78th Annual Block Island Race at Storm Trysail Club - Preview

Storm Trysail Club Block Island Race Week © Stephen R Cloutier

The 78th edition of the Storm Trysail Club's Block Island Race is set to begin this Friday, May 23, at 1200 EDT off Stamford, Connecticut.

This year's start time has been moved up two hours from prior editions to take advantage of increased daylight and potentially fairer conditions in Long Island Sound.

Most of the fleet will tackle the traditional 186-nautical-mile course from Stamford, down the Sound, around Block Island, and back. Two boats have opted for the shorter Plum Island Course. With rainy weather in the forecast, competitors are preparing for sporty conditions—foul-weather gear is anticipated to get its fair share of usage.

For a "non-Bermuda Race" year, Storm Trysail is very pleased with the strong fleet size. Over the past ten years, the number of entries for both Bermuda- and non-Bermuda Race years has grown, and this year will see a banner fleet of ORC and PHRF boats racing.

A key match-up to watch will be between Andrew & Linda Weiss's Italia 11.98 Christopher Dragon and Andrew Clark's J/122 Zig Zag—both top performers now battling head-to-head in the same class. Up front, GP42 Arma and Art Santry's JV66 Temptation Oakcliff are likely contenders for line honors. Thanks to support from Sebago and Raymarine, the race will once again be tracked in real time via the YB Tracker App, allowing friends, family, and fans to follow the boat-vs-boat duals as they develop over the 30-40 hour race.

This year also features a strong double-handed division, with 11 entries, including four J/99s and three Sun Fast 3300s—setting up some exciting match racing among short-handed teams. As the double-handed aspect of the sport has grown in popularity, so has the races. Watch for Rob and Libby Alexander's perpetual doublehanded power Sunfast 3300 Byte and a duel between Todd Aven & Todd Duffee's J/99 Thin Man verus Doug McKeige's right-out-of-the-box J/99 Save The Sound sailing with veteran doublehander champion Rich du Moulin aboard.

The fleet is divided into 12 classes across PHRF and ORC, and early routing projections suggest that many boats could finish in approximately 30 hours.

The Block Island Race remains a key component of several prestigious season-long championships, including the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy (NORT) and Double-Handed Ocean Racing Trophy (DHORT) under ORC, as well as the New England Lighthouse Series, De Coursey Fales, Sagola, and Windigo Trophies under PHRF. It's also a qualifier for the du Moulin Cup for Double-Handed Racing, the Youth Challenge Cup presented by YRA-LIS, the STC Rugg Family Youth Offshore Challenge, and the coveted Tuna Trophy, awarded for the best combined ORC results in Larchmont Yacht Club's EDLU (40%) and Block Island Race (60%).

As the fleet starts, STC Comms will be on the water so stay tuned to social media for the latest.

And the fun doesn't end at the finish line—racers can look forward to the return of the always-popular Stamford Yacht Club post-race party. Thanks to all he race sponsors, the party offerings have been upgraded so it's one you'll not want to miss.

Best of luck to all competitors, and fair winds!