Bosphorus hosts the MASS Brotherhood Cup's 10th edition on the TAYK Trophy's final weekend
by Rana Akkurt / Rüzgar Üstü 27 Oct 08:48 GMT
22-24 October 2026
10th MASS Brotherhood Cup © Rüzgar Üstü
The Turkish Offshore Racing Club (TAYK) sailed the eleventh leg of its 2026 TAYK Trophy series on Saturday 24 October as the 10th MASS Kardeslik Kupasi (Brotherhood Cup), hosted by Marmara Sailing Sports Club (Marmara Yelken Spor Kulübü, MYSK) on the Istanbul Bosphorus.
Thirty-four boats in six IRC classes worked their way up the strait against the current and a wind that shifted throughout the day, two weeks before Türkiye hosts the United Nations climate conference COP31 in Antalya. The host club had opened race week with a climate workshop, and its three speakers finished first in three different classes.
COP31 is the 31st session of the UN Climate Change Conference, the annual meeting where the parties to the UN climate convention negotiate global climate policy. Türkiye holds the presidency and hosts the conference in Antalya from 9 to 20 November 2026, with oceans and seas on the programme as a dedicated theme on 17 November. The Turkish Sailing Federation's "Sailing to COP31" project collects sailors' observations of changing wind and sea conditions to bring to the conference, and its first workshop was held at Marmara Sailing Sports Club on 22 October, two days before the race.
The Brotherhood Cup has been raced for ten years on one principle: every sailor competes in the same fleet under equal conditions, whatever their club or background. The organisation sits with TAYK, the race is on the Turkish Sailing Federation (TYF) calendar, and the title sponsor is MASS Aritma Sistemleri, a water and environmental technology company. The 2026 edition was the eleventh of twelve TAYK Trophy legs; the series closed the following day with the Republic Cup off Moda, hosted by Moda Sea Club (Moda Deniz Kulübü).
The fleet was scored in two overall groups. IRC 0, 1 and 2 formed a 20-boat group, IRC 3 and 4 a 10-boat group, and four cruising boats raced in IRC GO, two of which retired. The Bosphorus set the terms of the day; the south-flowing current and the wind shifting between the two shores kept crews adjusting from start to finish. A spectator platform was set up on the European shore at Kabatas Erkek Lisesi, the school from which the host club's president, Dr Sedat Soybay, graduated.
On 22 October, after the skippers' briefing, the club hosted the workshop, organised by TAYK with Climate Hub Istanbul. Soybay, Alize Yelken founder and TAYK member Sinan Sümer, and the club's young athlete Batu Özonur spoke. All three were on the water on Saturday.
Sümer's MAT 12 Alize M12 (Gozalan) won IRC 1 and topped the 20-boat IRC 0-1-2 overall. Özonur steered the club's J/70 MAYK to first in IRC 4 and first in the IRC 3-4 overall. Soybay's First Class 7.5 Nomos/MASS won IRC GO.
In IRC 0, the Farr 40 Cheese IV (Enka, Levent Peynirci) finished ahead of Team Acadia's TP52 Cheetah (Vedat Tezman / Oguz Ayan) and the Farr 40 DAS (Coca-Cola Içecek, Doga Aribas). Farrmentor was fourth and Orient Express 6 (Atabay Challengers), the Farr 55 at the centre of the Bülent Atabay Cup three weeks earlier, fifth. In IRC 1, Alize M12 was followed by the J/122 Cheese VIII (Akkök Holding, Güney Kaptan) and the X-41 Atlas (Beymen Club Sailing Team, Ahmet Köroglu). IRC 2 went to the A-35 Carina (Eker Sailing Team - DAS, Umut Efe Alpkocak), with Cheese V (Garanti BBVA, Bora Olcav) second and the First 40.7 Sensei (Ant Yapi Sailing Team, Ali Kemal Tüfekçi) third. Cheese Sailing entered four boats; Cheese III carried the colours of title sponsor MASS.
In IRC 3 the Gürpinar family's two MAT 10s took the first two places, Gemini (Hitit, Berk Gürpinar) ahead of Gemini III (Sahibinden, Mert Gürpinar), with the First 34.7 Pupa (Anadolu Sigorta - CTD, Cenk Tekkaya) third. In IRC 4, MAYK was followed by the Gorbon 28 Alize G 28 (Sebago, Sinan Sümer / Metin Efendioglu) and the Surprise Karya Yelken (Brisa Sailing Team, Aysu Peksag). In IRC GO, Cenoa (Karadeniz Holding, Hasret Can Ünek) finished second behind Nomos/MASS.
Marmara Sailing Sports Club opened its marine facility in Kadiköy in November 2025. The building draws its electricity from a rooftop solar plant and its fresh water from a reverse-osmosis seawater desalination unit, and the club describes itself as the first sailing club in Türkiye to produce both its own energy and its own water. This year's race ran under the club's motto, "Our energy from the sun, our water from the sea." According to Soybay's own calculation, the set-up offsets around 45 to 50 tonnes of carbon emissions a year. Prizes were presented at the club on the evening of 26 October.
Results, 10th MASS Kardeslik Kupasi, 24 October 2026
IRC 0 (5 boats)
1. Enka, Cheese IV, Levent Peynirci
2. Team Acadia, Cheetah, Vedat Tezman / Oguz Ayan
3. Coca-Cola Içecek, DAS, Doga Aribas
IRC 1 (7 boats)
1. Gozalan, Alize M12, Sinan Sümer
2. Akkök Holding, Cheese VIII, Güney Kaptan
3. Beymen Club Sailing Team, Atlas, Ahmet Köroglu
IRC 2 (8 boats)
1. Eker Sailing Team - DAS, Carina, Umut Efe Alpkocak
2. Garanti BBVA, Cheese V, Bora Olcav
3. Ant Yapi Sailing Team, Sensei, Ali Kemal Tüfekçi
IRC 3 (7 boats)
1. Hitit, Gemini, Berk Gürpinar
2. Sahibinden, Gemini III, Mert Gürpinar
3. Anadolu Sigorta - CTD, Pupa, Cenk Tekkaya
IRC 4 (3 boats)
1. Marmara Sailing Sports Club, MAYK, Batu Özonur
2. Sebago, Alize G 28, Sinan Sümer / Metin Efendioglu
3. Brisa Sailing Team, Karya Yelken, Aysu Peksag
IRC GO (4 boats)
1. Nomos/MASS, Sedat Soybay
2. Karadeniz Holding, Cenoa, Hasret Can Ünek
Overall IRC 0-1-2:
1. Alize M12
2. Cheese IV
3. Cheetah
Overall IRC 3-4:
1. MAYK
2. Gemini
3. Gemini III
Results source: TAYK, Marmara Sailing Club, Sail Racing Club App