Biennial Block Island Race Week Is Underway

GoLocalProv Sports Team

Biennial Block Island Race Week Is Underway

Block Island Race Week’s 50th anniversary is underway with roughly 2,000 sailors on 169 boats set to compete. The event is held by the Storm Trysail Club and will oversee various classes of races from June 21 to June 26. 

Set in Block Island Sound, this year’s smallest boat is Volckert van Reeseman’s 5 Cent at 22.75 feet, while Jack Le Fort’s Bermuda 50 Watermark is the largest at 65 feet. 

Event’s History

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Storm Trysail Club’s Block Island Race Week was founded in 1965 and is held on odd-numbered years on Block Island. The event helps to raise funds for local charities, but also brings tourism to a town that is highly dependent on a summer influx.

“The tourist season on Block Island is only 10 weeks long and Race Week brings a big windfall for the island,” said Representative Blake Filippi of the Rhode Island General Assembly. “It brings visitors who might not otherwise come to the island, and they keep coming back. It’s a wonderful week for the island.”

The Storm Trysail Club chose Block Island for the event because it reminded the founding members Jakob Isbrandtsen and Everett Moriss of the Isle of Wight in England, where they competed when they were younger. 


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