Ida Lewis Distance Race 2026 set to start on Friday
by Barby MacGowan 12 Aug 14:47 BST
August 14-15, 2026
Ida Lewis Distance Race © Stephen R Cloutier
With a final count of 47 entries, the 21st edition of the Ida Lewis Distance Race presented by Kiel James Patrick is set to start Friday, August 14, at 11 a.m. in Narragansett Bay's East Passage (between Rose Island and Fort Adams).
The roster for the full-throttle, 24-hour coastal challenge is brimming with veteran and champion sailors on a wide range of competitive sailboats, from two 30-foot high-performance sport boats - EC Helme's (Newport, R.I.) J/92S Spirit and Tristan Mouligne's (Portsmouth, R.I.) Quest 30 Samba - to two Grand Prix ocean racers - Bryon Ehrhart's (Chicago, Ill.) 88-foot Juan K Grand Prix Racer Lucky and Art Santry's Oakcliff Sailing's (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) Reichel Pugh 86 OC-86.
"I love overnight racing and I think the Ida Lewis Distance Race is really the premier overnight race in New England," said Tristan Mouligne. "I've had a couple of good wins on Samba in this event over the years racing fully crewed, but my real passion is short-handed sailing, so when I saw such a strong Double-Handed class coming together, I decided I had to get Samba going again.
Along with ORC, PHRF, and PHRF Double-Handed classes, there are also Youth and Collegiate Challenge divisions.
Four teams have signed up for the Youth Challenge: James Phyfe's (Cranston, R.I.) defending champion, the J/44 Digger; the Community Boating Center Youth Offshore Team's (New Bedford, Mass.) Figaro 2 Red Shift and Baltic 50 Crazy Horse; and Bill Kneller's (Newport, R.I.) J/109 Vento Solare.
"A magical moment and memory from last year was definitely the dolphins riding the bow while Crazy Horse changed sails," said Richard Feeney, education director of the New Bedford Community Boating Center. "The race has become an anchor on our calendar and the culmination of our junior offshore program."
Entered in the Collegiate Challenge are six teams: Brad Gibbs' (Providence, R.I.) JPK 1030 Rumble; Jim Mega's (Wakefield, Mass.) J/99 defending champion Falcon; James Hennigan's (Newport, R.I.) Beneteau 40.7 doublehanded entry SeaJai; Mark Coleman's (Newport, R.I.) Mills 41 Eclipse; NEKA Sailing/Zachary Doerr's (Newport, R.I.) Figaro 2 Group 5; and NEKA Sailing's (Glen Cove, N.Y.) J/105 doublehanded entry Sleeper.
The start off Fort Adams in Narragansett Bay will be a sight to see, as the fleet sets off on courses that weave through iconic New England waters, blending tactical coastal sailing with true offshore demands. Conditions can range from glassy night watches to breeze-on reaches - sometimes all in the same race. The Race Committee chooses from a set of pre-determined courses prior to the start, based on expected wind and weather conditions.
Come mid-morning on Saturday, those who took on the challenge of sailing overnight and staying sharp through dawn, can be seen finishing between Ida Lewis Yacht Club, on the south side of Newport Harbor and a mark set near the Harbor Channel. Each boat is greeted with a bottle of Prosecco as soon as they are given the finish gun - a signature conclusion to one of offshore sailing's more memorable, magical races.
Besides Presenting Sponsor Kiel James Patrick, other support for the Ida Lewis Distance Race comes from Gold Sponsors Palm Beach Motor Yachts, Tuckernuck Logistics, Van Liew Trust Company; Silver Sponsors Contender Sailcloth and Cay Electronics; Bronze Sponsors Big Weather Gear, Brenton Hotel, Gooseneck Vineyards, the Hilb Group, Safe Harbor Newport Shipyard, and Serhant. Contributing Sponsors are, Gosling's Black Seal Rum, Mac Designs, Stella Artois, and Toni Mills Graphic Design.
Follow the Ida Lewis Distance Race on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. For more information, go to www.ilyc.org/distancerace or contact Race Chair Anselm Richards,