TCYC repeats as Grandmasters Team Race Champions

Texas Corinthian Yacht Club won the 2026 New York Yacht Club Grandmasters Team Race on August 21-23 in Newport, RI. This was their fourth victory in the past six years, with ten teams competing in Sonars.

The small family-oriented club in Kemah, Texas, was at its best on Day 1 of the three-day regatta, when the breeze gusted into the 20s. Reveling in the familiar conditions, TCYC opened the regatta with seven straight wins.

“Galveston Bay is typically 15 to 17 knots of sea breeze with chop, so we have a lot more experience with that,” said Gerard Coleman, one of the team’s skippers. “The light air is challenging for many reasons. The lighter the air, the more difficult racing becomes for us.”

Winning team (skipper, 60 years; crew, 50 years): Gerard Coleman (skipper), Marjorie Crawford, Sam Pyne, Randy Roberston; Gary Ross (skipper & team captain), Ann Graham, Joel Scott, Chris Stacy; Clark Thompson (skipper), Mary Milby, Pierce Owens, Paul Thompson.

Seawanhaka Corinthian Yacht Club was able to equal TCYC’s win total in the first round robin, but lost a point and a half after a collision that resulted in a broken mast and was relegated to second place in the overall standings.

Ida Lewis Yacht Club finished third with five wins and four losses and then five teams notched identical 4-5 records, necessitating a deep dive into the tie-break protocol to award fourth place to St. Francis Yacht Club and fifth to the Storm Trysail Club.

“I think we were very blessed because we did start off in weather that we’re very familiar with,” said TCYC captain Clark Thompson, noting they were helped by limited racing on day two and none on day three. “The teams are all very, very equal.”

The 15th edition of the Grandmasters Team Race got off to an exciting start with a northerly breeze that was consistently in the upper teens and gusted much higher. The race committee flew the K flag, which kept the spinnakers in the bag all day. But there was still plenty of action on the course as teams struggled to keep their Sonars on their feet and the maintenance team battled to keep the boats in working order.

Though the wind direction was similar on day two, the boisterous breeze from the previous day was replaced by a fickle zephyr that required a lot of patience on the part of the race committee and the competitors. The race committee still managed to finish Round Robin 1 and start on a second round robin with the hope of finishing that on the final day.

But conditions were even worse with no wind in the morning and then a passing downpour that all but scuttled any hope of completing Round Robin 2. With time winding down, the race committee tried to put the top two teams through a best-of-three championship series, but even that effort proved in vain as what looked like a promising southerly evaporated as fast as it appeared.

The nine completed races of Round Robin 2 were discarded and TCYC was named the winner based on the results from Round Robin 1.

“It feels really good,” said Ross. “We’ve been doing this for many years now, and it’s great to be able to sail with such good colleagues. It’s just wonderful to be up here in this great spot and to do well.”

Consistency has been a hallmark of the TCYC program. Ross, Coleman, and Thompson have skippered in each of the past six editions of the Grandmasters Team Race, earning the four wins and two second-place finishes. And this year’s team was identical to the crew that won in 2025, with one exception. But the credit goes much deeper than just the 12 sailors on the roster.

“We have a very small team of team racers at our club, which is also very small by comparison,” said Thompson. “So we’re fortunate to have a lot of people behind this.

“Our boats are individually owned, and our owners are very gracious to make them available for the team racers to use for practice. And our club gets behind us. We’ve gotten text messages from people the entire weekend. It’s not just the people that are here. It’s truly a club effort.”

Details: https://nyyc.org/2026-nyyc-grandmasters-team-race

August 7-9 – Morgan Cup Team Race (no minimum age)
August 14-16 – Hinman Masters Team Race (skipper, 45 years; crew, 40 years)
August 21-23 – Grandmasters Team Race (skipper, 60 years; crew, 50 years)

Source: NYYC