WLIS Sailors Go on the Road (and other updates)
Dear sailors and friends,
Over the past month, our community has enjoyed a plethora of yachting activities. Some of us competed in Larchmont Race Week. Others were up in Newport enjoying NYYC Race Week. Some of us are still working on getting our boat back from Bermuda, or fixing boats that have returned from Bermuda. And yet others are planning for this week's regattas—the Around Long Island Regatta and, for at least one of us, the Newport YC Solo/Twin up in Newport.
Here are some other updates on what’s been going on with LIS shorthanded sailing these past few weeks. This email summarizes:
1. The Bermuda Shorthanded Return Race
2. Autopilot redundancy and energy independence: key components of the shorthanders’ tool kit
3. The recent Newport YC Offshore 160
4. The upcoming Around Long Island Regatta
5. The Shorthanded Series Trophy Leaderboard
1. Bermuda Shorthanded Return Race
After the N2B prize giving on June 27, a group of 13 doubleheaders and 2 single handers turned and burned the next day, racing back to Newport, including a few locals: Peter Becker on the J/105, Young American, Michael Kohler on the J/99, Eventyr, Nick Nilsen sailing Connie Baris’ J/122, Direwolf, Dick West on his J/120, Charlotte, and NEKA Sailing’s Fig2, Groupe 5, sailed by a Canadian team.
Peter Becker—sailing with son, Key—came out on top: 1st in DH2 and 2nd overall. Michael Kohler finished a respectable 4th in DH2 and 6th overall, followed by Nick Nilsen in 5th in DH2 and 7th overall. Dick West unfortunately experienced AP issues and was forced to return to Bermuda after the start.
Congrats to the group! Full results here.
2. A comment on Autopilots: Redundancy and Energy Independence
I’ve heard more than a few stories recently about autopilots not working, or not working effectively. To me, this is the single most important piece of kit on the boat (other than the skipper himself or herself).
For offshore (and even inshore) shorthanding—especially singlehanding—confidence in your AP is crucial, and redundancy in AP capabilities is key. This, of course, comes at a cost, and there are multiple options to create redundancy. Since I started racing in the Bermuda 1-2 in 2019 (solo from NPT—>BDA, double handed back), my two key areas of upgrades (setting aside sails) have been AP redundancy and energy independence. In 2023, I suffered mechanical AP damage. The pin holding the AP to the tiller arm attached to the rudder stock sheared and I had no replacements. In 2025, I raced with a 2nd ram (and multiple spare pins). Rather than installing the 2nd ram permanently, which would have required a lot of infrastructure, I converted the electrical connections between the ram and boat to a single quick-connect harness. If I had a mechanical issue with ram 1, I could easily swap in ram 2.
In 2027, I’ll be racing the Bermuda 1-2 with a 2nd, independent AP computer system. Earlier this year, I upgraded my Simrad NAC-3 AP to a B&G H5000 Sail Pilot. Over the winter, I’ll reinstall the NAC-3, but on an independent N2K network that will include the AP computer, a second rudder feedback unit, and a B&G ZG100 GPS unit. If my first computer fails, I’ll simply power it down, power up the 2nd system, and will be able to keep going. If lightning takes out the whole working system, the independently wired 2nd system MAY survive. And if it’s just an AP computer issue, I’ll have essential functionality with the 2nd computer. But because the 2nd computer won’t be connected to the rest of the boat’s systems, I’m limited in that I can sail only by magnetic heading, not by wind angle.
Still, this setup will get me to “a destination.” Rich du Moulin once said to me, “You don’t have to reach your destination. But you have to reach a destination.” That concept has stuck with me.
Beyond AP redundancy, I’ve also sought to make sure I have enough power on board so that I can run the AP as heavy as I need to given the conditions, and have enough energy independence so that I don’t need to rely excessively on the main engine for charging. A few years ago, I installed a full Victron Energy lithium setup—2x 200 Ah smart lithium batteries, Lynx BMS, and 440W of Solbian walkable solar panels. I upgraded the engine to a serpentine belt and an ElectroMaax 140A alternator.
In the 2025 race, returning from Bermuda, I needed to charge only twice (for about 1.5 hours each). With 400 Ah of Victron lithium, 440W of solar, and a 140A ElectroMaax alternator, I’ve been able to reduce my engine’s growling time, which is important for safety, and also sanity—the sound of the engine really throws off the zen you can achieve by immersing yourself in the cacophony of the ocean. Based on my post-race analysis of my charging history (using Expedition log files, btw), I’m confident that, by changing my charging profile (e.g., taking batteries down to 20-30% and then charging to 85-90%), I can significantly reduce total charging time.
Others like Marcus Wunderlich aboard his SF3300, Stratos, or Mike Hennessy aboard his Class40, Scowling Dragon, accomplish this through the use of an EFOY fuel cell, which uses methanol cartridges and a silent “generator” to charge the batteries. The system is both light and effective—ensuring that the boat is not reliant on the main engine for charging.
My goal is to eventually race to Bermuda and back without ever running the main engine to charge.
