Golden Father/Son Duo Win 2026 J/70 North American Championship

Cutler Claims Corinthian Title. Annapolis Yacht Club Members Sweep.
(Annapolis, MD)- The Annapolis Yacht Club hosted the J/70 North American Championship over the four-day Halloween weekend. Fifty-four boats from seven countries (USA, Brazil, Spain, Sweden, Great Britain, Bermuda, and Canada) completed eight races during the first three days. The final day was canceled after the massive high-pressure system to the north that had produced three idyllic days of racing on the Chesapeake Bay finally ran out of gas.

Annapolis native James Golden won aboard SAGARA, sailing alongside his father, Jim Golden, Willem van Waay and Steve Hunt. Alec Cutler’s HEDGEHOG claimed the Corinthian title, Sandy Askew’s TANGERINE won the Mixed-Plus and One-Pro divisions, and Jennifer Hutchinson on ELLIE earned Top Woman Helm honors. All four are Annapolis Yacht Club members, giving the host club plenty to celebrate as it prepares to welcome the J/70 World Championship Oct. 23-30, 2027. Here is how it all went down over the long Halloween weekend.

Day 1
Paul Green’s PROGRESS got off to a strong start on Thursday, winning two of three races to take the lead in the regatta. The local team held a five-point advantage after the opening day. Sailing on the Chesapeake Bay under mostly sunny skies and warm fall temperatures, the fleet waited through an onshore postponement before conditions settled into a 6-8 knot breeze. The fleet completed three races, with the Chesapeake current adding another layer of strategy to an already competitive day.

Green’s PROGRESS opened with a race win, followed by a 12th-place finish, before closing the day with another victory. Spain’s Luis Albert on PATAKIN sat second overall with 19 points (5-8-6), while Brian Keane’s SAVASNA (USA) was third with 24 points (7-2-15).

Race winners reflected the Championship’s international depth. Brazil’s Bruno Bethlem and ARETE finished second behind PROGRESS in Race 1, followed by Per Roman’s GARM. Haroldo Solberg’s OCEANPACT (BRA) won Race 2, with SAVASNA second and Bruno Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE (USA) third. PROGRESS returned to the top in Race 3, ahead of Renato Faria’s TÔ NESSA (BRA) and Richard Witzel’s Rowdy (USA). In the Corinthian division, Alec Cutler’s HEDGEHOG (BER) was leading the charge.

Day 2
A picture-perfect day on the Bay greeted the fleet. Following Thursday’s light-air opening with three races, Friday delivered a fresh change of pace, with bright sunshine, warm temperatures and a steady 8-14 knot breeze providing ideal conditions for another three races. With six races now completed and the discard coming into play, the leaderboard had begun to take shape.

Brazil’s Haroldo Solberg and his World-Champion OCEANPACT team moved into the overall lead with 24 points, posting an impressive 1-7-11-1-4 series after discarding a 22nd-place finish. Just one point behind was James Golden’s local SAGARA (USA) team with 25 points, while Al Minella’s LEVEL 5 (USA) moved into third with 36 points.

The Corinthian division, featuring more than 20 teams, continued to be led by Corinthian World Champion Alec Cutler’s HEDGEHOG (BER). Ryan Cox’s DJ and Adam Burns’ WHAT NOWAAAYY were next in the standings. In the Mixed-Plus division, Sandy Askew’s TANGERINE held the lead.

Arthur Edwards’ WICKED (USA) opened the day with a Race 4 victory, followed by Golden’s SAGARA and Sweden’s Filip Engelbert aboard ELVIS. Solberg’s OCEANPACT took Race 5 honors, ahead of LEVEL 5 and Brazil’s Bruno Bethlem on ARETE. Brian Keane’s SAVASANA (USA) closed out the day with a Race 6 win, followed by Bruce Golison’s MIDLIFE CRISIS (USA) and SAGARA.

Day 3- HALLOWEEN!!
Halloween brought a spirited day of racing to the fleet on Saturday. Under bright sunshine, beautiful fall temperatures, and a 7-15 knot breeze that gradually faded, the fleet completed two more races on the Chesapeake, bringing the total to eight.

