. With many class leaders sitting on razor-thin margins, the day promised more intense racing as teams fought to make last-minute moves up the leaderboard.

For veteran local sailor and yacht designer Jim Taylor and his son Nat, the final day of Race Week proved to be as mentally challenging as it was physically demanding. At 76 years old, Jim Taylor found himself facing four grueling days and eleven races with no throwouts.

Entering the final two races with a slim lead, the Taylors faced stiff competition from rivals Larry Ehrhardt and George Malcomson, and Adam Roberts with Dan Rabin on Peppermint, their toughest competitors from the start of Race Week. The morning’s first race nearly washed away the Taylors’ lead when they found themselves on the wrong side of a big wind shift.

“We ended up on the pin third of the line, which wasn’t bad when it got really rough and the wind was right,” Taylor says. “But as soon as the showers passed, the wind went hard left. We right, and that’s how things go. Not our finest moment.”

Finding themselves deep in the fleet, the Taylors managed to work their way back to a tenth-place finish—a save that would ultimately preserve their chance at overall victory. The second race was a nail-biter, with the Taylors finishing third by mere feet in what Taylor described as “really, really close”—a margin that earned them their 1-point win.

“One point would have flipped it because Larry would have won the tiebreaker,” Taylor says.

The lumpy conditions made sailing particularly challenging for not just the Rhodes 19s but all the fleets. Several teams had tuned their rigs for the morning’s strong winds, but then found themselves struggling for power when the breeze dropped off dramatically after the first start of the day.

“It got lumpy from the rain squall when it blew hard for a while. It was probably in the high teens briefly, and it kicked up a pretty big chop and that stayed around when the wind dropped off completely. Rhodes 19s don’t really like that—that’s not their thing at all.”

Despite the challenges, the father-son team’s experience and adaptability paid off. Jim, however, was quick to credit his son Nat—recognizable on the course in his lucky Celtics jersey—for their success.

“I’m the old slow guy on Nat’s foredeck,” Taylor says. :”He’s really, really good. He’s really good on the starting line in a way that I never was and certainly am not anymore. Full credit to Nat, actually. He makes this happen. I’m sort of there along for the ride.”

In the Viper 640 class, skipper Henry Amthor secured another win at Marblehead. Coming into the weekend “tuned up” and ready to compete, Amthor faced a tough fleet with several boats ultimately winning races.

“The Viper class’s top five is always very tight,” Amthor says. “Even the top 10 is very tight. Despite fewer boats competing this year, the competition was intense, particularly from Mike Michael Deyett’s team on Prestige Worldwide, from Lake Sunapee, New Hampshire.

The two were tied heading into the final day, and as expected, they were keeping close tabs on each other.

“When it got really light in the first race, we managed to get a little separation on him. And the shift went our way, and we just covered him to the finish,” Amthor says. “And then, in the last race, he was ahead of us again. And the second beat, we got a little bit away from him, and the shift went our way and got around him.”

Amthor’s team used the J/70 fleet sailing ahead of them as indicators of wind patterns coming down the course. “We were looking at the J/70s a lot, and they could kind of tell us where the velocity was,” he says, demonstrating how experienced sailors use all available information on the racecourse.

The variety of conditions throughout the weekend required constant adjustments and gear shifting. For the Viper 640 that means being active with mast chocks. “We’re not allowed to touch the shrouds if the wind drops, but we can adjust the chocks, so there was a lot of that going on today.”

For Peter Duncan’s team on the J/70 Relative Obscurity, the final day was about keeping close tabs on Bruno Pasquinell’s Stampede.

“We had to stay close with them,” says Jud Smith, the team’s ace tactician. “They ended up beating us in the first race, but we were battling it out with them all the way around the course and crossed the finish line overlapped. So, we lost a point to them there, but they were really the boat we had to pay attention to.”

In the day’s first race, positioning at the start proved critical. “They were [committee] boat side, and they got ahead. The right was good on the early part of the beat, and then the left came in at the end, and we’re kind of in the middle,” Smith says.

Despite not having “a great first run,” they made up for it on the second upwind leg. “We had a really good second beat. We got going good and went the right way. A lot of boats went the wrong way—and that got us right back into it.”