Btw, for any support on AP systems, reach out to the Udells (Jonathan and Jeff) at
Custom Offshore. And for energy, Ocean Planet Energy. I’ve worked with the Udells for years. And OPE helped me sketch out my Victron system—I continuously turn to OPE for my energy needs.
3. Newport Yacht Club’s Offshore 160
Last weekend (July 10-12), three of us—Marcus Wunderlich, Thomas Sa, and me—raced in the Offshore 160, a 160-mile solo race out of Narragansett Bay that also serves as a qualifier for the Bermuda 1-2. For this year’s race, we sailed west of BI, then south to round a couple of virtual marks before heading back to Point Judith with a finish at R2 just off Castle Hill.
I enjoy this race for a few reasons: First, when you race a Newport YC event, you get member dockage rates. $4/foot for a slip in Newport Harbor in July can’t be beat. Second, it’s amazing solo practice, and a great opportunity to test and refine solo sail handling procedures, safety awareness, and other solo offshore fundamentals, like polyphasic napping. And third, I love racing against the Newport-area shorthanders. They’re all such great sailors, and it was fun to line up against another Fig2, Sunfast 3300, and Class 40. Even after Marcus, Thomas, and I brought LIS summer conditions to this Newport Race, the Newporters stomped us.
The LIS shorthanders came in 3rd, 4th, and 5th. Thomas Sa on his Quest 30, Unbreakable, finished 3rd. I finished 4th on my J/120, Abilyn, and Marcus finished 5th on Stratos.
For this race, we sailed out of Narragansett Bay in variable, upwind conditions, connecting our way out of the bay until Castle Hill, where we all stopped dead in our tracks. The breeze filled in from the west. The entire fleet (except me) was positioned to pick up that breeze, as they were hugging the RI shore. But me—I took a flyer. I caught a little bit of wind to the east and continued riding it to the east with a plan to tack back. I never got that opportunity because I landed in a hole, and could do nothing except watch the fleet rip by me to the west in 10-15 knots of new breeze. Here’s a fun video of that experience. Rule #1 of sailboat racing: Don’t go chasing waterfalls (or zephyrs breeze when it takes you away from the new breeze that you know will be more consistent).
Once that new breeze filled in from the west, it was a beautiful sail down the west coast of Block Island. I sailed under C0 and GS while Marcus and Thomas sailed with reaching kites as much as possible.
The bottom mark was essentially a restart. We all rounded the first virtual mark at 0000. But we didn’t get to the second virtual mark (only 17 miles away) until about 0600-0700. I was so exhausted from trying to keep the boat moving in the right direction, that I took a nap at around 0200 and didn’t wake up until 0500 (having forgotten to set my alarm)! Sleep deprivation indeed has a direct result on decision making and discipline.
From the 2nd virtual mark, it was a drag race back to Point Judith and into the barn. I nearly caught up to the front pack after losing out between the two virtual marks. But in the end, Thomas stayed close on his Quest 30 and corrected over me for the last of the podium positions. Full results here.
It was a fun travel event and great to have WLIS/NYC and Newport sailors racing together outside of the Bermuda races.
4. Upcoming: Around Long Island Regatta
Next up on the local calendar is the 49th annual Around Long Island Regatta, which begins this Thursday at 1300. Five boats are signed up in the DH class. But the two boats I’m going to map to AIS in Expedition are Todd Aven’s J/99, Thin Man, and Walther van Stipriaan’s Tartan 33, Halve Maen. I bested Todd in the 2023 regatta, but Todd has gotten too many jumps on me since then, including by beating me in the Block Island Race earlier this year. Todd isn’t gonna sleep. So neither am I. We’re both going to claw after every mile and it’s going to be a hard-fought race, regardless of who wins. And that’s why we both keep coming back.
The same goes for Walther. That Tartan 33 doesn’t quit. And if you’re ahead but not maximizing VMC to the finish, you best believe that Walther is going to make up distance. And with a 156 PHRF rating in a ToD PHRF race where the course is 207 miles, Walther need only finish within 6 hours, 43 minutes, and 39 seconds to correct over me. In a race where there is certainly going to be some drifting (C’mon…this is LIS in July!), this is not insurmountable.
5. Updated SST Live Leaderboard
The Shorthanded Series Trophy live leaderboard has been updated to reflect our competitors’ recent regattas. See link here.
Both Todd and I are close to qualifying. We both need 2 more starts (to get to the 6-total-starts threshold). Todd needs one more local regatta (less than 100 nm in length) to qualify. I need 2 more local starts. Neither of us will be getting those 2 local starts with the ALIR or even the Vineyard Race. We’ll need to wait for the late-season shorter races (e.g., LHYC Stratford Shoal (Aug. 22), SCYC’s Haustblót Shorthanded Regatta (HSR) (Sept. 19), IHYC’s Gearbuster (Oct. 10), and LYC’s Bitter Ender (Oct. 17)). See Shorthanded Regattas schedule here.
See you out on the water.
Josh