Welcome to the Scotch Bonnet Light Race website 2025.
The following link takes you to complete summary of the 2025 race including narative, scoring and division splits, all in a .pdf document.
Review and Results
The link to the 2025 Tracker Map:
The entire race may be replayed. You can focus on a particular boat or group of boats. Play it, or pause and move a slider forward and backward in time.
In this years race, some boats dropped out and motored home. The tracker does not show that they did this. Official scoring is in the link above. Enjoy!
2025 Scotch Bonnet Light Race – A Review
Beautiful weather was in store for the 54th SBLR with no rain and excellent star viewing.
Crew were counting the planets and late in the night could see the Pleiades. Winds were from the south the entire race.
This was our 4th year with YB Tracking thanks to Bob Johnson Auto Group and it once again was a huge hit for family and
friends watching their people race. Some reported staying up all night.
Tracker Link
Spinnaker boats had light air on the leg to Watoma, for example Taliesin rounded Watoma at 1:20 am. As spinnaker boats crossed the Lake,
wind freshened and they reported excellent sailing on this leg. When the boats rounded the island, the wind that gave them such nice
sailing was now in their face with the wind diminishing, but not the waves.
For the GO fleet, Michelle Regan Danesi wrote on Facebook:
"This weekend I participated in the annual Scotch Bonnet Light race put on by Genesee Yacht Club- and as usual, it was an amazing experience.
This race will be remembered for the music, the meteors and brilliant stars, the Milky Way, lots of freighters in the shipping lanes, the
comfortable ride to the island, and the long, bumpy, slow and frustrating ride home. Big waves stuck around after the wind died and the
ETA on the GPS just got longer as the day went on.... but we made it! 21 hours sailing, 3rd boat in our fleet to finish, and corrected
time to 2nd place. Thanks to Eric, Kate, and the fun crew of Splashdance for an awesome race, and to the GYC for facilitating what is
always the best sailing of the year!"
So the SBLR brought the best sailing of the year along with a frustrating ride home. Many followed the advice
“When the fun meter drops below zero, start the iron genny.” We didn’t hear a lot of complaints and most vowed to be back next year
having enjoyed the beautiful weather and night crossing this year.
The top 3 finishers in each division are shown in scoring where most places are determined by boats finishing the entire race,
we used island time for some.
Nicholas Lang won the Founders Cup for the third time on Siren, a Catalina 270.
Tim and Karen Sladden from RYC on Whirlaway a Tartan 3500 won the Stewart Trophy for winning the GO fleet as well as the
Warren Miller "New Issue" Trophy for best new skipper.
Kathryn Angelidis from RYC on Unfinished Business a J 109 won the Giambra Trophy, line honors.
The Allen Trophy was won by Poledancer from RYC a J 35C with Adam Allocco and Giles Ruck. Poledancer’s 2nd time winning.
The Coleman Trophy was won by Rochester Yacht Club who had 2 firsts and a second.
RYC won 5 of our perpetual trophies. All an outside club can win. We love it when clubs steal all of our gold.
We had 27 boats including 7 new skippers. It is noteworthy that Mike Mahar raced Solo in the Spinnaker fleet.
The picnic was well attended with live music by Davey Allen, and catering by Joey's Pasta House which received many compliments.
GYC donated $910 dollars to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children/New York Regional Office as a result of the SBLR.
The GYC volunteer spirit makes this event possible each year.
Please join us August 28, 2026 for the 55th Scotch Bonnet Light Race.
2025 Video from Robert Lang
Apparel
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!
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)
