Please select your home edition
Edition
X-Yachts Leaderboard 2024 1

Early mornings, long evenings, and some of the year's best sailing opportunities

by David Schmidt 17 Jun 08:00 PDT June 17, 2025
171st New York Yacht Club Annual Regatta © Paul Todd / www.outsideimages.com

If you love long evenings and early mornings, this is one of the best times of the whole year, as the summer solstice (Friday, June 20) and the entire rich expanse of summer are about to burst into bloom. While summer's official arrival always comes with a pang or two of bittersweet—after all, days start getting shorter on June 21, albeit by mere seconds per day, at least to start—it's hard not to get excited for all the great racing, cruising, and adventuring that awaits the motivated in the coming months.

Not that the sailing world needs an astronomical event to herald the start of great racing.

Take, for example, the New York Yacht Club's 171st Annual Regatta (June 13-15), which unfurled on the waters off of Newport, Rhode Island last weekend. This historic event featured a day of racing around Conanicut Island on Friday (June 13), followed by two days of buoy or "navigator-course" racing on Saturday and Sunday. All told, more than 130 boats participated.

While racing was competitive in all classes, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy team, sailing aboard Elan, a Swan 53, finished in first place in the 15-strong Navigator C class, which was the third largest class at the event (the Navigator Course B fleet had 16 boats, while the one-design IC37 class had 23 boats).

Impressively, the USCG team was just learning the ropes of their new steed.

"I think on Friday, we didn't really know what we were doing or how to sail the boat," says Meara Conley, who trimmed the main sail aboard Elan, in an official event communication. "I think this is the biggest boat any of us have really sailed. Friday was really a learning experience. What helped us on Saturday was getting people who knew what they were doing in the right positions and figuring out what worked for the boat. On Friday, we didn't have a lot of communication, so we worked on that a lot. Communication is key with big-boat sailing."

The Elan team was joined on the winner's podium by Chris Tate's J/105 Blitz crew and Roger Lowlicht's Evelyn 32M Dark Star squad.

Not surprisingly, the 23-strong IC37 class offered the regatta's stiffest one-design racing. After six races, Hannah Swett and her MO team topped the leaderboard, followed by Lance Fraser's Defiant, and Steve Liebel's New Wave.

"It was a really fun event," says Swett in a regatta release. "Our group has sailed together for a while, so I think we just came out running. It got a little light in the last race, and I think we were pretty deep in the fleet. It's an amazing fleet. Everyone is really good and going fast in every direction."

The eight-strong M32 was the regatta's largest (and only) multihull class, and Ryan McKillen's Surge team lead the way with a pair of bullets and a pair of second-place finishes. Surge was joined at the top of the leaderboard by Bobby Julien's Dingbat and Jake Julien's YoungBlood.

"This is my fourth or fifth year in the class," reported McKillen in an event communication. "The secret is just a lot of time on the water; it's finally starting to come together. Sailing, especially in these boats, is so dynamic. It can take four or five years before you start seeing the same situations again, and once that happens, it gets a little easier. It starts to feel familiar. There's no magic bullet, just time and reps."

Time and reps also played a big role at the J/70 Mixed Plus National Championships (June 13-15), which recently unfurled on the waters of Puget Sound off of Seattle's Corinthean Yacht Club. This event features teams comprised of four or more sailors, of which no more than two of the crew are male.

After seven races, Dalton Bergan's Mossy squad finished in first place, followed by Boris Luchterhand's RIFF, and Michael Goldfarb's WarCanoe.

Looking ahead, the J/70 Class will contest its first Mixed-Plus World Championship title this summer (June 26-29) on the waters of Italy's beautiful Lake Garda. A quick glance at the entry list for this event reveals that some of the teams that raced last weekend in Seattle will be making the trek to Lake Garda, where they will be joined on the starting line by some of the best European mixed-plus teams.

One group who will be celebrating the summer solstice in style are the sailors competing in this week's U.S. Wingfoil Championship (June 20-22), which will be hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club, and which will be contested on the waters of San Francisco Bay off of Crissy Field. A total of 37 competitors have entered this high-flying event, which should offer some of the best foil-borne competition in the country once the starting guns begin to sound on Thursday.

