LIS Shorthanded: July Update
Happy July and almost July 4. I hope everybody stays safe through the incoming heat wave. But it’s not just our climate that’s heating up. The LIS race calendar is heating up also! Here’s what’s been going on in the LIS shorthanded sailing scene and what we have to look forward to this month. The post below gives an update on:
Sponsorship,
Newport-Bermuda Race Recap,
the ongoing NYYC Bermuda Shorthanded Return Race,
local shorthanded results from this past month,
upcoming July events, and
the SST Leaderboard
Sponsorship Update
The Long Island Sound Shorthanded Sailing Society is pleased to announce that it has received support from Flagship Yacht Sales (run by local sailor and boat expert, Michael Beers), Safeharbor Glen Cove (managed by local boater and Sea Cliff YC member, Mark Friel), Lion Sailing (which is now racing a Sydney 38 on LIS), and New England Yacht Rigging (owned and operated by good friend and Bermuda 1-2 co-skipper, Kyle Wishart).
Safeharbor Glen Cove and Lion Sailing are contributing to the prize package for winner of the Shorthanded Sailing Trophy (SST). Lion Sailing will be donating a set of offshore foulies to the winning skipper and crew. And Safeharbor Glen Cove will be donating free winter storage for the winning boat. So that’s pretty cool. Read more about our sponsors on our website.
Newport-Bermuda 2026 Recap
Scoring drama aside, the LIS always makes a strong showing in N2B. This year was no different—LIS shorthanded sailors showed up!
Michael Kohler sailed his J/99, Eventyr, to a well-earned 2nd place in DH Overall. Congrats, Mike! Local sailmaker Emmett Dickheiser (UK) and Long Islander Cat Chimney sailed the J/44, Kenai, to an impressive 4th place finish in DH Overall. Finally, Peter Becker and Adrien Blanc on the J/105, Young American, came in 5th.
And, although he lives in RI, Kyle Wishart (owner of New England Yacht Rigging, my co-skipper for the Bermuda 1-2, and occasional local race DH partner) scored a 3rd overall on Artemisia, the J/40 owned by Drew Plominski.
For anybody who didn’t follow along in realtime, this year’s race had more dead air than July racing in the WLIS. After a 20-knot upwind start followed by cracked-off, blasting conditions with jib tops, Codes, triple-headed setups, and kites, boats were left south of the GS facing in all directions and lamenting how they couldn’t drop anchor, like in the Gut, to stop losing forward progress.
The southwesterly eventually filled in late Monday, which caused a traffic jam at RBYC on Tuesday that the folks who run the entrance to the Holland Tunnel on the Jersey side called “A real mess."
Congrats to everybody who found the rock!
NYYC Bermuda Shorthanded Return Race
Originally conceived by Peter Becker, the Shorthanded Return gives racers still on the high of racing to Bermuda the opportunity to race back! It’s become a staple of the N2B experience.
Eventyr, Young American, Groupe 5 (Figaro 2, NEKA Sailing), Direwolf (J/122, Constantine Baris), and Charlotte (J/120, Dick West) are taking part. As of this post, Groupe 5 has finished and is halfway down the Sound back to Glen Cove! Follow the rest of the race on YB.
Local Shorthanded Racing Last Month
While the Bermuda boats were away, a few local boats stuck around and played. Abilyn was on the hard most of the month as she desperately needed her deck painted. Local sailor and RI college student Oliver Schweiger and I knocked that out in a couple of days with Kiwi Grip and a LOT of masking tape. For anybody interested in learning more about the DIY deck-painting experience with Kiwi Grip, feel free to reach out.
In terms of racing, on June 27, a few of us (Abilyn (J/120), Thin Man (J/99), Skye (Farr 395), and Unbreakable (Quest 30)) participated in Riverside Yacht Club’s 95th Stratford Shoal Race. Prior to the race start, the HRRR called for no more than 4 knots of breeze. The actual race averaged less.
The OA smartly set the short, short course—start off R2 off Flat Neck Point to Cable & Anchor (R28c), back down to the mid-sound buoy (R32a), and back to the finish off of R2. Thin Man, Skye, and Unbreakable bunched up at the boat end during the start and took the southerly line to 28c while Abilyn took the pin end to stay closer to the CT shore. Abilyn got the jump on the fleet sailing close-hauled with G1 and GS with more breeze closer to the CT shore and a clear barrier of dead air not too far south. But the other DH boats quickly shot forward when the breeze came from behind and went far right, allowing the fleet to set kites. Abilyn was light to set a soft sail, and opted for a C0 instead of the A2 (which is cut closer to an A3, but still is more of a downwind sail).
Sir Isaac Newton could spend a lifetime investigating the anomalous physics at work on Todd Aven’s boat—that red kite works at literally every angle!!!!!
Skye rounded 28c first and sailed back down the sound under C0 and a dying breeze. The rest of the fleet drifted around 28c, with some boats missing the rounding because they got sucked east in the ebb.
The return was defined by connecting the dots, stopping and starting, and tacking to stay in whatever zephyr could be found.
Ultimately, Skye took the win—such a slippery boat. Congrats to Ty. Although Abilyn finished 2nd over the line in the DH class, Thin Man and Unbreakable were not far behind, and managed to correct over Abilyn with Thin Man taking 2nd on corrected, and Unbreakable taking 3rd. Kudos to Thomas Sa on Unbreakable for bringing his young son (less than 10 years maybe?) as his DH partner.
Upcoming Events
July is packed with shorthanded events.
2 “travel races” are taking place in Newport this month: the Offshore 160 (July 10) and New England Solo/Twin (NEST) (July 24). Abilyn, Stratos (Sunfast 3300), and Unbreakable are making the trek up to Newport for the Offshore 160—a solo race in Block Island Sound with multiple turning marks and an exclusion zone. It’s a navigator’s and Expedition power user’s playground. Run every even year, the Offshore 160 is frequently used as a qualifying race for the Bermuda 1-2. And for Bermuda 1-2 veterans, it helps us get our solo-racing fix. As of today, the solo fleet is 11 boats deep. Nice.
The NEST is a shorter shorthanded race run every year by Newport Yacht Club that offers both solo and DH classes with multiple course options (the longest being 120 nm) and multiple turning marks—a wonderful event for anybody looking to take the next step towards participating in the Bermuda 1-2.
Closer to home, we have the annual summer classic Around Long Island Regatta, which, for those who may not know, is the longest race around the longest island in the contiguous U.S. So we islanders got that going for those of us. 3 boats are currently signed up to race DH: Abilyn, Thin Man, and Halve Maen (Tartan 33). Let’s get more shorthanded boats! If you’ve never rounded Montauk Light at sunrise, you’re missing out on one of the great sailing experiences we have in the Long Island / Long Island Sound area.
And although not traditionally a shorthanded race, I’m thinking of racing solo in the July 17 Execution Rocks Race that Larchmont YC runs as part of its Race Week activities. If anybody is interested in sailing that race shorthanded—solo or DH—let me know!
SST Leaderboard
The Live Leaderboard has been updated to reflect all points earned by LIS sailors in the June races. Mike Kohler got a big bump from his 2nd place finish in N2B and is now in the points lead. But importantly, Mike doesn’t have any local starts yet. Anyone vying for the championship needs 4 starts in local races, defined as any LIS race less than nm. Todd is the closest to qualifying—needing only 1 more local start and 2 other races to qualify.
Plenty of racing left this season.
See you out on the water.
Josh