McClennen Claims 2026 Quantum Sails Melges 24 Great Lakes Cup in Harbor Springs Finale
CUP IN HAND: Peter McClennen and Gamecock crew members accept the 2026 Quantum Sails Great Lakes Cup trophy in Harbor Springs, putting an exclamation point on a season that carried the fleet from Muskegon to Detroit, Traverse City and ultimately the World Championship on Little Traverse Bay. After five events and some of the most competitive racing of the season, Gamecock emerged as the 2026 Series champion. Photo by Zerogradinord / International Melges 24 Class Association.
7 October 2026 - Harbor Springs, MI, USA - After a season that carried the Melges 24 fleet across some of the Great Lakes’ most celebrated sailing venues, the 2026 Quantum Sails Great Lakes Cup came to a fitting conclusion in Harbor Springs, where five months of racing culminated alongside the Melges 24 World Championship, hosted by the Little Traverse Yacht Club (LTYC).
Beginning in Muskegon and continuing through Detroit, Traverse City and ultimately Harbor Springs, the five-event series attracted 75 teams throughout the season, including 30 Corinthian programs. Along the way, the Quantum Great Lakes Cup became an important thread running through the 2026 Melges 24 season, with four of its five events also contributing to the North American Sailing Series, and the final events steadily building toward the Worlds, which concluded on September 26th.
The series arrived at Worlds with Bora Gulari’s Mavi holding the advantage after victories in Muskegon and Detroit, but with the championship still very much within reach. By the time the final race was complete, it was Peter McClennen and Gamecock who had turned a third-place finish at the Worlds into the points needed to move ahead and claim the 2026 Quantum Sails Great Lakes Cup title by just two points.
Gamecock’s victory is especially fitting for a sailor whose contribution to the Melges 24 Class extends well beyond results on the racecourse. McClennen has been a longtime supporter of the Class and of opportunities that introduce and develop the next generation of sailors. His commitment to competition, education and fleet development reflects much of what the Great Lakes Cup itself was created to encourage.
FROM EUROPE TO HARBOR SPRINGS: Fresh from competing at the Melges 24 European Championship just a couple of weeks earlier, Norway’s young Team Bagdad Prospects Helly Hansen made the trip to Harbor Springs to take on the Corinthian fleet at the 2026 Melges 24 World Championship. Racing aboard the chartered Zenda Express, the enthusiastic Norwegians added international depth to an already competitive Corinthian field—and clearly relished the opportunity to race Worlds on Little Traverse Bay. Photo by Zerogradinord / International Melges 24 Class Association.
The Corinthian competition produced an equally compelling season-long battle, with Eddie Gary’s Troublemaker ultimately emerging at the top of a deep field of all-amateur teams. Gary’s road to the title led him up against some of the Great Lakes’ most established and competitive Corinthian programs, including stalwart Mike Dow’s Flying Toaster, Fred Rozelle’s Rustler, Mike Gozzard’s Rush, Connor Baker’s Outlier and Rob Terry’s Kraken. With the World Championship serving as the series finale, that competition expanded internationally to include defending Corinthian World Champion Geoff Carveth and Miles Quinton aboard Great Britain’s Zhik Race Team, as well as Norway’s young and fresh Team Bagdad Prospects Helly Hansen, helmed by Tomas Mathisen.
With 30 Corinthian teams competing across the five-event series, the depth of that field was an important part of this year’s Quantum Sails Great Lakes Cup story. The division brought together longtime Melges 24 competitors, new owners and developing programs, all racing at an exceptionally high level while remaining true to the very foundation of amateur competition. Their participation and continued investment in the fleet are every bit as important to the strength of the Great Lakes circuit as the championship battle at the top of the overall standings.
AT THE FRONT: Chelsea Simms at the helm of Straightarrow leads Bora Gulari’s Mavi into a tightly contested top-mark rounding at the 2026 Melges 24 World Championship in Harbor Springs. With Mavi entering Worlds atop the Quantum Sails Great Lakes Cup standings, every position mattered as two proven teams fought for every inch on Little Traverse Bay. Photo by Zerogradinord / International Melges 24 Class Association.
