Maine Distance Races on deck following Camden Classics
by Classic Yacht Owners Association 29 Jul 09:44 PDT
Camden Classics © Billy Black
A gorgeous New England weekend provided excellent conditions for the two days of the Camden Classics Cup. Two races made up the regatta allowing for two additional competitors to fully qualify for this year's CYCS: Paul Koch's Ponyo & Jim Wetherald and Ted Huffman's Kirawan.
Known as one of the most beautiful regattas in the world, the Camden Classics Cup once again showed off its trademark background at Lyman Morse where the mountains meet the sea.
"Amazing weekend, amazing collection of boats and some of the best sailing ever in the 10 years of our regatta," said CYOA board member Drew Lyman.
When it comes to conditions, it just doesn't get any better than what the 2026 Camden Classics Cup experienced on the waters of Penobscot Bay. Friday started calm, but after a brief postponement the sea breeze filled in and the race committee was able to get ten separate starts off the line just outside Camden Harbor. Racers enjoyed a building southwesterly that saw gusts approach 20 knots, creating lively sailing and ideal conditions for the spinnaker run to the finish. Given Saturday's forecast of lighter breezes than the previous day, the race committee set the start line just off Rockport Harbor, but once again the sea breeze filled in nicely and allowed crews to enjoy another stellar day of sailing - "Finest Kind," as they say in Maine!
In the Vintage Division, Gleam owned by Andy Tyska took the top prize. Chris Bouzaid's Bijou II won the Classics Division, maintaining their perfect score for the season, needing just one more race in a new region to qualify for the series.
Øivind Lorentzen's Jax also needs only one more race to qualify. The Brooklin 43 topped the podium in Modern Tradition and now is won three of four races this season.
This week, the CYCS fleet stays in Maine for three back to back to back distance regattas: the Castine Classic Yacht Race, the Camden to Brooklin Race, and the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta. Each regatta features one point-to-point race and the series will close out its Maine stretch with the final race.
With three races in one weekend, more and more of the fleet will continue to reach the CYCS qualification threshold. The fleet has its eyes firmly set on the top prizes now as the date for the 2026 CYCS Awards Ceremony has been announced as October 23 at the Herreshoff Museum in Bristol, R.I.
Scoring for the Camden Classics Cup has been updated on ClassicYachts.org/Results. Current CYCS standings and scores can be found there as well.
Good luck to all competitors in the Distance Regattas this week! Stay tuned for results!