For Smith, one of the most significant developments in his team’s performance has been their improved mental approach to the J/70 class’s high-intensity racing. Racing this weekend was the usual squad of Duncan, Smith, Willem Van Waay and Victor Diaz de Leon.

“The good thing is when it gets bad, we don’t get rattled as a team,” Smith says. “We got caught in the first race with the rig too tight and stuff like that, but we just deal with it and keep the racing close.”

This calm approach to adversity paid dividends in the final race. “We got behind a little bit, but we came out of the second beat knowing just what we wanted to do, stuck with it and kept with that, and that was good.”

The talented crew’s mutual trust proved to be their greatest asset, Smith adds. “I think the big thing we’ve probably gotten better at is just keeping our head together and trusting each other,” he says. “Everybody’s so talented on the team that we just trust each other. That’s been good.”

In the J/105 class, the Texas-based team TnT, led this weekend by skipper Brad Tindall, made an impression at Marblehead. Despite the considerable journey from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Marblehead, the team showcased both dedication and skill in every race. Their participation was inspired by the late Mark Massour, who previously owned their boat and frequently participated in East Coast events.

“We brought the boat initially for Block Island [Race Week] last month, and decided to stay here and race in Marblehead,” Tindall says. “It was 2,168 miles, and we came up in June.” Their commitment was clear not only in their long journey but also in how effectively they adapted to Marblehead’s tricky sailing conditions.

The team’s tactician, Mark Foster, emphasized the unique challenges of racing in Marblehead. “It was a typical Marblehead weekend. Lots of things get thrown at you. There’s nothing standard around Marblehead,” Foster says. However, the team managed to leverage their experience and adapt their tactics accordingly. The absence of strong currents on the J/105 course allowed for a boat speed-focused regatta, which played to their strengths.

Key to their success was the team’s ability to adjust their tuning setups swiftly as conditions changed. “The biggest thing was not being afraid to get on those shrouds and get them in tune,” Tindall says, highlighting the adjustments that were crucial between races.

Their lack of familiarity with the Marblehead J/105 fleet added an extra layer of complexity to Team TnT’s weekend. “Most of the Marblehead people were kinda local, and so they were all a new experience for all of us to sail against,” Foster says.

Winning four of seven races in the J/105 fleet not only earned the TnT the class win, but also the regatta’s overall title and the coveted berth at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Caribbean Championship in the British Virgin Islands in October where they will face top teams from the regatta series’ other stops in St. Petersburg, Florida, Annapolis, Maryland, Chicago and Detroit.

Nick Cann and Andrea Dodge, overnight leaders in the Town Class, sealed their class win with two top finishes on the final day to earn the Robert Campbell Trophy for the New England Championships. Peter Shumaker and his teammates on the Etchells Marianne (on loan to them for the regatta) posted a pair of seconds to win the class with an impressive 18-point margin after seven races.

Eighteen-year-old Nicoals Regnault won 9 of 12 races to convincingly win the ILCA7 division, and the International One-Design battle between Bill Widnall’s Javelin and Carolyn Corbet’s Elektra went the way of Widnall again, earning the fleet master another engraving in the fleet’s Widnall Trophy. Conner Godfrey, John Ring and Kim Rosell were the top Lightning team, Joe Berkeley and Linda Epstein won five of 7 races to seal the International 110 class win.

Peter Duncan’s Relative Obscurity earned Marblehead Race Week’s Cressy Trophy, awarded to the regatta’s top team in what is considered to be the most competitive class.

The post Texans Win Caribbean Championship Berth at Marblehead Classic appeared first on Sailing World.

Kaila Pfrang and her teammates, Liz Obermaier and John Ped, were the last of the Viper 640s to return to the dock after the second day of racing at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week. 

Given they’d won the final race of the day, they should have also won the race to the haul-out crane, but with ideal sailing conditions capping a full day of racing, they instead put in a solid hour of practice. Relatively new to the class and keen to be up to speed for the coming Viper 640 North American Championships in their home waters of Hampton, Virginia, time in the boat, Pfrang says, is essential.

For Pfrang and her Slippery Salmon crew, today’s racing was indeed time well spent and represented a turning point after struggling to find their rhythm on the first day.

