J/Teams Lead Fleet for 2026 American YC Spring Regatta

ByStuart Johnstone

(Rye, NY)- The American Yacht Club Spring Regatta, taking place from May 1-3, 2026, has been the classic annual rite of passage for sailors on Long Island Sound to kick off the summer sailing season. Sailed for decades on the western end of the Sound, it has always attracted a large contingent of J/sailors from J/24s in the days of old up to J/160s. The wide range of divisions and course formats attracts a selection of J/crews looking forward to their first spring shakedown and training mission. The popular three-day format includes the Friday AYC Coastal Race (separately scored with trophies) and the weekend AYC Spring Series- two days of windward-leewards and random leg buoy racing. J/Boats are featured as the predominant brand for the regatta; of the 38 entries to date, 22 are J/Teams- about 58.0% of the fleet.

PHRF Coastal Division
As the regatta’s most popular racing format, this is the largest fleet so far, with 23 boats. Ten J/Teams are participating. Those teams include Len Sitar’s magnificent, navy-blue J/160 COUGAR, Albrecht Goethe’s fire-engine red J/46 HAMBURG II from Houston, TX, Erik Asgeirsson’s gorgeous flag-blue J/45 ACADIA, Richard West’s J/120 CHARLOTTE, Todd Aven & Todd Diffee’s J/99 THIN MAN, Kevin Marks’s J/99 VELOCITY 2, and William Ingraham’s J/124 TENEBRAE.

PHRF Coastal Non-Spin Division
This eight-boat fleet features a sextet of J/100s: Tom Boyle & Bob Clyatt’s BLUEFIN, William Hennes’s LIBERTY, John & Corinne Forster’s SALTIRE, John Ford’s GREY OWL, Scott MacVicar & Brad Parish’s RESOLUTE, and the trio of Lisi Dunlop/ Paula Schaeffer/ Giff Constable sailing VALOUR.

ORC W/L Division
This ten-boat class features Steve Losik’s J/121 HABIRU from United YC and Rick Lyall’s new J/40 performance cruiser called J-HAWK from Storm Trysail YC.

ORC Coastal Division
In this seven-boat fleet, the lone wolf will be Trevor Roach’s J/121 TOUCH OF GREY from Cedar Point YC.

J/44 Class
So far, a half-dozen of the stately 44-footers are participating, with most of the class veterans present. Those teams include Commodore Bill Ketcham’s MAXINE, Don & Dick Rave’s RESOLUTE, and June & Amanda Kendrick’s PALANTIR 5.

J/88 Class
There will be a trio of J/88s enjoying tough internecine battles with each other. Those teams are Nicolas Delcourt/s OH JEE from Larchmont YC; David Kaplan & Ray Gustin’s REDLINE from Indian Harbor YC, and Diego Sacristan’s WILD THING from American YC.

For more American YC Spring Regatta sailing information
https://yachtscoring.com/emenu/50596