2026 Chesapeake Bay ILCA Masters Championship
This weekend I served as event chair for the Chesapeake Bay ILCA Masters Championship at Fishing Bay Yacht Club. After a few months of planning and a final week of preparation, we welcomed 39 boats in two fleets for the 46th edition of the event.
There were a few last-minute food snafus that required finding alternatives, but everything came together. Friday was spent getting the club ready and checking in competitors. By Saturday morning, it was time to put down the to-do list for a few hours and go sailing.
Saturday
Getting the course set took a little extra time. The initial setup was too far west, leaving insufficient water to the left to place a mark. The race committee moved the course back east, and about 25 minutes later we were ready to start. The wind was in the mid-teens and building, with small chop, waves around a foot, and plenty of puffs and holes.
The boat end looked favored for the first race, so I set up to win that end with Gavin O’Hare just below me. Andrew Stillman tried to squeeze between us and the committee boat. After some close maneuvering to avoid further fouling me, he ended up over the line early and out of the way. I came off the line with a great start, above Gavin and ahead of David Waiting.
That lasted about a quarter of the first beat.
I went to tack and didn’t get under the boom quickly enough. Before I knew it, the boat was over. I missed the hiking strap and took the fast route down the underside of the hull into the water. By the time I was upright and going again, I was in the middle of the fleet.
My boat handling was still a little shaky, and I was feeling out of practice. I made up a couple of boats around the course but was slow downwind and finished 13th. Up front, David pulled away to win, with Alex Jacob holding second all the way around. Ron Thompson also had a great race.
The breeze was up around 17–18 knots after the finish. One ILCA 6 sailor had broken a mast and needed a tow ashore, and several others had retired.
I had another good start in race two and a solid first beat, rounding the top mark just behind the leaders. I followed David downwind for a while before he found another gear, worked out to the right, and kept going.
On the next upwind leg, I went right looking for more pressure. The pressure was there, but some awkward shifts kept it from working out the way I hoped. Things got particularly squirrely near the top mark, where I missed a couple of shifts and lost a boat or two.
Near the bottom of the course, Scott Mogle caught a great shift from the east and came cruising in to round inside me at the final leeward mark. I finished 13th again, but it was good racing. My boat handling was improving, and I was more confident putting the boat where I wanted it, especially in some of the tighter situations around the marks. The breeze had eased a little, with occasional lulls below 10 knots, but we still had low-teens wind and some whitecaps.
The third race had a heavily skewed start. A lot of boats gathered at the pin, and Ron Thompson managed to port-tack the fleet. I started at the boat and went right, which didn’t work particularly well. I spent much of the race following people around, though I made up some ground on the second beat by working left and catching better shifts.
For the final race, the committee posted an H7 course. Apparently, we hadn’t needed a seven in all the time I’d been at the club, so they had to make one with tape.
I had another great start at the boat. This time, I made a point of avoiding getting too far out to the right and worked the shifts toward the left. I stayed in touch with the lead group, lost a few boats downwind, but kept clear of the pack behind me.
Mist and drizzle arrived midway through the race. The committee shortened the course to finish at the weather mark after the second lap, conveniently putting us closer to home. I finished 10th, my best result of the day, and we sailed in and de-rigged in the drizzle.
Once ashore, I quickly put the boat away and got to work on the scoring. This was our first time using ClubSpot for the event, and I wanted to handle it myself to learn how it worked. Switching from racing to scoring was part of the balancing act of sailing in an event I was also organizing.
Alain Vincey put together a great dinner of ribs, Carolina shrimp and crab soup, vegetables, macaroni and cheese, and pie for dessert. After a wet day on the water, it was good to sit down, eat, and catch up with everyone.
Someone described the weekend as “a two-day party with some sailing in between.” Saturday certainly delivered both parts.
Sunday morning brought little wind, continued mist and drizzle, and very low visibility on the water. We postponed for an hour before calling a skippers’ meeting to discuss the options.
I laid out the forecast and the choices: abandon racing, keep postponing, or head out in roughly 6-7 knots of wind with more rain expected in about two hours. The fleet elected to call it a weekend, so we packed up and got ready for awards.
David Waiting claimed his third overall title in ILCA 7, while Bill Symes won the ILCA 6 fleet in his first appearance at the event. Deniz Cirivello won three of the four ILCA 6 races and repeated as the top woman.
Thank you to everyone who made the trip, to Rick Klein and the race committee for working through a difficult course setup and shifting conditions, to the safety crews, and to Alain and everyone who helped with the food and social side. It takes a lot of people to put this weekend together, and I appreciate all the work that went into it.
PICTURES | RESULTS | EVENT WEBSITE | VIDEO
2026 FBYC Melges 15 Friday Night
While we were preparing for the Chesapeake Bay ILCA Masters this weekend, a few Melges 15’s were out for an evening sail in some beautiful light.
