The Storm Trysail Club’s 79th annual Block Island Race gets underway Friday, May 22, at noon in the waters of Long Island Sound off Stamford, with nearly 70 boats set to take on one of the Northeast’s most historic offshore regattas.
The challenging 186-nautical-mile course exits the Sound and rounds Block Island before returning to Stamford. This year’s race is seen as a proving ground for the upcoming 2026 Newport Bermuda Race, with 34 of the 69 entries appearing on both races’ scratch sheets.
The fleet represents a mix of modern offshore race boats, performance cruisers, double-handed teams, youth programs and grand prix entries. The race features the largest ORC fleet in Block Island Race history, with 38 ORC entries compared with 31 PHRF entries. The race is divided into 12 classes, including dedicated ORC and PHRF double-handed divisions that together feature 11 entries. Five J/99s are entered this year, highlighting the growing popularity of the offshore-focused design.
One of the top competitors to watch is Byron Ehrhart’s Juan K 88 Lucky, fresh off completing the inaugural US Open Offshore race from St. Barth’s to Newport with Charlie Enright at the helm and Chris Lewis navigating. The yacht also set a new record in the 2025 RORC Transatlantic Race. This year, the boat and crew will seek to break the current Block Island Race record of 11 hours, 25 minutes and one second, set by Comanche in 2015. As in that race, this year’s course has been shortened by one mile for Class 12, the larger race boats, to account for the boats’ draft.
Other notable entries include last year’s winner, Art Santry’s J/V 66 Temptation/Oakcliff, along with multiple J/121s, J/122s and J/120s spread across both fleets. The race also continues to serve as a platform for developing offshore sailors, with entries from both the United States Coast Guard Academy and the United States Merchant Marine Academy.
The ORC double-handed fleet includes a competitive group led by several J/99s — Eventyr, Thin Man, Velocity2 and Wizard — alongside Tim Kent’s Class 40 Kent Racing. The Class 3 PHRF competitors will sail the shortened Plum Island Course of 132 nautical miles.
The Block Island Race was first held in 1946, organized by World War II veterans seeking camaraderie and a return to normalcy. The race is a qualifier for several trophies and series, including the Northern Ocean Racing Trophy, the Double Handed Ocean Racing Trophy and the New England Lighthouse Series.
A list of registered boats and the scratch sheet are available on YachtScoring, where results will also be published. The race can be tracked live with the voco YB Race Tracker, with commentary and aerial footage of the start posted to the Storm Trysail Club’s YouTube channel.
The awards ceremony will be held at Stamford Yacht Club on Sunday, May 24, at 5 p.m.
