60th Annual Don Q Rum Snipe Regatta at Coconut Grove Sailing Club
by Kathleen Tocke 13 Apr 19:39 BST
April 10-12, 2026
Biscayne Bay delivered up glamour conditions for the 60th Annual Don Q Rum Snipe Regatta, hosted April 10-12 by the Coconut Grove Sailing Club and the US Sailing Center.
Competitors were treated to building Northeasterlies, topping out in the mid-to-upper teens each of the three days. The Snipe class, renowned for its "serious sailing, serious fun" mantra, gathered for a packed fleet dinner on Saturday night to pay tribute to the 60th running of historic regatta. The fleet showcased a documentary on the event's history and a tip of the cap to regatta founder Old Man Diaz. Big names who have won the regatta in the past — such as Mark Reynolds and Peter Commette — were all in attendance.
At the conclusion of the eight-race series, Ernesto Rodriguez and Taylor Scheuermann put on a masterclass of consistency and speed, securing the overall victory with a remarkably low score of 8 points. The duo dominated the early stages of the regatta, reeling off six consecutive bullets before a second-place finish to Augie Diaz in Race 7. Diaz first won the Don Q as a teenager in the early 70s and remains the event's winning-most skipper, with Rodriguez close behind him in the rankings.
Rodriguez and Scheuermann's second in Race 7 allowed them to clinch the title without needing to sail the final race. Enrique Quintero and Lorena Fundora took home second place overall with 26 points, maintaining a steady presence at the front of the pack throughout the weekend. Rounding out the podium in third were Diego Escobar and Trevor Davis, who surged late in the series with a win in the final race to finish with 31 points.
The top U19 team was Efe Derman and Paige Tillson of San Diego. The highest placing women's team was Paola Prada and Renata Bellotti from São Paulo, Brazil, and the top international team was Martin Bermudez de la Puente and Beatriz Díaz Norris from Madrid, Spain.
Full results here