Annapolis Yacht Club’s own James Golden and SAGARA (USA) made the biggest move of the day, taking over the overall lead with 33 points. Golden posted a 7-1 in Saturday’s races to edge ahead of Solberg’s OCEANPACT, who were now second overall with 35 points. Sweden’s Per Roman and GARM held third with 45 points.

Saturday’s race winners included Arthur Edwards’ WICKED (USA), who took Race 7 ahead of John Heaton’s EMPEIRIA (USA) and Pasquinelli’s STAMPEDE (USA). In Race 8, Golden’s SAGARA claimed the top spot, followed by Solberg’s OCEANPACT and Ralph Rosa’s MINDSET (BRA).

The Corinthian division continued to deliver close competition, with Cutler’s HEDGEHOG (BER), Ryan Cox’s DJ (USA), and Adam Burns’ WHAT NOOWAAAYY (USA) occupying the top three positions. In the Mixed-Plus division, Sandy Askew’s TANGERINE maintained its lead.

After racing, competitors traded their sailing gear for Halloween festivities at the Sailing Center, capping off a superb day on and off the water.

Day 4
Sunday morning dawned bright, clear, and beautiful, but no wind. After a brief sojourn out to the Bay to try for an early 10:00 AM start, the Annapolis YC’s RC/PRO team wisely called it a day and sent everyone home. Saturday’s results stood for the championship.

Golden’s Homecoming Championship
At 24, James Golden has spent half his life racing J/70s.

His father bought one of the earliest boats in 2012, introducing James to a class in which he would win two Youth National Championships and a U.S. National Championship as crew. Now he’s a North American Champion at the helm, racing alongside his father.

“It’s good to be home, being fed by my mom, racing with my dad, being with my dog,” Golden said. “It all came together beautifully.”

Golden grew up racing on the Chesapeake Bay before moving to San Diego last year, where he teamed up with world champion sailors Willem van Waay and Steve Hunt. His father completed the new SAGARA crew.

“We’re a new team and couldn’t be happier to come away with first place and the North American title,” Golden said. “We had just the right package with the right team.”

The victory came against an exceptionally competitive fleet, including reigning World Champion Haroldo Solberg’s OCEANPACT of Brazil, fresh from winning the 2026 Worlds in Cascais, Portugal.

After Friday’s racing, OCEANPACT led SAGARA by one point. But Saturday belonged to Golden’s team.

A seventh-place finish, followed by a victory in Race 8, moved SAGARA into the lead with 33 points, two ahead of OCEANPACT. Sweden’s Per Roman and GARM completed the podium with 45 points.

Golden credited steady improvements in boat handling, communication and speed.

“We got a lot better each day with our boat handling. We made a lot of small changes to gain a little boat speed. I think that really helped us on the third day of the regatta.”

For a young sailor whose J/70 career began on these waters, winning the North American Championship with his father was a fitting homecoming. Next fall, Golden and his new team will have another opportunity to race against the world’s best when the World Championship returns to Annapolis.

Cutler’s HEDGEHOG Adds Another Corinthian Title
Alec Cutler continues to build one of the most impressive programs in the J/70 Class.

Two consecutive Corinthian World Championships in 2025 and 2026. Three straight Corinthian Midwinter titles. Now the North American Championship.

And HEDGEHOG is doing it with a group of Navy buddies.

Cutler races with Keith Davids, Brad Rodi and Charles “Pooch” Pucciariello. All four attended the U.S. Naval Academy, where their shared sailing experiences and Navy backgrounds helped build friendships that continue today.

Cutler and Rodi served as surface warfare officers, while Pucciariello was an F-14 naval aviator. Davids retired as a Navy rear admiral after a 34-year career that included commanding Naval Special Warfare Command, which oversees the Navy SEALs, and serving as director of the White House Military Office.

Ironically, sailing brought Davids into the Navy.

“I knew nothing about the Navy,” he recalled, when he was recruited for the Academy’s sailing team.

His military career kept him away from competitive sailing for years at a time. Now retired, he’s back. As Hedgehog’s tactician, he’s already helping the team win world and continental Corinthian titles.

