All eyes will be on ace Comet racing duo Benn Smith and Christian as they embark on a quest for a ‘threepeat’ in Monday’s Edward Cross Long Distance Comet Race. The race will start at 11 am in St George’s Harbour, finish in the Great Sound near Watford Island, and will be streamed live by TNN.
Smith first announced his arrival in the Comet fleet with a virtuoso display of speed, strategy, and tactical brilliance in 2022, systematically besting racing legends Stevie Dickinson and Rudy Bailey, as well as former champions Maxwell Curtis, Dale Brangman, and Gladwin Lambert. He then added to his legacy with two more triumphs in 2024 and 2025.
Smith’s only setback came in 2023, when he was disqualified for starting early. Still, he stands among a select group of just four Comet sailors—Alton Millett, Stevie Dickinson, and Rudy Bailey being the others—to have won the premier regatta three or more times.
Smith expressed great optimism about this year’s event, especially if current weather-pattern predictions hold true.
“We’ve got the boat set up pretty good,” said Smith, also a supremely talented Laser sailor. “I think the conditions are in our favour.
“It looks like it’s going to be fairly windy and an upwind beat the entire way. So I think that plays into our strengths.
“The big thing is probably just to get out of the St George’s [Town] Cut in the front of the group or around the front of the group and then, hopefully, we can go from there and feel good.
Although Smith has not competed in the local club series recently, he has no reservations about jumping into the two-man one-design craft despite limited recent racing.
“I’ve been sailing the boat for a while, so I think I’ve got it down,” said Smith, who comes skilled in multiple small craft categories. “With it being an upwind beat, it’s going to be important to be able to hike hard and sail fast.
“And I think that’s one of me and Christian’s strengths. Especially with Christian being in college sailing right now, he’s doing a lot of double-handed boat stuff. So I think that we can complement each other pretty well in that regard.”
Meanwhile, current club series leader Curtis, who won his only long distance title in 2020, is also aiming for success.
Like Smith, Curtis is excited about the prospect of moderate to strong winds on Monday, which he believes will play to the strengths of both himself and master crewman Wesley Tucker.
“The wind is going to be perfect in my eyes,” said Curtis. “It may not be perfect for everyone else, but anything over 15 knots and I’m licking my chops.”
As Smith and Curtis focus on their own strategies for success, Lambert, the Rear Commodore of hosts West End Sailing Club, sees great potential for surprises.
“It should be a different kind of race because it’s an upwind beat this time,” said Lambert, taking a break from preparing ‘Melody’ for her latest voyage. “Every time he’s been in the race before, it’s been a reach or a run, and he’s a Laser sailor.
“Reaching and running are like cake and ice cream for a Laser sailor.
“Because he’s tried for the Olympics in Lasers and he knows how to sail off-wind.
“But this time could be very different, because it’s all upwind—on the nose. There will be a lot of tacking, as the winds are forecast to create a true upwind beat coming around by Fort St. Catherine’s.
“Unless the wind shifts. But that’s what it is forecast right now to be, west southwest, which means a dead beat right now.”
At 77 years old, Lambert remains a threat, even if his edge may have diminished slightly.
As the chief organizer of the regatta, Lambert is as excited as ever, eager for the day to bring a colorful on-water spectacle involving three traditional grassroots clubs: West End Sailboat Club, Mid-Atlantic Boat Club, and East End Mini Yacht Club.
Any content which is considered unsuitable, unlawful, or offensive, includes personal details, advertises or promotes products, services or websites, or repeats previous comments will be removed.
User comments posted on this website are solely the views and opinions of the comment writer and are not a representation of or reflection of the opinions of TNN or its staff.
TNN reserves the right to remove, edit or censor any comments.
TNN accepts no liability and will not be held accountable for the comments made by users.