Slow Start But Fast Finish at 2026 ORC Midwinter Regatta

25 February 2026 - St Petersburg, FL, USA - Winter weather in central Florida in mid-February is notoriously variable, which is what 11 teams experienced who were registered for the 2026 ORC Midwinter Regatta as part of the 2026 Helly Hansen Sailing World Regatta Series in St Petersburg from February 13 to 15.

An intended distance race on Day One was postponed for no wind long enough that organizers were left with enough time to run one windward/leeward race in light/medium conditions, where Adam Prettyman and Katie Lass’s Tartan 10 TWO TRAILER PARK GIRLS took the win by 20 seconds in corrected time in a 51-minute race.

The start of Day Two was also postponed for lack of wind, but eventually yielded two races scored in low and low/medium conditions, with Bill and Jackie Baxter’s J/111 FIREBALL taking wins in both races, as they did in the first race on Day Three with its brisk 20 knot conditions. The final race of the day saw numerous DNCs in the fleet, but TWO TRAILER PARK GIRLS persevered to take the win in the last race to earn the runner-up position behind FIREBALL, with Jeff Sampson and Rob Scoville’s Nelson/Marek 30 PEACEMAKER finishing third overall.

This was FIREBALL’s first title win at an ORC championship, but not their first podium finish: the team earned Bronze medals in a competitive Class B/C at the 2024 ORC World Championship at New York YC in Newport in October 2024.

Top three final results (11 entries):

1. FIREBALL J/111 Bill & Jackie Baxter 6 - 1 - 1 - 1 - 3  - 12.0

2. TWO TRAILER PARK GIRLS Tartan 10 Prettyman & Lass 1 - 2 - 5 - 4 - 1 - 13.0

3. PEACEMAKER N/M 30 Sampson & Scoville 4.5 - 3 - 3 - 2 - 4 - 16.5

Complete results at https://www.yachtscoring.com/event_results_cumulative/50497