2026 ROLEX Big Boat Series Results: J/Boats Dominate San Francisco Bay
(San Francisco, CA)- The premier racing event on San Francisco Bay since 1964 delivered another legendary experience for sailors: epic conditions over four days of racing, dynamic race courses managed by a world-class race committee, and memorable post-racing parties hosted by St. Francis Yacht Club!
Without a doubt, it was a “J/Day” for the de facto J/Team domination of the three ORC handicap classes. The outcome was not altogether surprising considering that 46 J/Boats dominated the field of 74 offshore keelboats- J/Boats was by far the dominant brand in the regatta with 62.0% of the fleet- a “de facto J/Fest” celebration on San Francisco Bay! Plus, the huge J/105 one-design class had a few epic battles, while the hot J/88 class saw veterans pounding the race track hard each day! Here’s how it all went down between the various fleets.
J/105 Class
The J/105 class had thirty boats pointing their bows across the line, and many battles unfolded around the race track, as they blasted through big seas and big winds to determine the supreme leaders of the hot SF Bay 105 fleet!
Not surprisingly, the Russ Silvestri-guided NIUHI, skippered by Randy Hecht, dominated the proceedings over the four-day, ten-race series. The NIUHI crew finished with 49 pts total, winning only two races, a testament to their remarkable consistency. Taking the silver medal was one of NIUHI’s chief competitors, Tim Russell’s NE*NE team, posting three bullets and finishing with 53 pts total. Rounding out the podium to take the bronze medal was Harrison Turner & Scott Sellers’s BEAST OF BURDEN with 67 pts total.
The balance of the top five finished just 3-5 pts off the podium! Phil Laby’s GODOT 2.0 took fourth with 70 pts, while Ian Charles’s MAVERICK finished fifth with 72 pts.
J/88 Class
The seven-boat J/88 class saw exciting competition this year among the veteran teams. The top two teams traded off, each winning four of the ten races. Brice Dunwoodie’s RAVENETTE won by three points with 19 pts total. Tom Thayer’s SPEEDWELL took silver with 22 pts total. Then, Steve Gordon’s INCONCEIVABLE took bronze, winning the remaining two races en route to a 29 pts total.
The balance of the top five included Dave Corbin’s BUTCHER team in fourth with 36 pts and Logan Ashcraft’s HIJINKS team in fifth place with 51 pts.
ORC B Division- J/125 Domination!
The eight-boat fleet saw a complete “whitewashing,” an experience most have never seen or been treated to in their decades-long lives of racing on SF Bay. Winning with nearly straight bullets (five to be exact) was James Nichols’s beautiful silver bullet- the J/125 VELVET HAMMER. A “hammering” indeed is what the fleet got!
ORC C Division- Crushing J/Sweep I!
Like their colleagues in ORC B, the top three J/Teams in the ten-boat fleet smoked their competitors. Winning with five bullets in six races was Peter Wagner’s J/111 SKELETON KEY. They’re familiar winners on the ROLEX BBS podium, having won a few Rolex Submariner watches before! Second place went to Dave Halliwell’s J/120 PEREGRINE with 19 pts total, while third went to John Arens’s fire-engine red J/111 REVERIE with 30 pts total. Notably, fifth place went to Kevin Wilkinson’s J/112E JUBILANT.
“We were able to stay consistent and get the boat going in the right direction in these classic Big Boat Series conditions,” Wagner said. “Winning is always a really big deal. It’s a culmination of a lot of effort— over 10 years now for our SKELETON KEY program. This title and the Rolex are a great way to cap it off!!”
ORC D Division- Crushing J/Sweep II!
Following in the footsteps of their ORC C friends, four J/Teams swept the top four spots! Zach Berkowitz’s J/100 FEATHER won with a perfect scoreline of six 1sts (a previous winner, too!). Daniel Brousseau’s J/109 TANGAROA took second with six 2nds! Taking the bronze medal step was Greg Winters’s classic J/35 JARLEN with mostly 3rds for 21 pts total! Then, Bob Walden’s J/100 WOWLA finished fourth!
A heartfelt “congratulations” to all J/Teams that performed remarkably well in the challenging San Francisco Bay waters. After a cold, wet, hard day on the water, the J/sailors always have fun trading war stories with each other after their adventures on the Bay, enjoying the warmth of the always welcoming StFYC bar and party tent!
For more Rolex Big Boat Series sailing information
http://www.rolexbigboatseries.com/