Belvedere Classic 2026
A Growing Fleet and a Lasting Tradition
Classic boats filled The San Francisco Yacht Club’s harbor for the August 22 Belvedere Classic Regatta and Great San Francisco Schooner Race. Latitude 38 reports 26 registrants, with newcomers joining familiar boats for a day of racing and a gathering ashore. The fleet ranged from Bird boats and a Sea Scout sailing whaleboat to yawls and gaff-rigged schooners.
For Master Mariners, Belvedere is a familiar summer meeting place in the Bay’s classic racing season, alongside our own regatta and St. Francis Yacht Club’s Jessica Cup. It is a chance to bring the boats together, renew friendships and put the work of maintaining these vessels to its best use: sailing them.
The event has grown considerably from its beginnings. In 2008, John Swain proposed inviting some of the Bay’s oldest yachts to SFYC for a schooner race, with Angie and Alan Olson helping organize it. The invitation eventually broadened to classics of other rigs, and in 2019 the event took the Belvedere Classic name. SFYC reported 20 classic vessels in 2024 and a record 25 entries in 2025. This year’s turnout continued that growth.
Four divisions sailed a pursuit race, with each boat’s handicap setting its starting time. The breeze and light ebb made for a quick trip around the course: Latitude 38 reports 18 boats finished in less than two hours, while the two Bird boats were separated by just three seconds at the finish. Across a fleet of very different boats, there was plenty of close racing.
The San Francisco Sea Scouts aboard Viking took first in Classic Yacht 2 and finished ahead of the whole fleet. Penelope Kershaw steered the whaleboat, with skipper Mike O’Callaghan crediting a route close to Alcatraz’s southern shore and just three tacks for helping their progress. His account in Latitude 38 adds another practical ingredient: a freshly painted, clean bottom. It was a fine day for young sailors to show what they could do aboard a traditional boat.
Andy Flick’s Aida led the Schooner Class, followed by Terry and Lindsey Klaus aboard Brigadoon and Jim Cullen aboard Gold Star. Brigadoon deserves an extra salute. Owned by Terry and captained by his daughter Lindsey, she has sailed in every edition of the event since its first running in 2008. Her uninterrupted participation links today’s growing fleet directly to that original gathering of schooners.
Congratulations to the crews who placed in all four divisions:
Division Results
Classic Yacht 1: 1. Neja; 2. Hana; 3. Fjaer.
Classic Yacht 2: 1. Viking — Mike O’Callaghan; 2. Fairwyn — Richard Leland; 3. Kookaburra — Dennis Brewer and Joe Sallady.
Schooner Class: 1. Aida — Andy Flick; 2. Brigadoon — Terry and Lindsey Klaus; 3. Gold Star — Jim Cullen.
Spirit of Tradition: 1. Sir Edmund — Andy Schwenk; 2. Iolani — Barry and Sylvia Stompe; 3. Summer’s Moon— Bryan Kemnitzer, Nancy Barron, Chris Kelly and Jim Colletto.
Keeping a visiting fleet secure takes its own kind of teamwork. SFYC thanked Staff Commodore Jim Robinson, Martha Robinson, Harbormaster Kevin Tentis, Bob McDermott and Staff Commodore Andy Fromm for their work on the docks throughout the weekend. Their efforts helped make room for the boats and the people who keep this tradition going.
From the first schooner race to this year’s four divisions, Belvedere continues to give classic boats a place to gather and compete. For everyone who spends the rest of the year keeping them seaworthy, that is something worth celebrating.