MARBLEHEAD, MASS. — The waters off Marblehead came to life this past weekend with excellent late season sailing as part of the 2026 Etchells US National Championship, hosted by Eastern Yacht Club. A variety of conditions and an incredibly competitive fleet made for an exciting regatta on October 10 and 11. Thirty-three boats made up the fleet and duked it out over seven races.
This year’s North American champion—and International Etchells Class Association chairman—Jim Cunningham came out of the regatta victorious alongside his crew aboard Lifted USA1504. The win was hard fought, as only one point separated Cunningham and the silver medalist Tomas Hornos and Cruel Jane USA1531.
Photo: Bruce Durkee
“The Eastern Yacht Club did a fantastic job putting on the event. Everything from pre-registration, registration, the social events and race management were first class,” said Cunningham. “We had a very strong turnout and excellent competition. The weekend provided a full range of five to 30 knot wind conditions and the race officers were able to get seven good races off. The competition was very intense and it all came down to the last race between a few boats. We certainly had a great time and look forward to the next time we can come back and race in Marblehead.”
Third place went to EYC’s own Jud Smith and Fast Mermaid USA1111. Smith entered the weekend’s racing fresh off his induction into the National Sailing Hall of Fame Class of 2026. Smith and the Fast Mermaid team came in second place in this year’s North American championship held in Newport in July.
The top Corinthian team was siblings Ben and Sarah Wilkinson’s Free Bird USA 1060, who were fifth in the overall standings. The Wilkinsons add the national Corinthian championship title to their North American Corinthian win and third place overall finish in July, and a fifth place finish in the Corinthian division at the Etchells World Championships earlier this year.
Photo: Bruce Durkee
Full results for the 2026 National Championships can be found on ClubSpot. The North American Etchells fleet next heads south to Miami for Fleet 50’s Winter Series which kicks off with the 2026 Louis Piana Cup in December.