A-Cat Midwinters 2026: Day 1 pics by Hannah Lee Noll

–

A-Cat Midwinters 2026 Day 1

Great to see our local friends sailing around the Globe, North & South, F18 & A-Cat. Argies racing in Australia and at Upper Keys. A goo performance by our mate Fran Venetucci (D3 / Brewin) who scored 2 & 3 plus delivered one of the best Port start we’ve seen!

Check video embedded below or here. We are not racing As right now in Arg, but Fran’s solo training efforts have payed already big time.

Two Legends racing in Classcis, Ben Hall & Randy Smyth sailing again his custom canard rudders A, see last vert photo above.

Clips + Pro pics by Hannah Lee Noll, full gallery here , IG Here

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hannah Lee Noll (@hannahleenoll)

Below Official daily report by US A-Class Assoc:

---

—

A-Cat Midwinters 2026 Day 1

“Almost as far south as you can sail in the continental U.S., tucked among the mangroves of the Upper Keys Sailing Club, with flamingos lifting off and turquoise water stretching in every direction, the annual A-Class Midwinter Championship is officially underway.

Day one delivered straight away. Breeze in the 15-20 knot range set an extra spicy tone and wasted no time testing nerves, gear setups, and decision-making across the fleet.

Four days. No hiding. No tears.

In the foiling fleet, Larry Woods (CAN) came out sharp, posting a 1-2 scoreline to take the early lead. Bruce Mahoney (USA) and Francisco Venetucci (ARG) are locked together just behind him, tied for second after a fast and physical opening day.

In the classics, Poland’s Valdek Kwasniewski (POL) put together a solid, consistent showing with a 9-7. Haywood Cope (USA) sits just one point back, with Micky Todd (USA) three points further behind as the leaderboard tightens.

This is only day one. Tomorrow, we do it all again.—

→ See the full photo gallery: https://gallery.hannahleenoll.com/2026-a-class-midwinters/

– Top 14 below both fleets , complete reuslts (+45 boats): → Follow the results: www.upperkeyssailingclub.com/regatta/CpTrhx1mgK/results