2026 Rehoboth Beach
Jess and I took a long weekend trip to Rehoboth Beach in September. We spent time on the beach, walked the boardwalk and visited Cape Henlopen State Park. I also got some biking in along the trails in the park and the Junction & Breakwater trail.
2026 Stingray Point Regatta
The Stingray Point Regatta is Fishing Bay Yacht Club’s annual Labor Day weekend event for PHRF boats. The regatta includes a distance race on Friday, two days of buoy racing on Saturday and Sunday, and a dinner, band, and party on Saturday night.
This year I sailed in the PHRF-B fleet aboard Gabrielle, a J/29 recently purchased by Bill Kitchens. It was my first time sailing on a J/29. Our crew included Bill, Bruce, Paul, and me, with Andrew joining us on Saturday and Rich working the bow on Sunday.
We were learning the boat and how to work together as the weekend progressed. Most of our maneuvers left some room for improvement, but nothing major went wrong or broke. We simply weren’t always as quick getting through the maneuvers as we needed to be. Bill did a good job keeping the boat pointed in the right direction and moving while the rest of us figured out how everything worked.
Our fleet included five other boats, with the Trip 27 Goin’ and the B25 TBD setting the pace. Saturday brought comfortable conditions, with winds in the low teens and storms moving through during the middle of the afternoon. We completed two races before the storms arrived and finished third in both.
Sunday was mostly sunny, with winds in the mid-teens. We sailed three more races, finishing fourth in the first and third in the remaining two. At times we were able to close the gap on the boats ahead of us, but we couldn’t quite put together a complete race without losing some of that ground again.
It was a good weekend of racing and a valuable opportunity to learn a new boat. By the end of Sunday, we had a better understanding of the J/29 and how to sail it together, even if there was still plenty of room to improve.
2026 FBYC ILCA Summer Regatta
The Fishing Bay Yacht Club ILCA Summer Regatta gave us a day of very light air racing in Godfrey Bay. The sea breeze never quite made it in, so finding a patch of wind – and keeping the boat moving through the lulls – was the challenge.
I also tried out a new stern mount for my action camera. Here are a few views from the day.
2026 ILCA Great Lakes Masters Regatta
Friday
I made the trip to Erie, Pennsylvania for a weekend of ILCA masters racing at Erie Yacht Club. I arrived just after noon on Friday, unloaded the boat, rigged, and headed out to see what Lake Erie had to offer before racing began.
There wasn’t much wind in the bay, but the larger boats out sailing looked to be moving, so I sailed down the bay and through the cut into the lake. About an hour later I reached open water where the breeze was a little better, giving me another hour of worthwhile practice before turning back.
By then the wind had faded again. The evening parade of powerboats heading home for dinner turned the cut into a washing machine, and without much breeze it became a slow battle just to make progress. I eventually made it through and continued drifting back toward the yacht club in almost no wind. I probably would have made it eventually, but Gavin came out in a powerboat and spared me the last part of the journey with a tow back to the dock.
Saturday
Saturday brought the first day of racing with 30 boats entered. The forecast wasn’t especially promising, and after everyone rigged we spent about an hour and a half postponed ashore waiting for enough wind to fill across Presque Isle Bay. Eventually a light northerly settled in, we launched down the single-lane ramp, and headed to the race course.
The first race was about as light as they come. I won the pin-end start and worked left, but the pressure never materialized where I expected it. By the time I crossed back, the left side had finally filled and I had dug myself a deep hole. The race was long, slow, and eventually shortened, and I held position to finish 16th.
By the second race the breeze had built into the 5-8 knot range. It was still light, but it was at least becoming a sailing race instead of a guessing contest. I again started well at the pin and worked left before finding myself farther back than I wanted around the first mark. The downwind leg was respectable, but the biggest improvement came on the second beat. With steadier pressure I could simply focus on boat speed instead of chasing every puff, and the boat felt great upwind. I picked off five boats on that leg and climbed to ninth.
The final race Saturday featured another solid start, this time from the middle of the line. I rounded the first mark around 12th or 13th and continued to feel fast upwind. After a course change on the second beat, I found good pressure on the right side and picked up a couple more boats to finish eighth.
Sunday
Sunday greeted us with more breeze, generally in the upper single digits to low teens, and three more races.
The first race of the day was my strongest of the weekend. I had an excellent start near the pin and rounded the first mark in the top five after keeping the maneuvers to a minimum and focusing on staying in phase. A crowded downwind leg cost me a couple of places, and another boat squeezed by at the final leeward mark to leave me with another eighth-place finish. Even so, it was satisfying to spend most of the race mixing it up near the front of the fleet.
