Author: Joe Cooper, Photo: Bill Kneller
These eight boats represented 17% of the total fleet. Aboard these 8 boats were a total of 55 young sailors, under the age of 25, the top end limit for college classes and included 24 sailors under 20, the top end age cut off for the Youth Challenge class, basically High school sailors.
Two of the four juniors on Vento Solare, Bill Kneller’s J-109 were returning from the 2025 race. They were joined this year by the first out of state sailors, two lads from Dartmouth high school, in SE MA. Their Coach had responded to Cooper’s email advertising the Youth Challenge offshore keel boat opportunity and made it thru Bill’s rigorous instruction and coaching regimen. Sadly, for their first overnight adventure the wind failed them with Vento scoring a DNF.
James Phyfe aboard his J-44 Digger went the full Monty, sailing with 11 sailors (out of a total crew count of 13) from the East Greenwich area including his own daughter and a niece, and the son of his second adult, Ben Johnson. Ben’s Dad, EG Sailmaker, Todd Johnson, was racing Goat Rodeo and won the Double handed Class overall.
Another entry in the DH Class, also familial and again, EG sailors Jim Hennigan sailing under the command of his son Seamus aboard their Beneteau 40-7 Seajai. They won the DH portion of the Collegiate Sub class and finished 6 th of 10 starters in the overall DH class.
The Kids from Community Boating in New Bedford reprised their success on the 50-foot Crazy Horse with 11 juniors of 13 total crew. One of the adult coaches, a young woman, Orlaith Neylon had sailed with Bill Kneller when she was in High School and was a last minute add on when Primary Coach Rich Feeney contacted me looking for a second adult. The New Bedford Kids took first in the Youth Challenge within the Aloha Class.
Returning from the Uni. of Vermont, the Green Mountain Men and woman, on their borrowed J-99 Falcon, sadly did not finish, falling prey to the light air across the course and scoring DNF
Separate from the Scored Junior classes, there were high school Sailors on:
J-121 Ceilidh, a now 18-year-old fella, Colin, who did his first Ida Race
several years ago with Kneller. Bruce Chafee’s perennial entry the Red Rikki, included an entire crew (apart from Bruce) under 30, averaging he thinks about 27. Too old for the Collegiate class proper but still a great effort by some young, skilled local Sailors.
Eclipse, a Mills 41 from Newport YC with two former Vento Vets aboard. One of whom, a young woman, just 20 in June, Rory, was aboard Tim Kent’s Class 40 sailing Double Handed for the Bermuda Race and as they started they broke the boat and had to withdraw. Within hours she had organized herself to deliver Space Monkey back from Bermuda. After her first Ida Race a few years ago, she spent a month or so Nippering for Cole Brauer at the Shipyard prior to Coles departing for her Big Adventure. Rory completed the trip back form Bermuda in 2024. After this
experience, Rory went to France nippering for Erica Lush (who also did her first overnight race on the Ida Race and is now (August 2026) in France preparing for her third participation on the Figaro Solitaire., Rory also nippered for Jessee and Fielding and Leah Sweet during the DH worlds in the UK this spring. And in November last and made the passage from the
Canaries to Antiguia in November. And has been sailing IC37’s of late.
Rumble, the JPK 10-30 had a Tabor and Brown vet aboard. This young fella Connor, along with the Colin on Ceilidh sailed with me on the former VOR 70, Camper a few years ago when Ralfie Steitz the ED at the Kings Point Foundation was in town with the boat.
Falcon, a Sydney 36, had Ben Reuter from Barrington HS aboard, Ben being fresh off sailing in the High School Nationals in Louisiana in the late Spring.
But likely the most impressive Ida veteran was Ida Lewis member Griff Spinney, at 24 running the point on Lucky, reprising this role after sailing on Lucky for the Hobart race in 2025.
The Ida Race is not simply a one off for these kids as the foregoing demonstrates clearly, I think. These kids are interested in and like to participate in this kind of racing and keep coming back to it. This year we had inquiries of interest from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in FLA,, Notre Dame, Bently University in Boston, Colby College in Maine. We could not find them boats to sail. Imagine the lives we can impact and the crews we can develop with four
more boats available…..
-Joe Cooper