Solid Breeze and Long Ocean Courses make for a Fantastic Event

From June 13 through June 19^th, the International One Design Class held its annual World Championship regatta at Marblehead’s Eastern Yacht Club.  Five past IOD World Champions, including Marblehead racer Bill Widnall (10x World Champion) and Defending World Champion John Burnham (5x World Champion) headlined the twelve-team field.  Canada’s Peter Wickwire, representing the Chester IOD Fleet, emerged at the top of the podium after an exciting 10 race series in the waters off Marblehead.  Charlie Van Voorhis, representing Fishers Island, finished second, and Sweden’s Anton Karlsson, who could have won the regatta on the final day, settled for third overall.

Wickwire set the tone early, winning three of the first four races in the series, but solid early performances by Bermuda’s Peter Bromby and Fishers Island representative Jonathan Farrar ensured that the regatta was far from over.

Racing on Tuesday and Wednesday tightened the standings – the four races sailed those two days were all won by different teams: Fishers Island (Charlie Van Voorhis); Nantucket (Chris Gould/David Poor), Fishers Island (Johnathan Farrar), and Marblehead (Bill Widnall).  The Swedish team, led by Anton Karlsson put itself squarely in the conversation – their two third place finishes won the day on Tuesday, and their four-three line on Wednesday was better than any of the other leaders.

Heavier winds greeted the sailors on Thursday, with a building breeze expected.  Only a single race was planned. Anton Karlsson’s Swedes made the most of the conditions, to take an all-important bullet, followed across the line by Charlie Van Voorhis and Jonathan Farrar.  Wickwire could only manage a sixth-place finish in the penultimate race, which left the door open for some race ten fireworks on Friday.

Overnight, the math majors did their work, and determined that only Chester or Sweden could win the event. But there were several teams that could challenge for the final podium position.  Friday, the day dawned with strong breeze and stronger puffs. Raceable, but edgy.  Eager to secure the championship, Wickwire chose to aggressively match race Karlsson during the pre-start. Wickwire is one of the top match racers in the world, and Karlsson was surprised by the ferocity of the pre-race attack.  The two of them started in the fourth row (of two).

The final race was won by Charlie Van Voorhis, and with Karlsson driven so far back in the field by Wickwire, it was enough to slip Fishers Island #1 into second place overall.

Unfortunately for all concerned, Wickwire, sailing Marblehead’s beloved POMPANO, managed to lose his rig at the very beginning of the first downwind leg. Under spinnaker the backstay failed and mast fell forward, breaking at the deck. There were no injuries, and the mast should be repairable, but it was an awkward final image from a terrific week of sailing.

The regatta social calendar was full, with hearty dinners provided to the sailors on each scheduled race day.  Following a brief opening night reception the Saturday before racing, the sailors were treated to memorable small dinners — a few members of each team to each of eight different homes for an intimate meal — kicked off the week. A memorable garden party/dinner at Marblehead’s historic Hooper Mansion was laid on Monday night. Followed by a simple sailing dinner of the lawn of the Eastern Yacht Club on Tuesday. Wednesday night was a “town night.”  No formal dinner was provided on the spare race day. Instead, leading Marblehead restaurant provided Worlds competitors with discounts on meals. Thursday evening the regatta enjoyed a meal in a private home and on Friday night, the Eastern Yacht Club put its best foot forward by providing a grant Championship dinner.

The IOD Championship could not have taken place without the incredible work of PRO Fran Charles, assisted by a crack team of Eastern YC race Committee members.  Fran sniffed out the winds and set Championship caliber courses of four or five legs, with the beats ranging from 1.5- 2.0 NM.  Race durations were consistently near 2 hours which made it possible for sailors to work both sides of the course.  It was terrific, strategic sailing.

The International Jury was led by Canadian Joe Jospe, and include Alfred “Pat” Bailey (USVI); John Mooney (USA), Danielle Ames (USA) and Michael O’Connor (IRL).  A huge thank you to these judges who came to Marblehead for the week and provided us with fantastic support.

The local regatta team, a small group of Marblehead fleet members worked tirelessly to sort out all the millions of details that an event of this size and duration requires.  From housing to moorings, to sail prep and boat equalization, not to mention the incredible coordination of all the social events, the team were equal to the task. The result – a regatta that ran super smoothly.  Bravo.

Finally, as always, the IOD Class owes a huge measure of thanks to the owners who loaned their boats to the 2026 World Championship (and loan them to every IOD World Championship). It is not an easy thing to do, loaning a precious boat (or for some owners, boats!) to the visiting sailors, but year after year, our owners around the World do exactly that. It is not just an act of extreme generosity, it is an act of faith. Thank you thank you thank you!

 In addition to the local boats, the 2026 World Championship featured three IODs that were loaned by the Fishers Island Fleet.  These three boats were sailed up to Marblehead in early June, participated in the New England Challenge, then the World Championship, and then, beginning at 6am on the Saturday after the Championship, sailed back to Fishers Island. Amazing.

Sweden is the next to host, in summer of 2027.  Good luck to you!

Results: https://theclubspot.com/regatta/HMfBEI16Nr/results

Gallery photographs by Phil Smith and Bruce Durkee. Used by permission.