Finally, for anyone who's interested in celebrating the first day of summer with the greater sailing community, this Friday marks the Summer Sailstice. This global event, which celebrates sailing on the longest day of the year (or at least the weekend closest to this event), was founded in 2001 by John Arndt and began with some 200 participating boats. Today, the event draws almost 5,000 boats and around 19,000 sailors.

So, if you're like me and prefer your days long and full of opportunities to mess around in boats, check out the Sailstice or one of the many regattas that are likely unfurling near you. While it sometimes seems like these magically long days will continue forever, the sad truth is that the first day of autumn lurks some 90 days over the horizon, so be sure to get in your roll tacks now, while the sun is shining.

May the four winds blow you safely home.

David Schmidt
Sail-World.com North American Editor

Related Articles

Fastnet Race, RS Aeros, Isle of Wight
Fastnet Race, RS Aero Worlds, GL50s, Isle of Wight circumnavigation When the conversation turns to the world's greatest middle-distance bluewater races, talk tends to linger on the Rolex Fastnet Race, which started on Saturday, July 26, and for great reason. Posted today at 3:00 pm
Of Ospreys, Eagles, Falcons, and Moths
Birds of prey. Insects. All of them airborne? How does it all apply here? Time to find out! All are airborne. The first three are birds of prey. The last one is an insect. All are so completely different. The first three have also had their name, formidable qualities and fantastic reputations applied to fantastic aircraft made by Boeing. Posted on 27 Jul
Rolex Fastnet Race Start - view from Hurst Castle
A video montage as the fleet went out of the Solent I went out to Hurst Castle with his camera and drone to capture the action as the boats, ranging from the mighty Ultim trimarans, through to the IMOCAs and grand prix yachts competing in the 2025 Admiral's Cup went through the narrrows out of the Solent. Posted on 26 Jul
(More than) A Day at the Races
The UK is the place to be right now if you're a sailor The UK is the place to be right now if you're a sailor, and I don't think I've ever known a time when so many great events are happening concurrently. Posted on 22 Jul
Were the Roos Robbed in Portsmouth?
We discuss the Race 6 Penalty with SailGP's Chief Umpire Craig Mitchell The high speed, short course action of SailGP is thrilling to watch, but inevitably causes tight situations and means the Umpires have to react quickly to decide who is right and who is wrong. Posted on 22 Jul
SailGP comes to Portsmouth!
We speak to the sailors ahead of the weekend The Emirates Great Britain Sail Grand Prix | Portsmouth takes place this weekend, with the 12 teams competing in F50 catamarans close to the waterfront, where a massive grandstand has been built for the spectators. Posted on 18 Jul
A Q&A on the 2025 Corsair Nationals and the BBMHR
Peter Vakhutinsky and Andy Houlding discuss the 2025 Corsair Nationals and Buzzards Bay Multihull Re If you race, sail, or love multihulls and live in New England (or the Northeast), the Corsair Nationals and Buzzards Bay Multihull Regatta should be on your radar. Posted on 16 Jul
The Ocean Cleanup's 30 Cities Program
A look at The Ocean Cleanup and its the 30 Cities Program The cliche goes that one should avoid meeting one's heroes, as there's always a chance that the flesh-and-blood person might not live up to expectations. While I've never met Boyan Slat, I'd gladly take this risk. Posted on 15 Jul
Double Double
And the rest of the line is not toil and trouble, but quadruple, then another double… On the eve of the 100th Fastnet that has attracted some 464 entries, I heard of one entry in this record fleet that seemed so very apt. Not only because it includes the Commodore of the RORC, but because it combines two Brits and two Aussies. Posted on 13 Jul
Jazz Turner Video Interview
How she Faced Everything And Rose during Project FEAR I travelled to Brighton Marina to catch up with Jazz, talking about her own sailing, the challenges she faced during the circumnavigation, how the money raised will be used, and a glimpse of her future projects! Posted on 10 Jul
Maritimo M75Switch One DesignHyde Sails 2024 - One Design