“Yesterday definitely felt like we didn’t quite figure out the conditions,” Pfrang says. “Today felt a lot more like we were finally learning how to go fast.”

A former MIT sailor, Pfrang attributed the team’s improvements to finding the boat’s lower and faster groove, rather than pinching too high, a habit carried over from college sailing.

Their results today—two race wins and a seventh that resulted from an OCS start—were dramatic improvements from yesterday’s mid-fleet finishes. The team’s commitment to maximizing their time on the water was evident. They arrived an hour early before racing and stayed out long after other competitors had headed for the docks. “Time on the boat, time on the water, time racing,” Pfrang emphasized as their approach for improvement.

Their success today also hinged on more aggressive starts and better teamwork as well. “The two races that we won, we had awesome starts,” Pfrang says. “I mean, I think that was a huge difference from yesterday. I was under the line on both the previous starts, and this time, I felt like we were a lot more aggressive.”

With clear air off the start, they could execute their own decisions rather than being forced to react.

Their downwind speed also proved decisive. When asked about their effective low-mode sailing downwind, Pfrang described a coordinated effort: “Liz is really focusing on where the breeze is, John is really focused on the feel of the spinnaker and a little bit of the waves, and I’m just really tuned into one little corner at the front of the boat and how the tiller feels.”

Their results advanced them to fourth overall, within striking distance of the class leaders. There’s only 4 points between them with plenty more racing on tap for the final day. Henry Amthor’s team on E+A2 is atop the fleet with 17 points to the Silly Salmon’s 24.

Meanwhile, Peter Shumaker and his team posted a commanding 2-2-1-3 for the day in the Etchells class, creating a substantial lead over Ben Wilkins’ team. Shumaker simply attributed their performance to superior boat speed and crew work. “I don’t think there was anybody on the racecourse that was faster than us today,” he says. “We just went straight, and the boat basically went higher and faster than anybody else around us.”

Alongside crew Luke Lawrence and Josh Revkin, the team executed a patient starting strategy that paid dividends in every race.

“We laid back a little bit from the line because the Etchells carries a lot of momentum. It’s hard to slow down,” Shumaker says. This approach allowed them to identify which side of the course they preferred and position accordingly.

Their tactics proved particularly effective in the last race. “We started at the committee boat, went right, the wind went right, and we had a 300-yard lead on the next boat,” Shumaker says. The team’s ability to minimize tacks while maintaining clear air created an insurmountable advantage—“the rich get richer,” as Shumaker puts it.

In the Town Class, Nick Cann executed a near-perfect day, including victories in the final three races. Using a college-style 3-minute sequence and shorter courses, the race committee pushed through an impressive six races.

“I was kind of chasing pressure today,” Cann says. “I was planning on going right because I was expecting the wind to slowly clock to the right.”

However, he found more pressure on the left side of the racecourse, toward the eastern part of Children’s Island and adjusted his strategy accordingly. “Once I got into a groove, I kept doing the same thing—trying to get a good start, get clear air, and bang over to Children’s Island.”

Sailing with his partner Andrea, Cann was fast in the choppy conditions created by the sunny summer weekend’s heavy power boat traffic. His successful technique, he says, was easing the luff tension on both main and jib. “I had relatively baggy sails today by my standards,” he says. “Kind of power through the chop was my philosophy.”

Despite their seemingly easy wins, Cann remained wary of his close competitors Molly and Tom Bushman. “They just wouldn’t go away,” he says. “They were buried in the fleet at one point, down in fourth or fifth, and I turn around and there they are right behind me.”

This pressure forced Cann to stick to covering tactics whenever possible.

With a stronger breeze forecast for tomorrow, Cann expressed slight concern about his team’s lighter weight. “Andrea is like 110 pounds soaking wet, and I’m not terribly heavy,” he says. Nevertheless, their consistent performance has put them in an excellent position heading into the final races.

Sharing the same racecourse as the Town class, the regatta’s dozen ILCA7 sailors took to the water for their first day of racing. Nicolas Regnault won four of seven races to step out to a 4-point lead over Stein Skaame, who won a pair of races himself.

