2026 GL52 Big Red Regatta - Day 2
by Caroline Rochford 8 Jun 22:06 BST
June 5-7, 2026
The early bird truly did get the worm yesterday. Race Committee made the decision to move the racing up two hours to try and catch as much wind as possible before it died. So with a few extra yawns and a lot of extra caffeine, teams made it to the start line for a 10am warning.
Conditions held throughout race 6 with only minor shifts, a first for the weekend where most races saw multiple shifts. The second race of the day proved more challenging, dying breeze and massive swings forced the PRO to shorten the course, finishing boats at the top of the course after three legs.
There was a momentary glimmer of hope that conditions would improve but after consulting multiple wind forecasts and local experts racing was concluded for the event.
Looking for redemption after a Southern Series that fell below their expectations, Katana came out firing with a victory in race 6, giving them a touch of breathing room in their head to head battle with Wizard. In the final race of the event, Wizard worked through the shifts and light pressure to finish ahead of Katana but it wasn't quite enough to emerge the victor, giving Katana the event win.
Windquest had their best day of the regatta, snatching third place from Heartbreaker, a formidable opponent who struggled to gain a foothold with the challenging conditions.
In the end the fleet finished with Katana atop, winning this event for the third year in a row. In second was Wizard with Windquest in third. Heartbreaker, Mockingbird and Fjord followed respectively.
The fleet now heads into the offshore portion of the series with Queens Cup, Chicago Mac and Bayview Mac on deck. The next inshore event is Ugotta Regatta in Harbor Springs at the end of July!