Classic Yacht ‘Dorade’ Wins Second Annual Rhody Regatta

The International Yacht and Athletic Club (IYAC) hosted its second annual Rhody Regatta on Saturday, June 1, and the1929 Sparkman & Stephens yawl Dorade stole the show. Dorade was bought by Bay Area sailor Matt Brooks and his late wife Pam Rorke Levy in 2010, and has spent many a summer sailing in New England. The classic yacht appeared to be “always in the right place” during the Rhody Regatta, despite a variety of often-fickle conditions.

Dorade was built in 1929–1930 by the Minneford Yacht Yard in City Island, New York. Matt and Pam raced her on San Francisco Bay in 2012–13 before embarking on epic adventures to recreate Dorade’s glory days all over the world. This year was her first time racing the Rhody Regatta. She sailed well to win its five-boat Class 3. She also claimed overall victory when scored collectively with the regatta’s 16 entries.

“It was our first event this year, and we found it very interesting, very tactical,” Matt said, describing a northerly at the start, then a large calm before the southwesterly sea breeze kicked in, allowing boats from behind to catch up with the leaders. “We thought we were boxing above our weight class, because there were some good boats in our class, but at one point, we were ahead of everyone, regardless of class. I’m just always amazed that a boat that’s almost 100 years old can still be so competitive.”

Other winners were Steve Thurston’s (Bristol, R.I.) J/29 Mighty Puffin in Class 1; Ed Adams’ (Middletown, R.I.) Beneteau 36.7 Five East in Class 2; and Tom Rich’s (Portsmouth, R.I.) GP42 Settler in Class 4.

The Rhody Regatta is an 18-mile race around Conanicut (Jamestown) Island that raises funds for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank through donations by the entered teams.

The IYAC serves as a favorite sailors’ bar in the heart of Newport and is an official US Sailing-affiliated club, with registered members. The IYAC Race Committee runs several area regattas for everything from sportboats to maxi yachts.

For full race results go to https://bit.ly/4aNVjAN