Luke Lawrence Wins the 2025 Etchells North American Championship

05/18/2025

The competitors for the Etchells North American Championship in San Diego left the dock Sunday morning for the final two races of the regatta with a lot of work  still in front of them to determine the winner. In Race 7, John Dane (Here We Go Again) was the race leader around every mark and through the finish, and jumped back into contention for the Championship. Meanwhile Peter Duncan (Oatmeal) climbed from 8th around the first mark to 3rd place by the end of the downwind leg, and would hold on to finish 3rd taking over the regatta lead, 2 points ahead of Luke Lawrence (Bayou Hustler).

Competition Tightens at Etchells North Americans in San Diego

05/17/2025

The 2025 Etchells North American Championship continued with 3 more races on Saturday. Conditions were more favorable for racing today with wind in the 8 - 12 kt range. Several dark clouds and rain cells moved across the course creating extra shifty conditions throughout the day. The regatta is utilizing Varakos RaceSense for electronic starts which has worked out very well for the competitors and race committee. The fleet appreciated the efficiency of automated OCS calls and the resulting extra sailing time rather than overly competitive starts ending in general recalls. Race 4 was a clean start, Race 5 had one OCS and Race 6 had three.

Cooke, Masfen, and Wilkinson (NZL) Top Position at Etchells North Americans Day 1

05/16/2025

Day one of the Etchells North American Championship started off under an AP flag with mostly cloudy skies. After an almost 90 minute delay, Race 1 got underway at 12:55 with a course bearing of 235 with 1.2 nm legs. Wind was 6-9 kts and trending left. Race 1 finished right where the 2024 North Americans ended, with John Dane in first place, fitting of their boat name “Here We Go Again”. Dane is competing in this regatta with past Etchells World Champion Bill Hardesty and Star World Champion Eric Doyle.

2025 Etchells North American Championship Set to Kick Off Friday May 16th in San Diego

05/15/2025

San Diego Yacht Club welcomes 39 teams competing in the 2025 Etchells North American Championships - a 3-day regatta May 16-18. Local sailor Ben Mitchell will be one of 3 crew sailing with Paul Dorsey on Adjudicator this weekend. "We have about 40 boats. It is a really deep fleet. All the top teams from the US are here, so all of us local sailors will have our hands full with the competition that's here this weekend. The weather looks nice. I think we're going to have decent breeze. And I'm looking forward a really competitive event."

Steve Benjamin Wins Etchells US Nationals

06/24/2021

Steve Benjamin topped 30 teams to win the 2021 Etchells U.S. National Championship held June 18-20 in Marblehead, MA. With crew Michael Menninger, Ian Liberty, and Dave Hughes, Benjamin posted a 10-2-17 before making their move to the top, closing with two bullets to win by 12 points over Tomas Hornos in second with Donald Mense a point further back in third.

Florida State Championships

04/23/2021

Nineteen Etchells were treated to champagne sailing conditions, the best that Biscayne Bay can offer, for two solid days of racing in SE breezes of 12 to 16 knots. The typical Biscayne Bay chop that forms with SE winds was a big factor, and was exaggerated by the weekend surge of motorboats enjoying the beautiful sunny weather.

Benjamin wins Louis Piana Cup Regatta

12/08/2019

The Etchells Biscayne Bay Series has been one of the major Etchells regatta series since 1994, attracting competitors has from all over the world. The 2019-20 edition got underway with 47 boats for the Louis Piana Cup Regatta on December 7-8 in Miami, FL. Steve Benjamin and Scott Kaufman led the only two teams to post all top ten scores in the four race series, with Benjamin taking the win by two points over Kaufman.

US National Sailing Hall of Fame Class Includes Robbie Doyle

10/30/2019

The U.S. National Sailing Hall of Fame selected ten people in 2019 to join the 71 previously-recognized individuals who have been enshrined since the first class in 2011. Among this group to be inducted on November 9 is Sailmaker Robbie Doyle (Marblehead, Mass.).

Robbie Doyle grew up sailing in Marblehead, MA. and credits many sailing mentors for his accomplishments including; Ted Hood, Jon Wales, Dr. Jerry Milgram, Dave Smith and his older brother, Richard.

2019 Etchells U.S. National Championship at American Yacht Club

09/26/2019

The Etchells U.S. National Championship hosted by American Yacht Club kicked off on Friday, September 13th with over 75 competitors from across the U.S. that included several World Champions and Olympians.

2014 North American Championship

09/23/2014

Elizabeth, skippered by Tom Carruthers with crew Andrew Palfrey and Chris Busch was named Etchells North American Champion as the regatta wrapped up.

Solid winds, tight competition and good camaraderie characterized the three days of racing of the International Etchells Class North American Championship, which wrapped up with two races at the Chicago Yacht Club on Sunday.

Eight Bells - Bill Bennett

06/18/2014

It is with profound sadness that I inform you of the passing Bill Bennett, a popular and beloved member of our community who was in Newport preparing for the 2014 Worlds. He suffered a head injury off the water. Bill was frequently on the podium receiving awards for outstanding performances in the Etchells Class, including winning a World Championship in 2000 with Vince Brun and Rick Merriman.