“We already have high trust because we’re friends. We speak the same language,” Davids said.

For Cutler, this championship was an opportunity to improve the team’s communication.

“We really focused on our communication and letting Keith get us around the course,” he said. “I think we all did a better job than we have in the past at giving him the information he needs.”

“It was a really good process regatta for us, and the result wasn’t bad either.”

An Annapolis Yacht Club member, Cutler laughed about the perceived home-water advantage enjoyed by the former Naval Academy sailors.

“We never went out past the Spider Buoy. So anything out of the Severn is new territory for us.”

Former HEDGEHOG teammate Ryan Cox, the 2026 U.S. Corinthian National Champion, finished second in the division aboard his own DJ. Six Naval Academy graduates competed across the top two Corinthian teams.

“This is a Corinthian team. We all have day jobs, or Keith’s a stay-at-home dad now that he retired from the Navy,” Cutler joked.

Their success reflects the value of friendship, teamwork, enjoyment in the process, and a shared commitment to improving together.

Askew and Hutchinson Add to Annapolis Yacht Club’s Success
Longtime Melges 24 competitor Sandy Askew made an impressive entrance into the J/70 fleet, winning both the Mixed-Plus and One-Pro divisions aboard TANGERINE.

Askew raced alongside her daughter Olivia Askew, Robert Greenhalgh, Drew Barnes, and Hannah Morris. Their success added another family story to a championship featuring sailors of different generations, backgrounds, and experience levels.

Fellow Annapolis Yacht Club member Jennifer Hutchinson earned Top Woman Helm honors aboard ELLIE, racing with a team that included her husband, America’s Cup veteran and World Champion Terry Hutchinson.

The results demonstrated the breadth of J/70 competition, where family teams, Corinthians, Olympic medalists and professional programs all share the same starting line.

Annapolis Delivers Ahead of the 2027 Worlds
The North American Championship gave international competitors an important preview of the racecourse, hospitality and organization awaiting them at next year’s World Championship.

The racing offered plenty of variety. Thursday’s light southerly arrived after a two-hour postponement, allowing Principal Race Officer Sandy Grosvenor and her team to complete three races. Friday brought sunny skies and 8-14 knots, while Saturday delivered two distinctly different races in 10-15 knots followed by 5-10 knots. Sunday’s light air prohibited racing.

VAKAROS RaceSense technology supported efficient race management throughout the event.

The racing was matched by an exceptionally well-organized championship ashore, the product of extensive planning and collaboration between Annapolis Yacht Club and the J/70 Class. From boat arrivals, launching and registration to daily communications, media, hospitality and awards, the organizing team delivered a first-class competitor experience.

Co-Regatta Chairs Allan Terhune and Whitney Kent led the local effort, supported by AYC staff, race officials, volunteers, sponsors and the J/70 Class.

At Sunday’s awards ceremony, Annapolis Yacht Club’s Linda Ambrose and Megs Bryant, Principal Race Officer Sandy Grosvenor, and the J/70 Class’s Julie Howell and Hannah Lee Noll received special recognition for their contributions to the championship.

Ashore, the atmosphere was equally memorable. Competitors returned from racing to food, signature cocktails, beer, packed social gatherings, and spectacular fall sunsets over the Chesapeake Bay. North Sails supported the event with morning weather briefings and post-racing debriefs, sharing valuable local knowledge with the fleet.

Annapolis Yacht Club’s history with the J/70 Class goes back to 2013, when it hosted the first North American Championship with 90 boats. More than a decade later, the class has developed into a truly international one-design community, with championships spanning North America, Europe, South America and beyond.

The 2026 championship was a valuable rehearsal for the 2027 Worlds. This week’s organization, hospitality, and on-water race management laid a strong foundation for welcoming the international fleet back to Annapolis.

Sailing photo credits: Hannah Lee Noll

Follow VAKAROS RaceSense tracking and analysis of every race here:
https://racesense.vakaros.com/watch/Qn47enc7fKR7Th1Qj1ZI/J70?live=true

For more J/70 North American Championship sailing information
https://www.yachtscoring.com/emenu/50576

For more Annapolis Yacht Club information
https://www.annapolisyc.com/