The 2025 Biscayne Bay Series concluded with the US East Coast Midwinters, held February 14-16, delivering an exciting finale with eight races—doubling the total number of races sailed in the previous three events combined. The finale highlighted the fierce competition within the Etchells fleet, with seven different winners across the eight races, underscoring the depth of talent.
The only competitor to claim two race wins was defending series champion and Etchells Class President Jim Cunningham and his crew aboard Lifted (USA 1504), who finished 5th overall in both the Midwinters and the Winter Series. Reflecting on the season, Cunningham acknowledged that the challenges and triumphs tested his crew’s resilience but emphasized the strength and depth of the class, with more than 40 boats consistently on the starting line with 57 boats from seven nations competing throughout the three-month winter series.
Leading the season from start to finish was accomplished British sailor Lawrie Smith. The Olympian, America’s Cup skipper, and four-time Whitbread Round the World Race veteran teamed up with David Hughes, Ruairidh Scott, and Monica Morgan aboard Mila (GBR 1511), securing podium finishes in all four regattas—including a victory at the Sid Doren Memorial in January. Smith credited his success to an exceptional crew and “more good luck than bad luck.”
Lawrie Smith at the helm. Photo: Maurice O’Connell
Smith noted that their biggest challenge was overcoming a tough start at Midwinters, where they had to recover from finishes of 16th and 17th. “When you look around, the boats have the same masts, sails, and setups. Off the line, the speeds are all very similar, so if you make one mistake, you’re out the back. All the top crews want to win in the Etchells because they know it’s the most competitive keelboat racing in the world.”
Just behind Smith in the overall standings was Midwinters winner Andrew Macrae of Canada’s CruelJane 2.0 (CAN 1501). Macrae couldn’t pinpoint a single factor behind his team’s success but credited their long-standing program and steady improvements in consistency.
Crew of CruelJane2.0
“It’s always such an asset to be able to tune with Jud Smith. We did that before Midwinters and really focused on our weaknesses—I think that paid off. We know we have an extremely fast boat with all the tools to win, and combined with Luke Lawrence’s natural skill and feel, plus how well we mesh as a team, I have really high hopes for us going forward.”
Third place overall went to Rick Merriman and Big E (USA 1453), who won the Florida State Championship two weeks prior and credits adjusting rig-tune setups resulting in improved boat speed to their incremental success. “We struggled initially with too much windward helm. Once we eliminated it, our boat speed came alive which enabled us to be competitive with the top of the fleet.”
Finishing atop the Corinthian podium and 4th overall was Andrew Lawson’s No Dramas (GBR 1490) from the UK. He praised the level of competition in the fleet:
“Our goal was to compete strongly in the Open division, maintain consistency across every regatta, and secure the Corinthian title. We’ve had a great winter and really enjoyed the tight competition,” Lawson said, thanking his crew—Graham Vials on helm and Bill Russell trimming—for their efforts.
Wrapping up his 15th season as series organizer, Jeff Nehms reflected on the challenges and successes of the 2025 series:
“The Winter Etchells Series tested our patience this season, with the wind gods giving us a strong start, followed by a stretch of light-air challenges, and then a fantastic finish with eight races. We’re grateful for the perseverance of our sailors and the dedication of our race committee volunteers, whose hard work ensured a great season on the water.”
Since December, more than 57 teams have competed across the four events, solidifying the Etchells Winter Series in Miami as one of the most competitive and enduring traditions in the class.
Crew of No Dramas accepts the Corinthian Trophy
Full Series Results
The Winter Series was scored using each team’s top two results from the first three events plus their Midwinters score. The final standings are as follows:
Full Results for Series Season. Series is scored as Top 2 scores from first three events plus Midwinters is as follows:
- Mila – GBR 1511 – Lawrie Smith – 6 points
- Crueljane2.0 – CAN 1501 – Andrew Macrae/Luke Lawrence – 8 points
- Big E – USA 1453 – Rick Merriman – 12 points
- No Dramas (Corinthian) – GBR 1490 – Andrew Lawson – 15 points
- Lifted – USA 1504 – Jim Cunningham – 19 points
- West 4 – USA 1509 – Argyle Campbell – 21 points
- Freedom – USA 1456 – D Craig Mense – 22 points
- Oatmeal – USA 1506 – Chris Larson/Peter Duncan – 25 points
- Amateur Hour (Corinthian) – USA 1349 – Senet/Ben Bischoff/Kinney – 30 points
- Stark Raving Mad – USA 1477 – Jim Madden – 32 points
- Dark’NStormy – USA 1262 – Edward Tillinghast – 36 points
- DangErous – USA 1427 – John Dane III – 40 points
- A Mac – USA 1494 – Jack Jakosky – 44 points
- War Canoe – USA 1363 – Michael Goldfarb – 45 points
- Bungee Smuggler (Corinthian) – USA 1424 – Barry Parkin – 45 points
- Catapult / Odd Ball – USA 1513 – Joel Ronning – 46 points
- Vertigo II – USA 1368 – Christopher Lanza – 48 points
- Tar & Feathered – USA 1397 – Don Dowd – 51 points
- The Martian (Corinthian) – USA 1378 – Marvin Beckmann – 53 points
- Triple Threat – USA 1405 – Ford McCann – 64 points
- Mahalaga (Corinthian) – USA 1491 – Peter Vessella – 65 points
- Blackfish – USA 1469 – Ronald Zarrella – 69 points
- Transit – USA 1403 – Tim Britton – 70 points
- ARENA – USA 1455 – James Markby – 71 points
- Gumption3 – USA 1465 – Kevin Grainger – 73 points
- TBD – USA 1426 – Jamie Hilton – 81 points
- Blackadder II (Corinthian) – CAN 1451 – Andrew Cumming – 82 points
- Caramba – USA 1296 – Jose Fuentes – 83 points
- Standfast – GBR 1489 – Simon Patterson – 84 points
- Highlife – GBR 1441 – Dale Gordon – 92 points
- Ada – GBR 1409 – David Maclean – 93 points
- FINN – USA 1228 – Martin Wasmer – 97 points
- It’s A(nother) Conspiracy (Corinthian) – CAN 1305 – Adrian Hanley – 98 points
- Peders Parade – USA 1308 – Andrew Kingston – 99 points
- Exabyte – GBR 1418 – Shaun Frohlich – 104 points
- Victory – USA 1373 – Victor Cribb – 106 points
- More Cowbell (Corinthian) – GRE 1368 – Christopher Morin – 111 points
- Flying Colors – USA 1371 – Ken Womack – 111 points
- Privateer – USA 1398 – Michael Jobin – 113 points
- Nemesis (Corinthian) – USA 1307 – Jeff Nehms – 113 points
- Jeremiah (Corinthian) – USA 1202 – Jonah Pruitt – 125 points
Only participated but did not qualify for the season:
- Vengeance – GBR 1493 – David Huck
- Tquila – IRL 1425 – James McHugh
- Tiburon – BER 1467 – Peter McCausland
- Swedish BLUE – GBR 1438 – Ante Razmilovic
- Straight Dealer – GBR 1468 – David Franks
- Rebel – USA 1419 – Scott Kaufman
- OTTO – USA 1060 – Bent Christian Wilhelmsen
- MOMO – IVB 1522 – Dieter Schoen
- Highlife – USA 1441 – Dale Gordon
- Free Bird – USA 1060 – Ben Wilkinson
- Firebolt (Corinthian) – USA 701 – Aaron Housten
- Cold Snap (Corinthian) – CAN 878 – Mark Hellmann
- Cloud 10 – USA 145 – Peter McCausland