This annual regatta has found its home on the shores of Penn Cove these last few years and has become one of the most fun and unique regattas around. With work starting to spread, people are coming from far afield to see for themselves!
The weekend of August 23-25 started out a bit depressing with heavy rain greeting those who showed up on Friday. This rain also put a damper on Fridays planned fun ‘Triangle’ race. We will need to keep this idea on the shelf for next year!
Saturday brought much better conditions with partially overcast skies and breeze between 4 to 7 knots. After a brief delay, the fleet of 17 boats launched off the beach in a southwest wind and a course set farther near the Coupeville pier, just a 5 minute sail from the Penn Cove Yacht Club (PCYC). The first four races of the day followed a similar pattern: oscillating breeze gradually shifting left. Starts were crucial in the shifty wind and the fleet was pushing the line hard.
After a big pre-start shift in race five made for a quick reach-reach course, race six delivered the most consistent conditions of the day with the wind having slowly swung all the way around to an easterly.
Some standout performances on Day 1 were Rich and Jeff sailing a borrowed boat with consistently good starts and boat positioning. Mike and Carol used their excellent boatspeed to snatch four third place finishes and a bullet to cap off the day. Paul/Cedric, Doug/Nalu, and Cynthia/Charles were always in the mix as well. It was also great to see Courtney and Curran out for the inaugural sail of their new-to-them boat.
The après activities are where this regatta and its amazing hosts truly shine. Racers were greeted back at the beach with cold kegs, hot grills, and 40 of their best friends—not to mention a pretty killer view! After a great evening, everyone retired to their tents on the beach to see what the next day would have in store.
Sunday dawned with little wind but some welcome sun. After a great breakfast of bacon and pancakes, we got to the task of basking in the sun and waiting for wind. After about an hour delay, an unforcasted but steady easterly filled in and the fleet rolled dollies down the beach and headed out.
Sailing just east of Penn Cove Sunday brought three races in 5 to 8 knots with off and on trapezing upwind. The first two races saw large winning margins by Jeff and Rich and Mike and Carol. Pierre and Langdon were blisteringly quick as well with second place finishes in every race of the day. Sunday’s racing also featured more stable wind than Saturday, which took a bit of importance away from having
the best start and added passing lanes throughout the racing.
Ben and I were fortunate to have a good points cushion from Saturday and were able to take the win. Rich and Jeff ended up second with Mike and Carol close behind. All podium finishers were stoked to take home some engraved Yeti goodies!
Despite the lighter than hoped for wind, the Stuart Sinclair Regatta easily lived up to its reputation as the most fun weekend around! With 17 boats on the line, it seems like a 20 boat regatta is well within reach next year.
Huge thanks to Chris and Anne and their crew of helpers for hosting. Also, a big thanks to Dan, Ian, Erik, Kevin, and all the others who helped with Race Committee! Mark your calendars for Stuart Sinclair 2025 on August 16th and 17th 2025!
