New York Yacht Club Claims Fifth-Straight Hinman Masters Championship

by New York Yacht Club 16 Aug 22:54 PDT August 14-16, 2026

The host club's dominance of the Hinman Masters Team Race continued this weekend with a fifth-consecutive win in the 24th edition of New York Yacht Club's oldest team race regatta.

The title came down to a best-of-five championship series against Eastport Yacht Club from Annapolis, Md. After dropping the first race, New York Yacht Club Levesque roared back to win the next three races and claim the championship.

"It feels awesome," said Clay Bischoff, one of the three skippers for the NYYC Levesque team. "We had a great event from beginning to end. It was amazing competition, so we knew it was going to be tough. In the finals, we faced a really experienced and impressive team. We're thrilled to win."

Eastport and NYYC Levesque were the top two teams throughout the round-robin portion of the regatta, with Levesque's crew winning 16 races against only two losses and the Eastport team, which is composed primarily of Naval Academy alumni, losing just four races while winning 14. Third place went to Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club from Centre Island, N.Y., with New York Yacht Club Kirkpatrick and Corinthian Yacht Club in Marblehead, Mass., rounding out the top five.

The New York Yacht Club helped usher in a new era of adult team racing with the creation of the New York Yacht Club Invitational Team Race Regatta for the Commodore George R. Hinman Masters Trophy in 2000. That race, which requires skippers to be at least 45 years of age and crew to be over 40, was soon followed by the New York Yacht Club Invitational Team Race Regatta for the Morgan Cup, an all-ages event, in 2003 and, in 2010, the New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race Regatta, which mandates skippers be at least 60 years of age and crew at least 50. In 2025, the Club added the New York Yacht Club Great Grandmasters Team Race Regatta to the schedule, for skippers 70 or older and crew 60 or older. The four team races are traditionally held each August at the New York Yacht Club Harbour Court, using the Club's fleet of 22 Sonar keelboats, and annually attract some of the best adult team racers in the United States and Europe. New York Yacht Club Regatta Association's 2026 regatta season is supported by Helly Hansen.

The only good thing that can be said about New York Yacht Club's start in the second race of the championship series was that it wasn't as bad as the first. The home team had kicked off the first race in the best-of-five tilt with one boat over early at the starting horn and another whistled for a two-circle penalty shortly thereafter. That devastating combo led to a comfortable win for Easport and the early series lead.

In the second start, New York again had one boat over the line early and picked up another penalty. But the net result wasn't as fatal. Still, heading into Mark 1 with the favorable 2-3-4 combination, it looked like this might just be Eastport's year. It was up to Bischoff's crew, which were leading the race, to slow everything down and allow their teammates to climb back within range.

"We had current going upwind, so that allows the lead boat to do some damage on trapping," said Bischoff. "My goal was just to create havoc and [Brian Doyle] and Pete maximized it. Pete drew a foul and BD passed a boat. You just got to be ready to jump on the opportunity. That was a turning point for the series."

By Mark 2, against the odds, especially against an experienced team, New York had taken control of the race. By Mark 4, it was New York that held the powerful 2-3-4 combination which it carried to the finish.

The remaining two races were less dramatic. In the clincher, New York Yacht Levesque rounded the first mark in first, second and third. Levesque's boat, in the trailing position, had the always enjoyable role of simply making life difficult for the opposing team while his teammates sailed off to the race win and the Hinman Masters Championship, which they did.

"The start was crucially important this weekend," said Bischoff. "We were talking a lot about how the current would affect our starting line strategy and how the favored end would affect our strategy. In the last few races, we had strong right-hand position on the line, and that proved to be the unlock to get us to the first mark ahead of the other guys."

For Bischoff, the win was particularly sweet. Last weekend he sailed for Larchmont Yacht Club in the Morgan Cup, losing to Levesque's crew in a best-of-five championship series.

"It's a really special opportunity to sail with Pete and [wife] Caroline," said Bischoff. "We've been friends and sometimes rivals going back 25 years. I know him very well. So it's it's awesome to compete against him, and even better to sail with him."

"I concur," added Levesque. "I'd way rather have Clay on my team than not."

Doyle, the team's third skipper, has enjoyed a remarkable run of success in this regatta, with a variety of teammates.

"Our boat's been practicing for several years now," said Doyle. "We've had a couple of changes in crew, but it's mostly been consistent. Shane [Wells] and I have sailed together in the last five of these events and won all five."

This coming weekend, New York Yacht Club will aim to keep the momentum going at the New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race, August 21 to 23, which New York last won in 2023. Texas Corinthian Yacht Club has won three of the last five. The Great Grandmasters Team Race will follow on August 27 and 28. New York Yacht Club won the inaugural edition last August. The inaugural Women's International Championship and the Resolute Cup will close out the 2026 season. The full schedule of regattas can be found here.

Championship:
New York (N.Y.) Yacht Club Levesque def. Easport (Md.) Yacht Club, 3-1

Round Robin Standings:
1. New York Yacht Club Levesque (16-2)
2. Eastport Yacht Club (14-4)
3. Seawnahaka Corinthian Yacht Club, Centre Island, N.Y., (10-8)
4. New York Yacht Club Kirkpatrick (9-9)
5. Corinthian Yacht Club, Marblehead, Mass. (7-11)
6. Southern Yacht Club, New Orleans, La., (7-11)
7 St. Petersburg (Fla.) Yacht Club (0-18).

Winning Team: Pete Levesque (skipper & team captain), Amy Ironmonger, Bill Lynn, Kaitlin Potts, Brian Doyle (skipper), Whit Rugg, Shane Wells, Whitney Peterson, Clay Bischoff (skipper), Ernie Bourassa, Ben Gent and Caroline Levesque.

• Round Robin Results
• Championship Series