CYCS brings stunning Classic Yacht Racing to Narragansett Bay at Summer's End

Classic Yacht Racing © Sarah Seaman

The final two weekends of August feature classic yacht racing in Narragansett Bay as the 2025 CYCS enters its final month of competition. Held from August 22-24, the Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta featured races up and down the bay as well as festive social activities in one of the sailing world's most storied ports—Bristol, R.I. Next, the CYCS fleet is set to keep the action going in the Newport Classic Yacht Regatta presented by IYRS slated for August 30 and 31.

"Narragansett Bay is the beating heart of American sailing," said CYOA Chair Timmy Dittrich. "The competition in the Herreshoff regatta truly embodied the spirit of classic yachting, and we cannot wait to see more this coming weekend in Newport."

Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta organizer Bill Lynn provided a recap of the racing in Bristol:

The 2025 HCYR presented by Bristol Marine started, as usual, with an informal feeder race from Newport to Bristol on Friday, August 22. Despite the Hurricane Erin-induced presence of a gusty northerly, 14 boats showed up for the upwind slog to Bristol, arriving just as the breeze was starting to die. The fleet was divided into two classes, big boats and smaller boats, which sailed slightly different courses. The big boat class was won by the Modern Classic 12 Metre Courageous, an upwind machine, followed by Øivind Lorentzen's Jax and Joe Robillard's 1938 S&S yawl Black Watch. The small boat class was won by Geoff Davis in his S Class boat Aquila, followed by Peter Johnstone's Luders 16 Radiance and Peter McClennen's 1925 Herreshoff R-boat Gamecock, celebrating her 100th birthday.

Be sure to read the full recap on the CYOA website. Full results are available on the regatta’s website.

The Newport Classic Yacht Regatta presented by IYRS will be the last of the CYCS regattas in Rhode Island before the series heads to Long Island Sound. "Due to its long history, the Newport Classic Yacht Regatta presents multiple perpetual trophies and designer awards, such as the Atlantic Trophy, Sappho Trophy, Leiter Cup, Clingstone Cannon and Tom Benson Restoration Awards, awarded for trades such as gaff rigged boats, best S&S, best Herreshoff etc.," said regatta organizer Jens Lange. "A highlight of the weekend is the Classic Yacht Parade on Sunday morning before the races, where the participating yachts, often joined by some of the truly classic local powerboats, parade around the Newport Harbor, drawing crowds of spectators both on land and on the water."

Current standings in the CYCS are available on the CYOA website: classicyachts.org/results

CRF Overall Standings

We now have 17 qualifiers for the overall series. Boats have qualified for the series by sailing in at least 5 races across 3 events. Scores are based on a maximum of 500 points. For details on how scoring works, visit the Results page on our website. This includes an explanation of how the series compares a boat's corrected time to that of other boats in their CRF Certificate Division, not necessarily the class in which a regatta placed them. Please note only Saturday of Herreshoff counts for the series, not the feeder races.

Vintage

1. Black Watch - Black Watch Alliance LLC - 500.00 points
2. Gamecock - Peter McClennen - 478.89 (20 pts from last weekend)
3. Gentian - Ben Sperry - 426.12
4. Gesture - Alexander Mehran - 402.68
5. Dorade - Matt Brooks - 320.00 (58 pts)
6. Spirit, Lars & Peter Forsberg - 361.90
7. Gleam - Andy Tyska - 354.14
8. Onawa - McMillen Yachts - 333.65 (18 pts)
9. Polly - Peter Gallant - 212.95

Contemporary

1. Jax - Øivind Lorentzen - 475.00 (qualified this week)
2. Outlier - Harvey Jones - 441.67
3. Isobel - Todd Lalumiere - 325.00

Modern Classic

1. Narwhal - Steve Frary - 416.67

Classic

1. American Eagle - Alexander C. Valcic - 433.33

Spirit of Tradition

1. Ponyo - Paul Koch - 500.00
2. Cavalino - William Kahane - 383.33 (30 pts)
3. Restive - Robert McAlpine - 355.56

RI/CT/NY Division Winners

For those Southern New England-based teams that sailed three races across at least two events in the district races:

Vintage

1. Gamecock - Peter McClennen - 478.89 points
2. Dorade - Matt Brooks - 223.33
3. Black Watch - BW Syndicate - 214.44
4. Onawa - McMillen Yachts - 145.56

Spirit of Tradition

1. Ponyo - Paul Koch - 300.00
2. Cavalino - William Kahane - 200.00