Waiting in Harbor Springs was the Quantum Sails Melges 24 Great Lakes Cup trophy, delivered specially for the occasion thanks to 2025 Series Champion Dan Berezin aboard Surprise. With the conclusion of Worlds, the trophy officially passed from one champion to the next, closing an exceptional season of Great Lakes racing.
QUANTUM SAILS: A COMMITTED CLASS PARTNER THAT STRENGTHENS THE FLEET
Throughout the 2026 season, Quantum Sails’ involvement extended well beyond its title sponsorship of the series.
Quantum representatives and sailmakers supported competitors throughout the Great Lakes campaign, providing expertise, service and sail repair assistance during some of the most important events of the season. That commitment was particularly visible in Harbor Springs during the Worlds.
Adding an extra special layer of Class involvement, at the Worlds Opening Ceremony, Quantum Sails donated a new V4 spinnaker specifically awarded to a participating Corinthian program.
The lucky recipient was Aaron Elder and his Huzzah team, a relatively new addition to the US fleet and precisely the kind of team the Class and Quantum hoped the giveaway would support. The reaction from Elder and his team made the moment one of the highlights of the opening festivities and underscored the importance of supporting teams as they establish themselves as formidable competitors.
For the U.S. Melges 24 Class Association (USM24CA), that investment in individual sailors and teams is what makes Quantum’s partnership particularly meaningful.
A WIN BEFORE THE RACING BEGAN: Aaron Elder’s Huzzah celebrates winning the Quantum Sails V4 Spinnaker giveaway at the 2026 Melges 24 World Championship Opening Ceremony in Harbor Springs. Elder, joined by crew members Seamus Wilmot, Matt Gingo, David Krausz and Scott Kozinchik, represents one of the newer Corinthian programs establishing itself in the U.S. Melges 24 fleet. Photo by Joy Dunigan / U.S. Melges 24 Class Association
The Quantum Great Lakes Cup connected regional racing with the broader momentum building throughout the Melges 24 Class across North America, ultimately bringing the Cup to its biggest stage at the World Championship in Harbor Springs. This demonstrated what a strong regional series can become when committed sailors, exceptional venues, dedicated host clubs and an engaged industry partner come together.
The USM24CA extends its sincere thanks to Quantum Sails for its continued commitment to the Class, the Great Lakes racing community and, most importantly, the sailors themselves.
Congratulations again to Peter McClennen’s Gamecock, the 2026 Quantum Sails Great Lakes Cup Champion — and thank you to every team that made the journey through the Great Lakes this season.
INVESTED IN THE FLEET: Travis Odenbach puts Big Cat through its paces at the 2026 Melges 24 World Championship in Harbor Springs. An accomplished professional sailor and relatively new Melges 24 owner, Odenbach is among a growing group of experienced sailors choosing to invest personally in the Class—adding another competitive program to a fleet strengthened by committed owners and industry partners who continue to support its growth. Photo by Joy Dunigan / U.S. Melges 24 Class Association.
With an extraordinary 2026 Great Lakes Cup now complete, the Class and Quantum Sails are already looking ahead to what comes next in 2027.
TOP TEN RESULTS (Final, After 5 Events)
1.) Peter McClennen, Gamecock Sailing; 112 pts.
2.) Bora Gulari, Mavi; 110 pts.
3.) Cuyler Morris, Dark Horse; 106 pts.
4.) Steve Boho, The 300; 101 pts.
5.) Dick Kalow, Mustang; 99 pts.
6.) Sandy Askew, Flying Jenny; 98 pts.
7.) Geoff Fargo, Sentinel; 95 pts.
8.) Peter Duncan, Shiitake!; 92 pts.
9.) Alexander Korakis, Boogieman; 85 pts.
10.) Andrew Picel, Take Off; 84 pts.
Full Results
2026 Quantum Great Lakes Cup Series
2026 North American Sailing Series