Good vibes, great racing, and even better company around the fleet at CYC’s autumn classic.
While a certain segment of the population bemoans shorter days and cooler temperatures, many sailboat racers rejoice when the autumn breeze returns to send sailors zipping around Puget Sound, especially in the days when the hillsides flanking Shilshole Bay turn to yellow, amber, and red. Corinthian Yacht Club of Seattle’s (CYC) Puget Sound Sailing Championship (PSSC) Big Boat weekend is always right at the height of the fall fabulousness.
There was a lot to celebrate about this year’s PSSC Big Boats, but perhaps nothing was more notable than the growth and enthusiasm among the J/105s. For two decades now, the J/105s have been the most consistent saltwater one-design on Puget Sound in terms of regatta attendance and competition, and the fleet has a track record of fostering supportive and healthy dynamics among its ranks. But with the J/105 North Americans coming in October 2026 (and hosted by CYC), the already-great fleet is on the rise. Sixteen J/105s were on the line for PSSC, including new boats and fresh faces, which is always so fun to see. The J/105s are a fleet to watch year-in and year-out, but that was especially true at PSSC, and that should be the case throughout the coming year.
With J/105s making up the plurality, 43 total boats took the water for PSSC Big Boat. All classes shared one racing circle, but the bigger boats were sent on longer courses. Saturday’s conditions were remarkably stable in the eyes of Spencer Kunath, TP52 Glory’s Navigator. He said, “You could take a picture of the wind plot and see the periodic oscillations of the wind, which you can’t do in Puget Sound very often because of all the topography.” With breeze in the teens, all classes got at least three races in. The higher breeze and consistent conditions played to TP52 Glory’s strengths on Saturday, when they took elapsed and corrected victories in all three contests in ORC-A.
Sunday brought more variable conditions, but ultimately lighter racing. Tom Perry, who was sailing his B-25, Blur, in ORC-C, had the challenging task of racing against a fleet of boats at least 10 feet longer and significantly faster than his. After a variety of challenges on Saturday—from a broken gooseneck to a surprise kelp entanglement—Perry tracked the condition evolution and their performance on Sunday morning as follows:
Sunday morning looked intimidating. Reports were coming in of 26-knot gusts off West Point, and Blur doesn’t exactly thrive in that kind of breeze without extra ballast. But by the time we got to the start line, it was only puffing 7–8 knots. Then 6. Then… nothing.
We started a race in the dying wind, wandered into a few holes, and generally looked lost—along with everyone else. The Race Committee eventually called it off (thank you, Charley), which was absolutely the right move. The convergence zone rolled through and, for two long hours, we drifted around like colorful corks.
Then, mercifully, the northerly filled in. Charley reset the course near the marina breakwater, and we got in one last, lovely race—12–13 knots, sunshine, and a short course that Blur could really stretch out on. We sailed hard and came in third, which was our best finish of the weekend.
The lighter conditions on Sunday also led to tighter racing among the top two TP52s. In fact, Kunath described Sunday’s battle as, “The best race in our fleet in recent memory.” Smoke dominated the whole race, and it became a tacking duel between Glory and Smoke, complete with lots of split second decision-making, lightning quick action, and no-look tacks. It came down to the final cross, and Glory edged Smoke by 1 second on elapsed time, but Smoke corrected ahead. It was clearly the epic highlight of the weekend. Even sailors in other fleets said it was fun to watch.
Around the fleet, there were impressive performances aplenty. John Buchan’s TP52 Glory continued their winning ways in ORC-A and are clearly in great form. Winning ORC B was the super cool Bieker Riptide 30, Baby Blue, led by Peter Heppel and Alyosha Strum-Palerm, rising to the top of a big and seriously competitive class ahead of Farr 39ML Absolutely and Farr 30 Nefarious. In ORC C, the J/109 Shada stood on the top step of the podium at the end of the weekend ahead of sistership Eclipse.
The J/105 one-design class was hotly contested as ever, and the battle for first came down to the final race, in which Peer Gynt edged out Moose Unknown in the race and the regatta.
Having replaced his previous J/80 after a fire, Gerry Gilbert sailed his newly-acquired and cleverly-named Afterburner to a J/80 class win in dominant fashion, sharing the podium with Jolly Green and Airtime. And rounding things out, Derek DeCouteau took home the Star class victory.
The whirlwind that is the fall sailboat racing season in the Pacific Northwest is in full swing—don’t blink or you’ll miss it—and CYC’s annual Big Boat edition of PSSC delivered as it usually does with some awesome autumn sailing, tight competition, and a grand community gathering to put an exclamation mark at the end of a stellar 2025 racing season at CYC. Though its racing season is winding down, CYC is already working up some exciting plans for 2026 and, of course, the year won’t be fully complete until the sailor-fowl come out for the November classic Turkey Bowl.
Full Results at cycseattle.org
Title background photo courtesy of Sail Sport Northwest.