The ever-competitive IOD fleet has local legend Bill Widnall atop the standings by a single point over Carolyn Corbet’s Elektra. These two teams enjoyed an identical battle in 2024 with Widnall’s Javelin winning the series by a point on the final day.

Peter Duncan’s J/70 Relative Obscurity padded its lead over Bruno Pasquinelli’s Stampede with top-three finishes on a day that saw plenty of crowded starts and mark roundings—standard fare for this pro-laden class that will be contesting its Corinthian Championship in Marblehead this fall.

In the Lightning class, Connor Godfrey, John Ring and Kim Rosell went on tear, winning two races and finishing second in two others to advance to the top of the scoreboard. Brad Tindall and Greg Turman’s J/105 TnT padded their lead by another point over Charlie Garrard’s Merlin.

Joe Berkely and Linda Epstein won all three races in the International 110 series, and in the Rhodes 19s, Larry Ehrhardt and George Malcomson took a bite out of Nat and Jim Taylor’s overnight lead, but with a pair of seconds on the day, the Taylors are sitting on an 11-point margin.

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]]> https://www.sailingworld.com/regatta-series/spectacular-to-squall-surprises-a-thrilling-day-in-marblehead/ Sat, 26 Jul 2025 00:46:30 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=82359 Close racing and a wild finish marked the first full-fleet day of racing at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta at Marblehead Race Week.

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PRELIMINARY RESULTS

The second day of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week was progressing like any other classic summer day off the coast of the iconic East Coast harbor, with nearly a half-dozen one-design fleets enjoying the afternoon’s final races. The morning’s brilliant sunshine had given way to towering thunderclouds that slid past to the south, and all was easy going.

Until it wasn’t.

Just as the regatta’s J/70s, Viper 640s and International 110s were sailing their final downwind legs, a surprising wall of wind unleashed its fury. While some teams savored the high-speed spinnaker run, many opted to keep their spinnakers on deck.

Other sailors were caught off guard with the ferocity of the fast-moving squall, including Joe Berkeley and his crewmate Linda Epstein, winners of the day’s first race in the International 110 fleet.

They were within striking distance of the race leader, and “licking our chops,” Berkeley says. With Epstein on the trapeze and trimming the spinnaker and Berkeley on the helm of the flat-bottomed one-design classic, they were relishing the high-speed run until they altered course to avoid a J/70 sailing upwind.

In a blink, they were on their side and taking on water.

“The boat rounded up and flipped really fast,” he says. Epstein ended up tangled in the mainsail but managed to release the vang to prevent the boat from sinking completely.

Although they avoided a total submersion, the boat was awash and required extensive bailing. “It was a moment of introspection,” Berkeley reflected candidly, accepting responsibility for the capsize. “I should’ve taken the kite down. I didn’t.”

Despite the setback, he remained grateful they hadn’t broken any equipment and was looking forward to returning for the next day’s racing.

Berkely and Epstein’s closest rivals, Steve Clark and his crewmate Bill Platt, had doused their spinnaker in time and let the worst of the squall pass. They were soon back to full sail and winning the race easily and lead the series.

In the chaos of the squall, while wildly exiting the windward mark offset in traffic, Bruce Golison’s crew on the J/70 Midlife Crisis, which won the first race of the day collided with another boat and retired from the race with both boats sustaining damage.

Peter Duncan’s J/70 team on Relative Obscurity was well ahead of the fray when the worst of it hit and was enjoying a blistering run until they had to drop the spinnaker in order to lay the mark. Obscurity crewmember Victor Diaz de Leon later reported that it was the fastest he’s ever gone in a J/70, with a 10-second or so sustained 21 knots. Dousing and two-sail reaching across the finish line gave them the race win and the series lead with a 1-point delta over Bruno Pasquinelli’s team on Stampede.

Henry Amthor and his teammates on the Viper 640 were seen whooping and laughing in the squall as they blitzed to their second race win of the day.

The regatta’s other fleets were already done racing and returning to harbor when the squall passed, and the team on Ted Hardenbergh’s Lightning, from Massabesic Yacht Club in Manchester, New Hampshire, were happy to miss it after an already high-stress day that has them leading their 8-boat fleet by only 1 point.

