It was a spectacular summer weekend for ocean racing at the 51st annual Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club Regatta & Shipyard Cup Classics Challenge, July 19-20.   Sixty sailing yachts registered to compete, coming from all over Maine and New England, and even Maryland and Virginia. The competition, along two race coursesamong Boothbay Harbor’s inner and outer islands, saw everything from majestic classic yachts to One-Design and day sailors, vying for line honors in what has become one of Maine’s premier sailing regattas. 

Saturday’s breezes quickly filled in from the Southwest to a nice 15 knots, while Sunday’s breeze started with a bang at over 20 knots!  A low tide mid-day made for changing current conditions in the harbor, along with the required tactical considerations.  Sunday’s windy conditions developed into thunderstorms, which resulted in abandonment of the second race for the safety of all participants. 

The PRO’s (Principal Race Officers) were Hank Stuart and Liz Rettenmaier. They were assisted by over 40 volunteers, both on and off the water, coordinating everything from Race Committee personnel and boats, to registration, protest committees, and the renowned after-race party.   

As customary, the after-race reception was held on the docks at Bristol Marine’s Samples Shipyard, with a delicious meal and raw bar catered by Mine Oyster restaurant. The entertaining atmosphere on the docks was enhanced by the music of the Murky Water Band, with the brig Niagara on one side of the docks and her enormous masts fencing off the other side of the dining area. 

To recap the racing action, the Viper 640 class saw their 2025 New England Championship hosted at the BHYC Regatta, with 14 Vipers registering to compete in the 6-race series. The Viper 640 is a 21-foot, 2 to 4-person, high-performance, planing sport boat.  The winner this year, in a repeat performance of 2024, was “E+A2” skippered by Henry Amthor of Hampton, Virginia.   

The Vintage / Classics / Sprit of Tradition class saw close racing among several majestic yachts.  BLACK WATCH, a 68’ Sparkman and Stephens design yawl, was built in 1938 by the Henry B Nevins yard for Rudy Schaefer of the Schaefer Brewing Company. During World War II, she served the US Navy as part of the civilian Corsair Fleet, and received a battle flag for scaring off enemy submarines. Now affiliated with New York Yacht Club in Newport, RI, BLACK WATCH was skippered by Joe Robillard and capably handled by sixteen – that’s right - 16additional crew members! BLACK WATCH edged out our local favorite 12-meter GLEAM, in a 3-race series, and went on to wrap up the overall Shipyard Cup perpetual trophy as well. 

The Classic Daysailers division saw competition from three beautifully maintained boats, a Spitsgatter LUCY, a Camden Class Sloop PONYO, and a Buzzards Bay 18 UNCAS.  Newcomer LUCY, skippered by Joyce Jones of Round Pond, was the winner, posting two firsts followed by a 2nd place. 

The Boothbay Harbor One-Design or BHOD, is a local one-design favorite, and six BHOD’s competed in the regatta.   Local resident Eben Wilson took first place in new-to-him yacht CHARISMA, while your regatta co-chairs Charlie Willauer and Peter Neidhardt were happy to place second in MUMTAZ. 

In the PHRF spinnaker class, competition was fierce among 14 yachts in two divisions.  Among the larger/faster boats in Racing 1, Brent Sullivan’s KAOS, a Farr 30, took the honors after sweeping all 3 races.  In Racing 2, we saw J/80 “GHO2T” skippered by Ken Colburn take 1st place, also sweeping all 3 races! 

Among the boats not flying spinnakers, “SWEPT AWAY’, a Sabre 362 belonging tolocal resident and past BHYC Commodore Bob Scribner was victorious in a close tie-breaker with Rockland resident Jeff Hamilton in his J/46 “MEME CHUM”.  The second Cruising division honors went to Person 34 “IMAGINE” sailed by Randy Rice of Harraseeket Yacht Club in Freeport.  Finally, we had a “Casual Cruising” division for sailors who haven’t pursued the rigors of obtaining a PHRF rating certificate but still want to have fun and learn. This division was won by BHYC Waterfront director Alex Maurer, sailing in an Ensign “MARGAREE”. 

The BHYC Regatta would not be possible without the hard work of a staff of volunteers, and the generous support of our Sponsors.   This year our Admiral level sponsors were Bristol Marine and Hodgdon Yachts.   Their support and partnerships were amazing.  Our Captain level sponsors included Bangor Saving Bank, Boothbay Harbor Country Club, Carousel Marina, Charleston Tours & Events, AGA Correa & Son, J. Edward Knight, Portland Ship Yard, Robinson’s Wharf, and Water Street Kitchen and Bar. Boothbay Register and Maine Boats Homes & Harbors provided generous media sponsorship. Many other sponsors offered their financial support and are listed at https://www.boothbayregatta.com/event-sponsors  Professional photo coverage of the 2025 and past Regattas may be found in the photo gallery on our website at https://www.boothbayregatta.com/