Lemonade out of Lemons at the 2026 Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta

by Classic Yacht Owners Association 3 Sep 12:25 PDT August 28-30, 2026

2026 Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta © Sarah Seaman

The 2026 CYCS returned to the waters of the Ocean State last weekend with the 2026 Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta.

Regatta organizer and CYOA Board member Bill Lynn provided a full wrap up of the weekend's events:

"Sixteen boats showed up for the annual Newport-to-Bristol feeder race on Friday afternoon. Due to the presence of 55 Snipes holding their North American Championship in our normal starting area, the start was moved to the north end of Gould Island which shortened the race a bit. A light-ish southerly meant the short course and kites all the way which made it a S Class kind of day. Class veteran Geoff Davis onboard AQUILA - the boat he's owned for 60 years - showed why experience counts as he singlehandedly set, jibed, and doused his spinnaker on the way to winning the race on corrected time. Scott Walker and Dennis Ferreira in the other S boat SURPRISE finished 2nd with Peter McClennen's GAMECOCK rounding out the podium and completing the clean sweep for boats built at the Herreshoff yard in Bristol. Kostia Belkin enticed Bill Doyle and Jed Pearsall out of retirement for a quasi-exhibition "race" between his gorgeous Fife yacht VIOLA and the NY-30 AMORITA with the latter arriving first to the finish line at the HMM flagpole.

Saturday arrived with a nice northerly that had zero chance of surviving into the afternoon. PRO Diana Emmanuelli made the smart decision to hold the fleet on shore so that competitors could enjoy a leisurely breakfast chatting with friends old and new. While standing around and under the event tent, competitors were treated to a "fly by" by the ten boats participating in the Huckins Rendezvous out of Bristol Marine with horn and cannon salutes exchanged.

With the forecast giving a bit of hope for a southerly, AP was lowered at 1330, and the fleet headed out. Much drifting about ensued until dark water appeared in the East Passage, and Diana was finally able to get what turned out to be a great race started at 1620. Dinner could wait - sailing was what everyone came to do, and everyone's patience paid off. Three well-sailed boats took home the Vintage Division with GAMECOCK in first, Matt Brooks' DORADE in second, and Shelia and Ted Graves' NOR'EASTER in third. The Classic Division was won by Steve Antaya's MARINER followed by the two Concordia yawls, Steve Lindo's SKYE and Barb Kranichfeld's KATRINA in second and third. The Modern Classic Division was won by Yarrow Thorne's beautiful Gil Smith catboat WHIRLWIND II with Joe Schwartz's Alerion WOODWINDS in second and Will Hubbard's LIVELY LADY sailing with Will's daughter Weatherly and son William on the team. Thanks for bringing along the next generation, Will!

Paul Koch's Camden Class Knockabout PONYO emerged victorious in the Spirit of Tradition Division followed by Doug Newhouse in his Spirit Yacht YONDER and Gardner Howe in his Morris 36 WINSOME. Øivind Lorentzen's Botin-designed JAX didn't really have anyone to race against in the Contemporary Division, but it's always fun to watch that team sail the boat at an amazingly high level, and versus the other SOT boats, JAX had the second best corrected time.

Back on shore, the sailors mingled with the power boaters as the Huckins owners and their guests joined us for the regatta dinner and prize-giving. Awards were presented to both groups, and thanks to our friends at Keane's Wood-Fired Catering, Rumson's Rum, O'Brien & Brough Distillery, Narragansett Brewing, and the Classic Yacht Owners Association, a very good time was had by all! The party continued on board VIOLA and her mother ship NOTRE DAME DES FLOTS well into the night which resulted in several dusty sailors on Sunday morning. Apparently, language barriers disappear when enough rum is applied.

2026 Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta - photo © Sarah Seaman

The forecast was perfect for Sunday's plan, and the weather gods delivered. The "hot lap" around Hog Island started on time at noon in a 10-12 knot southwester with the fleet storming past the museum with kites flying. The Hog Island Race was immediately followed by the race to Newport for the boats that are going that direction anyway, and by immediately, we mean that you sail through the finish line and keep going - finish time for the "hot lap" is the start time for the Bristol-to-Newport Race. The ebbing tide combined with the 10-15 knot southwester got the fleet to Newport before cocktail hour, and to the guy in the finish boat at Fort Adams, everyone seemed pretty happy with the day.

The hot lap was won in convincing fashion by LIVELY LADY (Modern Classic) followed by two S boats, Sheldon Whitehouse's OSPREY (Vintage) and Adam Langerman's PAPOOSE (Vintage). WEATHERLY won the Classics Division, YONDER won the SOT Division, and JAX won the Contemporary Division. The race to Newport was upwind in 10-15 knots which is generally pretty good for 12 Metres, and sure enough, the winner was COURAGEOUS (Modern Classic) followed by Steve Eddleston's WEATHERLY (Classic). The "podium plus" was rounded out by JAX (Contemporary), YONDER (SOT), and DORADE (Vintage) in 3rd, 4th, and 5th which, interestingly, put one boat from each of the five divisions in the top five in the race.

Everyone enjoyed meeting new friends from Europe as Kostia Belkin and his VIOLA crew wrap up their US tour. VIOLA is a sweet boat, and they know their way around a party! The magic of classic yacht racing generally and of the Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta in particular is the camaraderie and shared passion for sailing beautiful boats in historic settings. While one race shy of a full complement, the 2026 HCYR accomplished that mission in style. It would not have been possible without the support of presenting sponsors Bristol Marine, BankNewport, and Reagan Marine Construction, and we are incredibly grateful for the support of these fine companies.

The 2027 Herreshoff Classic Yacht Regatta will take place August 27-29, and we look forward to welcoming all of our friends back to Bristol. Until then, this is HMM standing by on 72."

Only two regattas are left in the 2026 Classics season. This weekend, the fleet stays in Newport for the Newport Classic Yacht Regatta presented by IYRS. America's sailing capital once again plays host to stunning classics racing on Labor Day weekend.

The final leaderboard for this year's series is truly taking shape now! Scroll down for current standings, and head to classicyachts.org/Results for a full results breakdown!

2026 CYCS Results and Standings

To qualify, a boat must sail in 5 races across 3 events, 1 of which must be outsdie thier home district. Points are based on percentage of perfection, 100 per event so maximum is 500 points.

Vintage Division

Classic Division

Spirit of Tradition Division

Contemporary Division

1. Jax — Øivind Lorentzen— 466.67 points