For them, it was a day of tactical comebacks and strategic adjustments that somehow worked out when they didn’t expect it to. In the first race, Hardenbergh found himself at the back of the fleet around the first mark after a bad start.

“The very first race, we were DFL to the first mark. We went hard left after the start,” Hardenbergh says. Despite the initial setback, his crew remained focused on the downwind leg. “We sailed deep on the first downwind leg and then jibed early. There was definitely more pressure coming downwind from the left,” he says. This one move allowed them to overtake nearly the entire fleet, ultimately securing a third-place finish.

For the second race, Hardenbergh adjusted his approach based in changing conditions. “We were a little late to the boat, and we tacked away quick and went off pretty hard to the right,” he says, explaining their tactical decision to sail up current while expecting a right shift in the breeze as the storm clouds approached. The strategy paid off with a second-place finish after race officials shortened the course at the leeward mark.

In the third race, Hardenbergh continued his right-side strategy, leading the fleet in that direction despite another late start. “The pressure seemed to be over there. It seemed to work out well,” he says. Despite challenges navigating around the Rhodes 19 fleet near the weather mark, his team secured another strong finish, capping off what he described as “a major, major improvement” over the previous year’s performance.

Brad Tindall, helming the Texas-based J/105 TnT (named for co-owners Greg Terman and Tindall), enjoyed a remarkable debut at Marblehead, securing multiple race victories. For Tindall, though not for all of his crew, this was a first-time experience at the Marblehead regatta.

“We had a great day, a really kick-ass start to the first race. We were launched out and just had great separation,” Tindall says. His team found themselves in perfect rhythm with the conditions, with boat balance and speed that allowed them to maintain an edge throughout the day.

The second race proved even more satisfying despite a challenging mid-fleet start. “The most gratifying race was the second one,” Tindall says. “We didn’t have such a great start, but we fought our way up.”

He says his crew demonstrated exceptional course awareness and tactical decision-making, consistently finding favorable wind shifts.

“Every time we tacked, we got lifted,” marveled his tactician Mark Foster, noting how unusual this consistent good fortune was. “It’s usually the other way around.”

Accustomed to the more predictable conditions of his home waters in Corpus Christi, Tindall found the day’s 60-degree wind shifts initially unnerving but ultimately manageable thanks to excellent crew coordination.

Their strong performance positions them well for the remainder of the regatta, 3 points ahead of Charlie Garrard’s Merlin, a local top team.

In the International One-Designs, which started the regatta on Thursday, Bill Widnall’s Javelin followed up its two race wins yesterday with a pair of thirds today. Carolyn Corbet’s Elektra was the top team for the day with a 1-2 to pull to within a point of Widnall’s Javelin.

The Rhodes 19 class also began its series on Thursday with a pair of races. The father-son duo of Nat and Jim Taylor have 1-2-7-1 on the scoreboard for a 6 point lead over Debbie Noble and Adam Roberts who finished the day with a 10th after an OCS restart had them battling back through the 23-boat fleet—no easy feat for sure.

Nick Cann and Andrea Dodge lead the Town Class fleet after four races and Ben Wilkinson’s team on the Etchells Freebird lead its class with a first and second on the day. Numerous general recalls delayed a third race attempt, and that race was ultimately abandoned before the squall arrived.

ILCA 6 and 7 sailors begin their series tomorrow, with racing scheduled through Sunday.

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]]> https://www.sailingworld.com/regatta-series/catching-the-buzz-at-marblehead-race-week/ Mon, 21 Jul 2025 19:03:20 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=82338 Marblehead is on tap for the fifth and final US stop of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series, where old is new again.

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Online travel experts have it wrong when it comes to Marblehead. Predictable lists of “Things to Do” are the same old tourism flap: Saunter through historic homes and winding one-way streets, pop into a boutique. Get a cookie at the Muffin Shop. Take a walk out to Fort Sewall. Catch a sunrise at Chandler Hovey Park and Marblehead Lighthouse.

