Aboard Dolce, other race boats Cathexis (yellow spinnaker) and Lickety Split (orange) are seen during the C.W. Stoll Race in Little Bay de Noc on Saturday. (Photo courtesy of John Anthony)

LITTLE BAY DE NOC — This weekend, a cross-club event showcased boating and sailing in joint waterfront communities. The classic C.W. Stoll Race, also described as the “Race de Bay” from Escanaba to Gladstone, was held on June 27.

The Stoll Race — named in recognition of Charlie Stoll, an Escanaba sailor of decades past — is annually conducted by the Escanaba Yacht Club (EYC) and has followed different courses over the years. 2026 is the second year the event featured a northbound course in Little Bay de Noc from Sand Point to finish in Gladstone. Six boats entered the race on Saturday.

Steady southwest winds and clear blue skies yielded glorious weather conditions. A moderate wind speed above the predicted velocity kept the fleet steadily moving.

Much of the course was downwind, with the boats flying colorful spinnakers as they passed along the Escanaba to Gladstone shorelines.

The course started in Escanaba and traversed northerly, rounding both the channel marker off the Terrace Bay Hotel and #12 buoy just off Mino-kwe Point (across the bay from the Gladstone Lighthouse on the Stonington Peninsula).

The fleet participating in the C.W. Stoll Race depart Escanaab Harbor on Saturday morning. (Photo courtesy of Terry Reynolds)

The racing was tight with the boats rounding the marks in close formation.

Two of the participating vessels were Gladstone-based, three Escanaba, and one from Marquette.

The results were close, with Dolce (skippered by Bob Yin) ahead of Hoopla (Mark Meyer) by a mere nine seconds over the course of two hours. Manitu (Dave and Josh Anthony) was in third followed by Lickety Split (James and Eva Knapp), Shore Thing (Kerry Madelinski) and Cathexis (John Lindberg).

The Gladstone Yacht Club provided a warm welcome and hosted the skippers and crew following the race. Many of the GYC members joined in the post-race social.

The Gladstone Marina and Recreation Department supported the event by allowing the racing boats to temporarily dock after the race.

John Lindberg's Cathexis races on Saturday with its yellow spinnaker full of wind. (Photo courtesy of John Anthony)

At the destination, John Lindberg provided a tour of the recently-completed Gladstone Sailing School boathouse. All attending remarked on the impressive boat house with its functionality and charm and the success of the program.

The EYC expresses its thanks for the assistance and partnership with the Gladstone Yacht Club and the Gladstone Marina.

Boats prepare for the start of the Stoll Race. (Photo courtesy of Terry Reynolds)

After completing a two-hour race from Escanaba to Gladstone on Saturday, sailors take a tour of the Gladstone Sail School boathouse and pose for a photo outside it. (Photo courtesy of John Anthony

Sailboats set off from Sand Point en route to Gladstone for the annual Stoll Race. (Photo courtesy of Terry Reynods)