April 2026

 

April 2026 View this email in your browser

Click here for the D7 website to see the season schedule and find a fleet near you Upcoming Regattas and Announcements 2026 D7 Championship, June 13-14, Portland Yacht Club, Falmouth, ME. From Justice Pollard, PYC ILCA Fleet Captain              The Casco Bay Laser Fleet and the Portland Yacht Club, based in Falmouth, Maine, are looking forward to hosting the 2026 District 7 Championship Regatta on the weekend of June 13 - 14.              After hosting a successful District 7 Grand Prix Regatta on June 21, 2025 that drew 24 competitors, the fleet was delighted to be asked by D7 Secretary Ledyard McFadden to host the district championship this year.              We are pulling out all the stops to make sure that we are able to host an awesome event.  PRO Peter Smith from did a great job running races for the 40+ boat fleet at the Masters Atlantic Coast Championship at Kollegewidgwok YC in Blue Hill last July, and we expect to see excellent race management from him and the rest of the race committee.              The race venue offers great options for wide open courses in flat water protected by Casco Bay islands.  We are expecting that a typical sea breeze for late spring fills in, which usually brings 10 to 15 knots from the southwest.              "I'm excited for this year's ILCA District 7 Championship regatta, not only because we get to have a big ILCA event early in the season, but also because we're hosting it at the Portland Yacht Club," said Jamie Carter, a member of the regatta coordinating committee.                "PYC sits on a high bluff overlooking Casco Bay and is home to one of the largest anchorages in New England," Carter said. "Numerous islands and ledges protect the bay from big waves and swells and create excellent inshore sailing. Those same islands and the channels between them also tend to induce currents that challenge even the most experienced sailors."             "The sailing conditions in June are usually quite favorable, but it's still spring in Maine so we'll need to be prepared for anything," he added.  "It's going to be fun!" Early Spring Regattas: Atlantic Coast Masters, May 16-17, Niantic Bay YC   Niantic Bay Yacht Club is a small but active, sailing-focused club located on the Connecticut coast between the Connecticut River in Old Saybrook and the Thames River in New London. The club has developed many colligate and one design champions in classes like Lightnings, Atlantics, and 420s. The club has extensive experience in hosting regattas of classes that wish to sail at this convenient location. We’ve hosted major events for Lightnings, Atlantics, Ensign, Thistles, Sunfish, and Buccaneers. Located on the west side of Niantic Bay the club offers easy access to the race venue and with a floating ramp large enough for five boats. Launching and landing is straight forward and there’s always a beach launch option.   The ILCA fleet at NBYC is growing, and we believe that supporting class events is a way to grow interest in the fleet and this great area to sail. We also believe in supporting other clubs in sustaining interest in the class and work with the Essex Frostbite Fleet, and Duck Island Yacht Club. In September of 2025 we hosted a District 7/ILCA Grand Prix Points regatta. Conditions were light to medium but the event drew 19 boats from Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.  The ILCA North America approached NBYC to host the Masters ACCs, and the membership of NBYC have stepped up to the challenge. In May the water in the bay will be chilly but tolerable and the wind/wave conditions can vary but are typically moderate (10-15kts). Northerlies will typically bring shifty winds while the typical southerlies are steadier. Kick off your summer sailing season and join us at NBYC for a weekend of great sailing and food. Register now for this great early season event at an enthusiastic fleet  Wickford Regatta June 6-7, Wickford YC From the famous and much appreciated Skip Whyte, Regatta Chairman: Wickford Regatta 2026 Wicked Deal Registration starts on Sunday, March 1st for 20 days only. The snow is melting and it’s time to make plans. Save a few bucks and register today at www.wickfordregatta.com !   Winnipesaukee Spring Laser Regatta, June 13, Winnipesaukee YC, Gilford, NH For a second year, WYC will be hosting a laser regatta. We a so excited to have this NH race become a part of D7's calendar. For more information, contact jarabinowitz@gmail.com  North American Masters, July 17-19, Hyannis YC, Hyannis, MA Okay, this is not an early season regatta but I want to get the word out there as this is a major national event every D7 master should consider.  From Sarah Yuskaitis at HYC: HYC is hosting ILCA North American Masters July 17th, 18th, and 19th. This regatta will be run in parallel with HYC's Annual Regatta. Please note that the HYC Annual Regatta will run a separate, non-Master ILCA line inside the bay on July 18th and 19th. This "inside the bay line" will be an open ILCA line (i.e., not restrictive on age).  Registration for ILCA NA Masters is now available on ClubSpot. Found here: https://theclubspot.com/regatta/IS2TL5gCoB  Registration for HYC's Annual Regatta will be forthcoming. Per the NOR, HYC is capping the number of boats at ILCA NA Masters to 60 ILCA 6s and 60 ILCA 7s for a total of 120 boats. If you are sailing the Masters event, consider registering early!   District News The 2026 D7 Grand Prix is a Lake-O-Rama We have an exciting lineup for the 2026 Grand Prix. The first Grand Prix event will be the D7 Championship, June 13-14, at the Portland YC in Falmouth, ME.  This is going to be a fabulous event among the beautiful Maine islands. Registration is open, so sign up soon. Next we'll move the Cape for the annual John Bentley Regatta at the New Bedford YC in South, Dartmouth, MA on June 27th, always a classic.  We'll let summer roll along with nine great July and early-August regattas spread across D7 until August 22nd and 23rd when Malletts Bay Boat Club will host the MBBC ILCA Vermont Open.  This will be our feature event of the Grand Prix season. That means scores from this event count twice!  Yes, we're tipping the scales to get you to load up the boat and hit Lake Champlain. I was lucky enough to attend this event last year, and Malletts Bay is one beautiful place to sail in late August. We were treated to a day of lake sailing in 5-10 knots and then 15-20 knots as a front came through on day two.  Don't miss this one. Keeping with the fresh water theme, the next event will be the Lake Sunapee Open Regatta, August 29-30.  Registration is open.  I sailed this one last year. and it was blast. We had two days of good winds and a great Saturday dinner.  We'll wrap things up with two great fall events. First. it's back to the southern D7 haunts for the Connecticut D7 Grand Prix Regatta hosted by the Duck Island Yacht Club in Westbrook, CT. This is a very enthusiastic club that knows how to host a regatta. They've received rave reviews for their recent events. Registration is open. Then we'll have our grand finale at one of the best fleets in D7.  Fleet 413 will host the Fat Boys regatta in early November. This is an awesome warmup to their frostbite season, and this year will see the awards for the D7 Grand Prix. Scoring We tweaked the scoring last year to give a bit more weight to fleet size, and I think the formula worked well.  Just to keep it interesting, we will be providing double points for our feature event at the Malletts Bay Boat Club. 1. Grand prix scores will be a function of competitors' placement in each eligible regatta. There is no sign up or fee for the grand prix in addition to the specific regatta requirements. Upon competing in one grand prix regatta, competitors are automatically part of the grand prix and will receive points for every grand prix regatta attended and zero points for any not attended. 2. In each regatta, a given competitor will earn grand prix points equal to N minus the number of boats that placed higher than said competitor. N equals the number of competitors. For example, in a fleet of 100, first place would earn 100 points, second place 99 points, and so on. 3. Because we still want to promote showing up, which Mom says is 50% of getting ahead in life, every eligible competitor in a given regatta will have an additional 10 points added to their score as determined in 2 above. That's up to 70 points for just hooking up the trailer! 4. The winner of the grand prix will have the highest number of points, and the rest of the fleet will be ranked accordingly.  Hope to see you on the road, seeing old friends and making new ones.