2026 Monhegan Island Race & Seguin Sprint: Official Summary
The 2026 edition of the Monhegan Island Race and Seguin Island Sprint has officially wrapped up, with sailors off the water, caught up on sleep, and full of stories from a memorable weekend on Casco Bay. Weather played its favorites early: the longer Monhegan Course saw ideal offshore conditions, allowing most of its fleet to cross the finish line before sunset on Saturday, while the Seguin Sprint turned into an overnight light-air chess match.
The Monhegan Pre-Race Party
The damp salt air didn't stand a chance. What started as a misty gathering instantly transformed into a high-energy bash as The Cavemen took the stage, cranking up the volume and getting the whole crowd moving. Fresh off the skippers meeting, sailors traded race tactics for plates piled high with gourmet local bites—featuring Pineland Farms cheeses and hors d'oeuvres crafted by Chef Becky—and kept the good times flowing with ice-cold brews and spirits from Shipyard, Ice Pik, and maineLove.
The main event was a full-throttle Maine feast: a succulent, classic lobster bake cooked to absolute perfection, rounded out with warm, buttery Wyman’s blueberry crisp that had everyone going back for seconds. Big tunes, cold drinks, incredible seafood, and unmatched Monhegan energy—it was the ultimate pre-race celebration.
The Monhegan Island Course (140 NM)
Boon Island Beat & Overnight Tactics
The Monhegan fleet got off to a clean, strong start in a building breeze that tested teams early. The day turned eventful quickly for Temptress, Maine Maritime Academy’s Taylor 41, when a ripped mainsail forced them to retire shortly after the gun.
Out on the water, Gary Weisberg’s MAT 1220 Heat Wave (sailed by Mike Royer out of Jubilee YC) and John Wilkinson’s J/122 Wild Blue traded leads as they tacked down the first leg toward Boon Island. Heat Wave rounded the Boon Island mark first around 10:00 PM on Friday night, closely trailed by Wild Blue and Geoff Emanuel’s Baltic Farr 44 Tamarack (Portland YC). A tight second pack—led by John "Bud" Myles’ C&C 42 Veladare, Mike Kasztejna’s X-382 Delja, Joe Faber’s J/46 JULIETT, and Pat Dionne’s Beneteau 36.7 Chicama—all rounded by 11:30 PM.
The Monhegan Turn
After rounding Boon Island, the fleet initially set out outside the rhumb line until Heat Wave split off on an inside route toward Cape Small. The gamble showed promise until light air settled in around 4:00 AM.
As sunrise broke, the breeze collapsed for the entire fleet approaching Monhegan. Wild Blue managed the easterly transition flawlessly, taking a scenic line past Manana Island before rounding the turning mark just before 10:00 AM on Saturday. Tamarack rounded second, followed by Heat Wave, with the remaining fleet rounding by 2:00 PM into a soft southeasterly breeze for the return leg toward Portland Head Light.
The Dash for Home & Final Results
Wild Blue crossed the finish line at 16:36 on Saturday afternoon to take Monohull Line Honors. A steady trickle followed through the evening, with Heat Wave, Tamarack, capturing Class B & Overall honors, Veladare, JULIETT, and Delja all in by 19:30.
Pat Dionne’s double-handed entry Chicama battled through shifting light air near Seguin at dinner time and tricky evening conditions at the finish line, completing their race at 23:41 to secure 1st Place in the Double-Handed division. Christopher Bruni’s Mason 44 Abigail Lisa enjoyed a scenic sail down to Boon Island, rounding around sunrise Saturday before opting to motor the rest of the route, finishing around 23:15.
See the full results here.
The Seguin Island Sprint (~50 NM)
Light-Air Upwind Work
Saturday’s start for the Seguin Sprint saw a promising southerly breeze that failed to build, leaving teams to work through 4–8 knots out toward the Pilot Buoy. The frontrunners were led out by Jim Palmer’s J/40 Morning Star, Chris Joyce’s J/109 Skoot, Emily Carville’s J/35 Breakaway, and Maine Maritime Academy’s Figaro Solo II Bato.
Close on their heels were David Ruff’s GO DOG GO, Josh Biermann’s Sirius, Richard Hallett’s J/44 Family Wagon, Bip Nixon’s High Energy, and Maine Maritime Academy’s Abu. A chase group led by Atlantic Ave included Apollo, Wisper, and Solstice, followed closely by C'est La Vie, Sonnenschein, Pizzazz!, and Elusive.
The leg up to Seguin tested boat speed and lane management. Near the mark, a light, header transition zone forced teams into a series of short tacks. Family Wagon rounded Seguin first at 19:45, followed in quick succession by Breakaway, Skoot, Morning Star, Sirius, Abu, and GO DOG GO, with the Jib & Main (JAM) division rounding by 22:00.
Night Compression & Sprints to the Line
Reaching home toward Portland in a gentle 5-knot breeze, the frontrunners converged near East Cod Ledge neck-and-neck. As the front of the fleet hit a dead-light patch just two miles from the finish line, the second pack compressed onto the leaders. Crews that stayed right for the line gained a decisive edge over those that held high.
In a dramatic final push, Chris Joyce’s J/109 Skoot claimed Monohull Line Honors and the Class A victory with an elapsed time of 11:22:26, crossing just seconds ahead of Family Wagon (11:22:54) and Abu (11:23:00). Bip Nixon’s DIVA 39 High Energy pushed into the Class A lead pack along the return leg, securing 1st Place in Class B and the Overall Seguin win.
Key Seguin Performances:
Multihull Record: Chris Poole & Alden Winder’s M32 catamaran Riptide x Winder Racing blazed through the course to post the overall fastest elapsed time on Seguin (10:44:44).
Tactical Charge: Hollister Collet's double-handed J/105 Atlantic Ave executed a brilliant return leg from Seguin, vaulting into 2nd Place in Class A & First Place Double-handed.
JAM Division Dominance: Jim Palmer’s non-spinnaker J/40 Morning Star turned in a masterclass, winning Class D JAM and correcting out to 3rd Place overall on the Seguin Course.
Behind the division winners, podium finishes across the Seguin fleet were decided by sharp tactical decisions during the late-night light-air compression:
Seguin Class A: Beyond Skoot's class victory, Hollister Collet's double-handed J/105 Atlantic Ave staged a remarkable second-leg comeback to earn 2nd Place, while Maine Maritime Academy’s Figaro Solo II Abu held off a hard-charging pack to secure 3rd Place.
Seguin Class B: Joshua Biermann’s J/36 Sirius navigated the shifting breezes home to capture 2nd Place, followed by Chris Sacco’s C&C 37 Elusive, who ground through the late-night lull to round out the podium in 3rd Place.
Seguin Class D (JAM): In the Jib & Main fleet, William Conners’ Pearson 30 C'est La Vie emerged at the top of the dense midnight chase group to claim 2nd Place, edging out Denise Greaves’ Bristol 35.5 Wind Chime, which locked up 3rd Place after a grueling final leg.
See the full results here.
Shore Side Celebrations
Finishing crews were greeted at the Portland Yacht Club dock by dedicated volunteers serving up warm Pat’s Pizza, refreshing mainelove waters and cold Shipyard beer all night long.
At Sunday morning’s awards brunch, sailors gathered on the deck to swap stories from their time on the water. Beyond the tight tactical racing, wildlife sightings were a major highlight—with whales spotted across the course, some views of shooting stars, porpoises, sunfish, and even a few sharks, wrapping up another unforgettable edition of Maine’s premier offshore tradition.
