Author: PRO Cushing Anderson
The Sakonnet YC C420 Regatta, held July 7–8, 2026 in Little Compton, RI, brought 22 young teams to the line as part of the NBYA youth circuit and the season championship series for the C420 class. Hosted by Sakonnet Yacht Club in partnership with NBYA, the event featured standard Club 420s with spinnakers and trapezes and a full schedule of eight races with one throwout, split evenly over the two days.
Day 1 (July 7) was all about “staying in control.” A rainy, foggy system over Narragansett Bay produced chilly, humid conditions with air temperatures in the mid‑60s °F and water in the upper 60s. From roughly 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., a steady north‑northeasterly filled across the eastern bay and the mouth of the Sakonnet River, averaging 11–15 mph with gusts up to 18–22 mph and waves around 2 feet. The first start went off at about 11:15 a.m. after a slow exit from the harbor. In the stronger puffs and downwind legs, several boats swamped and a few teams struggled initially with keeping the bow up, but as the day went on the fleet adapted and heavy‑air boat‑handling improved noticeably.
Day 2 (July 8) offered a very different test. Under clear skies, temperatures rose into the upper 70s to low 80s with excellent visibility and no rain. A brisk northerly in the morning gradually faded and veered into a lighter southerly/southwesterly sea breeze by mid‑afternoon. Between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., winds generally ranged from 8–14 mph out of the north early, easing toward 5–10 mph later, with morning gusts still touching 18–24 mph before tapering off. The first race started on time at 10:30 a.m. With the breeze oscillating and shifting as much as 15 degrees in the puffs, success depended on reading the windward side of the course. The combination of shifts and pressure bands also produced waves of capsizes, testing both awareness and recovery skills.
Across the two age divisions, consistency in these varied conditions proved decisive. In Division 2 (Age 16 and above), Harrison Kolodzi and Parker Sandman (BCRP) sailed a dominant series to win both their division and the overall regatta on 14 points. They were followed in Division 2 by Henry Brislin and Brody MacNeill (Sakonnet Yacht Club) in second, and Henry Silva and Joshua Resnick (Wickford Sailing Association) in third. In Division I (Age 15 and under), Raymond Vasile and Max Hess (BCRP) claimed the division title with 15 points after a close battle that saw them finishing near the very front of the overall fleet. Benjamin Vinelli and Finn Thimme (CYC) took second in Division I, with Jayden Resnick and Tommy Moore (Wickford Yacht Club) rounding out the Division I podium.
Race management was led on the water by PRO Cushing Anderson with one signal boat and three mark boats captained by Jim Anderson, Don Libby and Bruce Chafee by, while coaches from the participating yacht clubs did a great job getting their kids in the water and providing active safety support across the course area whenever a crew needed assistance.
Registration and scoring were handled by event organizer David Garsh, with key assistance from Emily Pfeifer and NBYA youth administrator Paige Chafee. Sakonnet Yacht Club and NBYA provided a well‑run, safe, and challenging two days of racing that gave the 22‑boat youth C420 fleet valuable experience toward the NBYA season championship.