Of course, one could also book a fishing charter to catch some “striphahs,” get spooked in nearby Salem or sauced on pint-sized drinks at Maddie’s Sail Loft. And while those are all fine and good, there’s one glaring omission on the summer to-do list: “Watch the sailboat races and drink rum with the thirsty sailors of Marblehead Race Week, one of America’s longest running hometown regattas.”

Sailing and drinking are what local and visiting teams will be doing this week as the final stop of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week returns on Thursday, starting with the iconic and classy International One-Design keelboats and the spunky and classic Rhodes 19s.

Come Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the waters off the aforementioned Hovey Park will then be teaming with one-design classes of many shapes and sizes—from the diminutive Town Class classics to the sporty Viper 640s. From the little ILCAs to the big J/105s. And with the newer-school J/70s alongside the old-school International 110s, one thing’s for sure, Marblehead’s racing scene will be at its peak.

Boston Yacht Club, founded in 1866 and serving as the welcome mat on the town side of Marblehead Harbor, serves as proud host of this storied event. As per Race Week tradition, Boston’s neighbors over on the Neck—Eastern and Corinthian yacht clubs—share hosting in alternating years. All clubs collaborate on the running of races, but it’s Boston’s turn to host the post-race parties this year.

The Etchells Bump is Real

Launching from the hoists at Boston and other clubs each race day will be the regatta’s long and slim Etchells class sloops. Once left for dead in Marblehead, the class is enjoying a local resurgence, which local sailing Hall of Famer Jud Smith says has been a long time coming.

“The class has transformed,” Smith says, reflecting on the growing strength of the Etchells fleet at this regatta and in Marblehead itself. “Eight years ago, the class came to me and asked what can we do to save the class in Marblehead,” he says. “I said, ‘it’s going to be really easy: You have to host regattas and just do it on a consistent basis.’ One-design classes are all about regattas and people get excited about them, especially when they’re local, and they’re somewhat repeatable and get traction. Anybody who’s got a decent boat is going show up do this regatta.”

The resurrection of the Etchells class in Marblehead is largely attributed to the dedicated efforts of Tomas Hornos and a few passionate locals who have worked tirelessly to rejuvenate the fleet. Hornos, a champion sailor who works at Smith’s Doyle Sails loft in Salem, plays a pivotal role in this effort by securing older boats, many of which have lately come from the once-thriving fleet in Annapolis. Many of these boats are sent to Florida, where Ezra Culver and his team at EZ Marine work their magic, giving them a new lease on life before returning north.

Hornos’ dedication goes beyond merely getting older boats up to speed; he actively opens doors for new sailors to join the fleet by making the boats accessible. “We take active measures to ensure these boats remain in top condition,” Smith says, “which makes the class both approachable and enticing.”

For Smith, it’s also deeply personal. After his daughter Lindsey faced a long and challenging recovery from a traumatic life-threatening injury, Smith saw an opportunity to keep her Etchells sailing team Fast Mermaid on the racecourse by maintaining the boat for her and keeping it active in the fleet. “Instead of just letting the whole thing just die, I just thought it was the right thing to keep that whole program going,” he says, “with the idea that we’re going to get back and, you know, get back to full strength.”

International 110s Join the Party

Another return to the Race Week scene that Smith is excited to have is the International 110 class, which is now vibrant in Northeast and West Coast. “The 110 is a great boat with a lot of character,” he says, harking back to the days when he and his wife Cindy sailed one together before they were married. The boat holds a special place for Smith, not just for its nostalgic value, but because of its enduring appeal and affordability.

“I remember buying my 110 for $1,000. And if I was to fix it up and sell it today, I could still get a $1,000 for it,” says Smith, highlighting the boat’s lasting value and cult following. This affordability, combined with the boat’s vibrant and colorful aesthetics, makes it standout on the water. “It’s nice to see that they’ve got a good fleet down on the South Shore,” he notes, adding that this resurgence is a testament to its continued relevance and the passionate sailors who keep its legacy alive.

The Enduring Rhodes 19 the Race Week Regular

The Rhodes 19 class, always one of the largest at the regatta, remains a steadfast part of Marblehead’s vibrant sailing scene, admired for its enduring appeal and competitive racing. The class has enjoyed consistency in numbers at Race Week and remains attractive for young families and local sailors, drawn to its smaller scale and the close community it fosters. Despite the challenges of balancing family commitments with busy racing schedules, these sailors are particularly motivated as Race Week will serve as a key regatta for the upcoming Rhodes 19 Nationals in Marblehead.

