07/27/2026
Boats from the fleets of HYC, NYCC, UYC, and NOVA made the trip to Corsica River Yacht Club on Maryland's Eastern Shore to compete for the historic Corsica River Yacht Club HOD Perpetual Trophy. While Hampton sailors have made the journey to Corsica River many times over the years, the perpetual trophy had not been properly awarded since 1976, making this year's regatta a meaningful revival of a long standing Hampton tradition.
On Friday evening, Dr. Gordy and Dr. Kerri Stokes enjoyed a memorable horse drawn carriage ride through the Corsica River Yacht Club property aboard Zeus's Carriage, pulled by a beautiful white horse named Zeus that has become a local favorite. Sam Riley, Lindsey Kaufman, and Alex Prior continued the tradition on Saturday evening, proving the carriage rides were just as popular as the racing!
Sailors arriving Friday evening were greeted by cool summer temperatures that dipped into the mid 60s. Everyone agreed it made for some of the best camping weather of the summer. When sailors rolled in around 10:30 p.m. to drop off their boats, the Hobie Cat sailors already had the pre racing festivities in full swing, setting the tone for a fantastic weekend at Corsica River Yacht Club.
The regatta ultimately consisted of two races sailed in the narrow confines of the Corsica River. The venue kept Principal Race Officer Steve Swifts on his toes as he carefully adjusted the weather mark to create the fairest racecourse possible within the river's tight boundaries.
Racing began in approximately five knots of breeze, with the Corsica River living up to its reputation for unpredictable shifts. Personalized puffs rewarded some boats while leaving others searching for pressure only a few boat lengths away. The opening start saw three boats; 709, 713, and 706, called OCS, but all promptly returned to restart and continue racing. Latane Montague V and Mercy Duff aboard The Going Dolly capitalized on a favorable puff early in the race, sailing into the lead and never looking back. Race 2 offered a completely different challenge, beginning with a thrilling port tack drag race to the weather mark. As the breeze settled in for the second and third beats, the fleet traded tacks in close quarters duels up the narrow river, producing some of the weekend's most exciting racing.
Saturday night also brought many of the Hampton sailors together off the water. Most of the fleet under 25 made the trip to Rock Hall for dinner at Waterman's, where good food, cold drinks, and plenty of sailing stories were shared around the table. Dave Chapman proudly represented the "experienced" crowd as the lone sailor over 25. Thanks for hanging out, Dave!
Sunday brought no wind and, ultimately, no racing.
Latane Montague V and crew Mercy Duff sailed a terrific regatta to claim first place overall and earn the honor of taking home the revived Corsica River Yacht Club HOD Perpetual Trophy. Their names will now be engraved on that historic trophy. The victory was especially memorable for Mercy, who was competing in her first ever Hampton One Design regatta, and it was great to see Latane back on the top step of the podium.
Overall, the HOD class featured skippers and crew from HYC, FBYC, BESC, NYCC, RHYC, ESYCC, UYC, SSC, and ICYCC. We may not have fleets everywhere anymore, but we sure do have sailors coming from all over the Chesapeake Bay to race Hamptons.
The next HOD race will be at Ware River Yacht Club on August 1 and 2. It would be great to see some boats that have not been out this year get tuned up for the Nationals at FBYC the following weekend. Please register ASAP so organizers know the Hamptons are coming in force! Ware River Registration: https://www.wryc.org/gov-cup-registration
