Safe Harbor Race Weekend 2026 - Record fleet, close racing
by Barby MacGowan 12 Aug 10:06 PDT
August 7-9, 2026
During a New England heat wave, there was no better place to be than on the water, and for the 75 sailing teams competing in the 2026 Safe Harbor Race Weekend, it was the perfect setting for three days of keen competition across 10 classes.
Light to moderate breezes of 8 to 14 knots prevailed on Narragansett Bay, where nine classes raced, while a sportier 14 to 17 knots filled Block Island Sound, where five Superyachts competed. Off the water, competitors and their families enjoyed lively social events at the end of each racing day, including Friday's traditional New England clam bake, which served up a feast for 1,100 hungry sailors and their families.
"The level of competition gets better each year, and the regatta management is great," said Rob MacMillan, tactician aboard Wendy Schmidt's Botin 45 Azulito, which won the six-boat ORC A. "We were fortunate to win our first race and our last two (of six) races. The current and wind were hard to figure out, but it was fun to sail against six equally sized boats that were equally good. On our boat, lots of happy faces, and a happy owner."
With four bullets in six races, David Fass' Club-Swan 42 Zammermoos posted a decisive victory in the five-boat ORC B class. Both ORC classes sailed windward/leeward races on a course "up the Bay," as did the 18-boat PHRF fleet, divided into PHRF C (10 boats) and PHRF D (eight boats).
PHRF C's winner, Steve Eddleston's 12 Metre Weatherly, turned in perhaps the regatta's most impressive performance, winning five of six races and finishing 14 points ahead of its closest competitor, the largest winning margin of the regatta.
With several modern J boats in the class, Eddleston was initially unsure how his historic wooden boat, which successfully defended the America's Cup in 1962, would fare.
"The competition heated up as the weekend went on, and we had to fight harder for our places, but the crew rose to the occasion and performed some magic I didn't know they were capable of," said Eddleston. "It was an exhilarating, exciting and crazy outcome."
He added: "I look at the way Safe Harbor works to improve their game each year, too, and I have to say it's one regatta I will not miss for the rest of my life with Weatherly."
Victory in PHRF D was less straightforward for Kevin Dakan's J/110 Memory. The team won Friday's Around Prudence Island Race, held for the ORC, PHRF and Coastal Racing classes, but slipped behind defending champion David Schwartz's Lyman-Morse 40 Mischief after three races Saturday. On Sunday Memory's 1-3 finishes against Mischief's 5-4 secured the class victory.
One-Design racing for 18 IC37s and four Swan 28s took place on a course near Quonset Point in Narragansett Bay's West Passage, where conditions differed significantly from the other race circles.
"All weekend, there was never more than 12 knots," said PRO Kevin Reeds. "Nevertheless, there were aggressive starts, lots of mixing it up at gates and weather marks and plenty of lead changes."
Both One-Design classes sailed a seven-race series with one throw-out. Steve Liebel's New Wave won the IC37s with three race victories, while Dan Cheresh's Extreme2, with four wins, led the Swan 28s from the start and clinched the series before the final race.
"It's hard to beat sailing in Newport," said Cheresh. "It's an incredible place to race, and whether you are outside (on the Sound) or inside (on the Bay), it's tricky." He added that the team hopes to help grow the Swan 28 class, which is new to both the regatta and the United States, next year.
The Coastal Racing division featured 18 boats competing in four longer navigation races around government marks, primarily throughout Narragansett Bay with occasional excursions onto Rhode Island Sound.
In Coastal Racing A, Dudley Johnson's Marten 49 Pugilist won two of four races against what Captain Darris Witham described as four "extremely well-sailed" larger boats.
"Winning the Around Prudence Island Race propelled us into a good position," said Witham, "but when the winds increased on day two, the bigger boats showed us their heels. Lighter winds again on day three favored us. Our navigator, trimmer and helmsman were really in sync this week, which helped us tremendously with some of the closer finishes."
Witham also praised the regatta's shoreside events. "The bands were popular with the dancing members of our team, and the atmosphere at both venues - Safe Harbor New England Boatworks and Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard - were unique to each other, perfect for enjoying Friday night's lobster feast and Saturday night's (Talk of the Town) Crew Party."
In Coastal Racing B, defending champion Brian Nelson's J/112E Honey Badger never won a race but finished second in every race to claim the overall victory.
"Before the regatta, the weather looked iffy, but it ended up being a beautiful three days," said Nelson. "We weren't sure we could beat Warrior Won (a Cape 31, which won two races and finished second overall). After all, we are a racing/cruising boat with a refrigerator and a hot water heater aboard, and they are a sport boat! They were far out ahead most days, but on the last day when they were within eye shot, we knew that was good"
In Coastal Racing C, consistency paid off for defending champion Chris Bjerregaard and Joe Whelan's Alerion Express 38 Hope. The team won one race and finished second in the other three.
"Last year, I had my partner, my wife and son sailing with me," said Bjerregaard. "This year, I had my partner and a bunch of friends from the Florida State Sailing Team in the 1970s. I think we averaged out at 70 years old, maybe the oldest crew!"
Bjerregaard, who calls Hope an "all-purpose" boat that he can cruise with or sail double-handed, praised the coastal racing format and encouraged more boats to participate.
"I get it if you like windward/leeward racing and technical boat-on-boat combat, but I'm less interested in that and more interested in having to work current and wind shifts."
Among the Superyachts, Hap Fauth's 116-foot Whisper appeared poised for victory after edging out Steve Rowland's 109-foot Nakupenda on both Friday and Saturday during two long coastal races on Rhode Island Sound. On Sunday, Nakupenda needed to win and put two boats between itself and Whisper to take the overall title.
On the next-to-last leg - a reach before the final spinnaker run to the finish off Castle Hill - a mechanical fitting holding Whisper's mainsail clew blew out. The equipment failure could not be repaired on the water, forcing the boat to retire and handing Nakupenda both the race win and overall victory.
"I'm super proud of how we improved each day of practice and throughout the regatta," said Nakupenda's tactician Tony Rey, noting that on Saturday his team had narrowed Whisper's lead to just 11 seconds on corrected time. "It was a glorious three days of sailing."
Event Director Peter Craig noted that this year's 75 entries marked a record for Safe Harbor Race Weekend.
"But it's really not about quantity of boats," he said. "It's about the quality of the teams, the competition, and the experience."
The 2027 Safe Harbor Race Weekend is scheduled for August 13-15.
For more information on Safe Harbor Race Weekend and full results, visit bit.ly/SafeHarborRW.