The next race was another lesson in staying patient. The right side paid early, leaving me around 15th at the first mark, but I found some nice shifts on the second beat as the breeze began to soften again. Picking through the fleet, I worked back to an 11th-place finish.
With one race left, the overcast skies continued to threaten without ever delivering rain, and we still had enough wind for one more good race.
For the final start I committed to the boat end, but in trying to hold a couple of boats out I stalled myself and watched the fleet sail away. After tacking immediately to the right, I focused on keeping the boat moving, minimizing maneuvers, and looking for pressure rather than chasing every shift. That patience paid off on the second beat when a left shift and stronger pressure allowed me to pass at least ten boats and climb back into the top ten, finishing tenth after what looked like a very difficult opening lap.
Considering the forecast, the weekend turned out far better than expected. Aside from the closing part of the first race, we had enough breeze to complete a full six-race series and enjoy some competitive sailing.
A big thank you to Gavin and Holli for organizing another great event. Erie Yacht Club put together an enjoyable regatta, and it was well worth the trip to Lake Erie.
Bike Riding on the Way to Erie
On my way to a weekend regatta in Erie, Pennsylvania, I added a couple of days to the trip to explore several rail trails and other interesting riding areas in Pennsylvania and New York.
After work on Wednesday, I drove to Breezewood, Pennsylvania, to position myself for an early start the next morning.
Thursday began at 6:00 a.m. with a ride on the abandoned section of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. About eight miles of the original turnpike, abandoned when the highway was rerouted in 1968, has been converted into a bike path. I only saw one other person on the ride in and had the trail to myself for the remainder of the morning. I was surprised by how much of the original road markings and guardrails were still in place after nearly 60 years. The tunnels were in good condition and well swept. The surface is better suited for a gravel bike than a road bike, and it made for a unique place to ride.
After returning to the hotel, I showered, took a short nap, and then drove to Oil Creek State Park.
I parked at the southern end of the park and followed the rail trail north into Titusville before taking a partially gravel road back into the park. That section included several long climbs and descents, making it the most physically demanding ride of the day. Along the route I caught what I believe was the back half of a bear crossing the road in the distance. Eventually I rejoined the rail trail and returned to my starting point. Before finishing for the day, I rode a nearby hill with grades of about 12% on the climb and 11% on the return. After a full day of riding, it probably wasn’t the smartest addition to the route.
Once finished, I packed the bike, changed clothes, and drove to Mayville, New York, for the night.
Friday morning started on the Webb Nature Trail, part of the Chautauqua Rail Trail system. The trail began with a well-maintained gravel surface before becoming muddier and grass-covered in the middle section, then improved again approaching Sherman. It was slower going than the previous day’s rides because of the changing conditions. On the return trip, I rode through Chautauqua Gorge Park before making my way back to Mayville. With some time left before heading out, I picked up another section of the Chautauqua Rail Trail on the opposite side of town and rode about a half mile before turning around.
Back at the hotel, I washed the bike, showered, checked out, and made the short drive to Erie for the weekend’s sailing regatta.
2026 Islander Regatta
The Islander Regatta had been on my radar for a few years, and I finally had the opportunity to participate. The regatta is a human-powered circumnavigation of Gwynn’s Island in Mathews, Virginia. I frequently sail and paddle around Gwynn’s Island, but making it all the way around in a small sailboat or on a paddleboard is usually a little farther than I’d want to do on my own. Doing it as part of an organized event made it a great opportunity.
The event started from the Islander Hotel at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday. The hotel is another place I’ve passed countless times by both road and water but had never visited. It operated until 2003, when it was heavily damaged by a hurricane. The building and surrounding property have seen only occasional use since then.
Around 80 participants launched from the beach in a variety of human-powered boats, including sea kayaks, recreational kayaks, paddleboards, rowing shells, and other craft, all setting off on the counterclockwise trip around the island.
After leaving the beach, we rounded the hotel property and entered the channel leading toward the bridge. Once under the bridge, we headed into Milford Haven on the west side of the island. As the water opened up approaching Hole in the Wall, the wind increased and the longer fetch built up small waves that struck from the side. That meant a lot of paddling on the left side to compensate for the wind and waves.
At the southern end of Gwynn’s Island, participants had a choice. Some elected to portage across the beach, cutting about a mile and a half from the route. Roughly a quarter of the boats, including mine, continued around the entire island without taking the shortcut.
Once we reached the eastern side of the island and entered the Chesapeake Bay, the shoreline provided more protection from the waves, and the wind eased considerably, especially along the stretches lined with trees and houses.
At the mouth of the Piankatank River, we turned west into the wind for the final leg of the trip. The last 2½ miles back through Hills Bay to the Islander required paddling into a light headwind and small waves before returning to the finish.