The community aspect of Marblehead’s sailing scene is as significant as the competition itself. While Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series events are renowned for their unrivaled post-racing social experiences, the Marblehead stop of the series has a uniquely local flair with most fleets hosting house parties and lively socials on Thursday night. These gatherings foster connections between sailors of all ages and experience levels.

While there are old-timers and old-time perpetual trophies at Race Week, these days there’s an undeniable generational shift and that’s because of the accessibility of Marblehead Race Week in particular, Smith says. “The problem up here is access to the water,” he says. “The yacht clubs cooperate to help have these boats sailing, and that’s a good thing.”

Through boat donations, mentorship, and an emphasis on fleet-building, the regatta has managed to attract younger sailors and diverse teams, ensuring its vitality for years to come. And, unlike many other regattas, Marblehead Race Week thrives during the summer, making it a standout event on the sailing calendar. As Smith points out, Marblehead’s choice long ago to host this regatta in the heart of summer is unique.

“Most clubs like to have something else going on in the summer, or like to have the club available for their membership,” he says. But Race Week’s scheduling allows Marblehead to showcase not only its beautiful sailing conditions but also its vibrant community, its stunning coastal scenery, and most importantly its hospitality.

So, while tourists sticking to their Tripadvisor must-do list may be content with their cookies from the Muffin Shop and sunrise views from Marblehead Lighthouse, those in the know will be watching the spectacular sailing of the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series at Marblehead Race Week and catching the sunset buzz at Boston YC.

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]]> https://www.sailingworld.com/regatta-series/fleetwoods-rise-to-the-top/ Mon, 09 Jun 2025 15:21:46 +0000 https://www.sailingworld.com/?p=82122 Getting fast and having fun. That's the Fleetwood way. The team's leaders share their story of winning the Chicago regatta and the Caribbean Championship berth.

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The Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta in Chicago captured the essence of competitive amateur sailing, featuring the impressive Melges 32 team of Jeremy Alexis and Jocelyn Saxon’s Fleetwood. On the waters of Lake Michigan and against the Chicago skyline, this team displayed its new chemistry and drive to perfection.

Their crew composition is diverse and tight-knit, with Jeremy introducing their weekend lineup: “We had Patrick Norris, Abby Brown, Jonathan Goldsberry, Benny Allen, Emery Williams and Josh Putnam.” The team’s approach is characterized by a quiet efficiency, with Jeremy highlighting that “everybody knows their jobs. They just got their jobs done, and everything was very smooth.”

As the speed machine in its nine-boat PHRF Spinnaker division (rating band), managing the fleet wasn’t so easy Saxon says: “We’re a really fast boat [PHRF 21], and it’s really hard to gauge where we are. It’s not one-design racing, which we’re used to.” This uncertainty added an extra layer of complexity to their fleet management.

Their boat handling in the weekend’s moderate winds was noteworthy. “We just really want to make sure we keep this crew together and continue to build the chemistry that we have,” Alexis says. This commitment to team development has been a key factor in their success.

The team’s performance was impressive, especially in lighter winds. “We do really well in light wind,” Saxon says. “Obviously, we’re a super light boat.”

While the team’s scoreline was perfect over eight races, the racing was closer than the scores would indicate Alexis says. “If we didn’t sail a perfect race, those C&C 115s were coming for us. They were knocking on the door the whole time. And that’s what kept us so focused.”

Looking forward, the team has ambitious plans. Alexis is hoping their win inspires others to consider the Melges 32 for PHRF racing. “They’re amazing boats.”

The team’s division win earned them a berth at the Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta’s Caribbean Championship in the BVIs in October. The win is a significant milestone for the team. The championship is “the most iconic thing that a non-pro sailor” could experience, Alexis says.

The team’s approach to sailing is a blend of technical skill, strategic thinking, and genuine enjoyment. Alexis says the team dynamic is what makes the Fleetwood squad what it is. The core team, Saxon says, “has come together really nicely. We all get along really well. Have a lot of fun.”

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