AUTHOR: George Schuster, Commodore of Edgewood Yacht Club
On Tuesday, August 4, Edgewood Yacht Club and Edgewood Sailing School hosted the fourth and final Opti regatta of the 2026 NBYA Junior Sailing season, followed by the Opti season awards ceremony in the EYC clubhouse. 29 boats competed in the RWB Fleet and 25 in the Green Fleet.
The forecast for the day called for very light winds in the morning, but as boats were arriving and being rigged a decent southerly filled in. Boats sailed off to the racecourses right on time, with the Green Fleet racing to the northeast of the EYC marina and the RWB Fleet racing to the southeast. After the first races, the breeze made a dramatic shift to the west – but not long enough to hold. The RWB Race Committee abandoned a race to accommodate, and the Green Fleet sailed a challenging race that forced sailors to understand and adjust to the breeze change. Very soon thereafter, however, the southerly came back and allowed the Race Committees to run additional races in steady, prevailing air. Despite the incoming current opposing the breeze, both fleets pressed their starting lines, and some sailors were called OCS. The RWB Fleet Race Committee deployed the I flag to keep the races going. By the end of the day, the RWB Fleet had logged five good races, and the Green Fleet squeezed in six.
Sailors collected in the EYC clubhouse after the regatta for pizza and desserts provided by NBYA in celebration of the 2026 Opti season. Awards for the day’s regatta finishes as well as awards for the 2026 season were presented by Paige Chafee, NBYA Junior Sailing Administrator, and Nick Ewenson, NBYA Board Member and Head of Junior Sailing.
The Edgewood Race Committee was led by Will Cotta (RWB PRO) and Andrew Belcher (Green PRO) with assistance from Wayne Kezirian, Chris Lee, Sarah Lee, Jim Fraser, Kate Stepanova, and Peggy Edwards (RWB Fleet) and from Anne Pearson, Bill Grenga, Saoirse Belcher, Craig Forbes, Peggy Forbes, and George Shuster (Green Fleet), with shoreside support from Rick Wessner, Nancy Plumb, Sheba Karter, Nicole Duguay, and Stephanie Van Patten.
1st: Perry Marks, BCRP
2nd: Charlie Dunbar, CYC
3rd: Ryan Daly, BCRP/SBYC
1st: Keira Oakley, Wickford YC
2nd: Gabriel Sullivan, BCRP
3rd: Connor Walmsley, BCRP
1st: Charlie Dunbar, CYC
2nd: Ryan Daly, BCRP/CBYSF
3rd: Jack Alarie, Barrington YC
1st: Perry Marks, BCRP
2nd: Charlie George, CYC
3rd: Jack Spiller, EGYC/GBSA
Keira Oakley, Wickford YC