More than 300 sailors, 15 youth teams and generations of E Scow talent come together on Lake Geneva, one of the defining venues in scow sailing.

 

 

 

They’ve worked all summer for this. Now it’s time to see it through.

 

A fleet of 77 E Scow teams will gather at Lake Geneva Yacht Club this week for the 2026 E Scow National Championship - Sponsored by Baird.

 

The entry list includes 15 youth teams and entries representing 27 yacht clubs from across the country from the lakes of the Midwest to Colorado, New York, South Carolina, and more. It all comes together Sept. 11-13 on the waters of Lake Geneva.

 

And the question heading into the weekend is a simple one: Who will shock Scow Country this year?

 

 

 

Last year’s Nationals at Little Egg Harbor Yacht Club, New Jersey was a big-breeze, big-wave survival of the fittest. Lake Geneva’s Kyle Navin emerged with his first E Scow National Championship title as a helmsman, followed by Eddie Cox, Robby Wilkins, Brian Porter and Jack Brown. Navin will not defend his title this weekend, leaving the door wide open for one of the most competitive fleets of the season. 

 

There is no shortage of elite sailors capable of walking through it.

 

At least six former National Championship skippers are registered: Tom Burton, Eddie Cox, Kevin Jewett, Brian Porter, Vincent Porter, and Sam Rogers. Between them, those names account for championships dating from 2013 through 2024. Cox finished second at Nationals last year, while Wilkins, Porter, Brown, Emily Haig and Rogers all return after top-seven finishes in 2025.

 

Melges co-owner Allan Terhune is on a scow heater this year, winning the E Scow ILYA Championship, MC Midwinter Championship, and MC National Championship. Will the streak continue this week?

 

Inland Champions, Eastern Champions, Blue Chip Champions, home lake heroes, Olympians, America’s Cup sailors, and accomplished sailors from other classes are all here too.

 

Then there are the teams that have spent the summer knocking on the door, the sailors who know Lake Geneva intimately, and 15 youth teams getting their own chance to measure themselves on the championship stage.

 

There will be no easy side of the starting line.

 

 

 

 

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: Nothing compares to the E Scow.

 

That powered-up main and asymmetrical kite strapped onto a wide, flat hull with twin boards and tiny twin rudders make for one of sailing’s most distinctive rides. The design dates back more than a century but has continued to evolve, producing a boat that can plane at high speed while remaining tightly controlled by one-design rules and strict build tolerances.

 

Success comes down to the people onboard: hiking hard, trimming well, controlling heel angle, communicating clearly, reading the lake, and making good decisions all while zooming around at 20 knots.

 

With more than 70 boats regularly appearing at the National Championship, the E Scow remains one of North America’s largest and most competitive high-performance one-design fleets.

 

 

 

But there is nothing quite so special about the E Scow as the people who sail it.

 

The E Scow fleet is a hard-hiking group of families and friends who have been doing this for generations. Parents race with children. Siblings race together. Sailors meet their spouses at these regattas. Sail numbers, boat names, and family names carry through decades of results.

 

Camaraderie, sportsmanship, and volunteerism take on a whole new meaning in this fleet. When you represent your yacht club, your lake, and your family legacy, there’s no burning bridges. You race hard, but you still have to look each other in the eye on shore afterward.

 

That accountability is part of what has allowed the National Class E Scow Association to remain one of the strongest class organizations in sailing, supported by members who volunteer hundreds of hours each year to keep the community moving forward.

 

The 15 youth entries this weekend are another piece of that story. Some are stepping onto the Nationals stage as skippers for the first time, looking to make a name for themselves. Others already carry familiar scow names. All are part of what comes next.

 

 

 

 

There may be no more fitting place to bring all of it together than Lake Geneva.

 

The lake has been part of the E Scow story for generations, and Lake Geneva Yacht Club remains one of the centers of top-level American sailing. This weekend, boats from 27 clubs will share the same starting line, bringing together Midwestern inland lakes, East Coast bays, and generations of sailors who speak the same language once the starting sequence begins.

 

Off the water, the weekend brings the fleet together each night. Nationals officially kicks off Thursday with the Welcome Party and NCESA Annual Membership Meeting at the Melges Performance Sailboats headquarters. Friday afternoon, sailors return to LGYC for post-race appetizers and drinks from Tito’s Handmade Vodka, live music from Don Wiggins, daily awards, and a Q&A hosted by Vakaros. Saturday night is the centerpiece of the social schedule, with the NCESA Banquet featuring live music from the Big Al Wetzel Band.

 

All that to say, this weekend is going to be a special one.

 

Racing for the 2026 E Scow National Championship - Sponsored by Baird begins Friday, Sept. 11, and continues through Sunday, Sept. 13, hosted by the Lake Geneva Yacht Club.

 

Results: theclubspot.com/regatta/E4ySep3RyC

Tracking: https://bit.ly/4gNjEgs 

Photos: gallery.hannahleenoll.com 

Instagram: @sail_lgyc

 

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