Holmes Hole sailors wrapped up their summer season this past week with two races that presented the fleet with a little bit of everything. Thursday brought sun and mild winds, while Sunday’s northerly was a fitting final test for everyone.
Eight boats cast off from their moorings on Thursday evening and convened in the outer harbor of Vineyard Haven for the race. The routine on Thursdays is Course 0 — one lap around “the triangle” (a triangular route between the navigation buoys Nun 6 in the middle of the harbor, Nun 4 off the tip of West Chop, and Can 23A off the tip of East Chop). The dreary, rainy morning eventually yielded to sun and gentle breeze, which made for a comfortable sail. As is so often the case, the wind died slowly as the sun dropped lower in the evening sky, giving the larger, faster boats in the fleet a slight edge. “Clearly the September tides were on the march,” remarked Roger Becker, the skipper of a bright red C&C 24 called Gloria, of the ebbing current that fought hard against the fleet on its leg from West to East Chop. The competition was tight that evening: David McDonough’s Trinity IX won the race by just 35 seconds over Gloria, with Après, owned and raced by Steve Besse, just 13 seconds behind her in third.
Sunday was the final day of racing for the summer season, and conditions did not disappoint for the occasion. The northerly breeze was on throughout the morning and into the afternoon; by midday, white-capping waves and strong puffs rolled down the harbor. The fleet was met with gusts well above 20 knots, encouraging most crews to reef their sails, or reduce the amount of sail area exposed to the wind, making the boats easier to control in heavier wind. Those nine crews who weren’t daunted by the sporty conditions were rewarded with a beautiful day on the water and a fun challenge. Après, whose crew decided not to put a reef in, was first across the line, as is typically the case whenever Besse decides he wants to race. On corrected time, it was Artful Dodger who won the day — a Tartan 3500 that commutes across from Falmouth twice a week to join in on the action. With that, the 2026 summer season was in the books, the crews eagerly awaiting the final results.
The overall winner was Maitland, the Herreshoff Buzzards Bay 25 owned and raced by the Hammarlund family. The rest of the top five was rounded out with Artful Dodger in second, followed by Trinity IX, Gloria, and Penelope. The group will get together on dry land for a potluck dinner this week to celebrate the season’s award winners and overall success.
The 49th Annual Moffett Race will be held this Saturday, Sept. 12. The Moffett, named for an early Holmes Hole legend by the name of George Moffett, is a celebratory end-of-season race around a 10- to 20-mile course, depending on what Mother Nature has in store for the fleet. It’s not too late to sign up! Any and all sailors are encouraged to join with their sailing vessel of choice, or as crew — more information on registration, schedule, and the Moffett’s rich history can be found at https://holmeshole.org/moffett-race.
Rawson Clough is fleet captain for Holmes Hole.
