Scotch Bonnet Light Race 2025

Welcome to the Scotch Bonnet Light Race website 2025.

NOTICE OF RACE REGISTRATION

Dear Offshore Sailors-
Passion – It drives us. It is what makes us sailors. We feed this passion by sailing, and also sharing the experience with our crew, our friends and family and our fellow club members.
The Scotch Bonnet Light Race allows your passion to be Rewarded. Reward for your efforts to prepare your boat and crew for offshore racing. The reward of finishing the Race. And, we have awards too.
The Genesee Yacht Club proudly invites you to join us for the 54th Scotch Bonnet Light Race, starting August 22, 2025.
Thanks to Bob Johnson Auto Group we will once again have real time satellite based tracking from Ybtracking.
All of the details, Notice of Race and Registration, are right here on this web page.
This years race should prove to be competitive as last years Allen Trophy winner Hank Stuart with Blue Knight was among the first to register. He is serious.
The SBLR is an 82 Nautical mile race crossing Lake Ontario at night, rounding Scotch Bonnet Island and returning to Rochester. It is a Rite of Passage for south shore sailors.
We hope you can join us.
Haley Carr - GYC Scotch Bonnet Light Race Chair

The SBLR will once again have satellite based real time tracking from YB Tracking thanks to:

Bob Johnson’s Auto Group

We will be using PHRF-LO point to point correction for the race scoring. click here to learn more.
The Race Starts on Friday. Skippers meeting will be at 5 pm and first signal at approximately at 6:30pm
Spinnaker, Genoa Only, and Multi-Hull divisions
Picnic and Awards Ceremony Sunday August 24 starts at noon, Awards at 3
Awards for 1st 2nd and 3rd in each division and 6 perpetual trophies
Single and Double Handed racers welcome
A LYRA Tier 2 Event
Profits will benefit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
Online Apparel Store COMING SOON!
Your Passion Rewarded

New 2025 Video from Robert Lang

Schedule of Events:

(Unofficial, The schedule is in the Notice of Race section 6)

		End of early registration...Tuesday August 5, 2025 at midnight
		Registration Deadline.......Tuesday August 19, 2025 at midnight
		Check-in....................Friday August 22, 2025 14:00-16:45 
		Competitors’ Meeting........Friday August 22, 2025 17:00 
		First Warning...............Friday August 22, 2025 18:30 
		Awards Picnic at GYC........Sunday August 24, 2025 12:00 noon
		Awards Presentation.........Sunday August 24, 2025 15:00

This Year's poster (low-res)...

Scotch Bonnet is GOLD

from Emily Conklin Program Manager, Sailors for the Sea:
Congratulations! On behalf of all of us here at Sailors for the Sea, we'd like to award the Genesee Yacht Club our Gold Level Clean Regatta certification for the Scotch Bonnet Light Race. click here to learn more.

Jon LaRue flies in from California to Race on Waahuu, from Pultneyville Yacht club. He sent the following for the 2024 SBLR:
A great Scotch Bonnet this year. Thank you to GYC for hosting. Here is a pic I think you might like. I took it as we were rounding at about 4am. My phone must have done some kind of long exposure thing because it was pretty dark at that hour! Jon-LaRue-IslandPhoto2024

Tracking

The Scotch Bonnet Light Race has Real Time On Line Race tracking thanks to:

YB Tracking is the world leader in satellite based tracking and reporting. Bob Johnson Auto Group's support means there is no additional cost to competitors. Anyone in the world can follow the progress of the race through the internet, as it happens. For more information on this awesome technology see:

Perpetrual Trophies

Allen Trophy for the best corrected time of the entire Spinnaker Fleet
Giambra Trophy for the first monohull to finish, elapsed time
Stewart Trophy for the best corrected time of the entire Non-Spinnaker Fleet
Warren Miller “New Issue” Trophy for the first new skipper to finish on corrected time, Genoa Only course.
Founder's Cup for the first GYC yacht under 30' LOA to finish the regular course of the Scotch Bonnet Light Race
SBLR Ernie Coleman Memorial Trophy is awarded to the best performing yacht club in the Scotch Bonnet Light Race based on each club's top 3 finishing sailboats. To qualify, boats must be in divisions of at least 3 boats. In the event of a tie, among the boats involved, the club with the boat which has the best corrected time in the spinnaker fleet would be the winner.
See all of the past winners here Perpetual Trophy Winners - 2024 (PDF)