Information on the upcoming 18th International Robotic Sailing Regatta
[last updated 3/21/26]
We are excited to announce that the 18th annual International Robotic Sailing Regatta (IRSR) is to be held the week of June 7 to June 12, 2026 in Ithaca, New York! This event will be sponsored by the 2025 winners: Cornell University.
Registration:
- The Sailbot registration form is due April 30, 2026.
- The first 5 members per team are free, with a $30 fee for each additional attending member. In the following weeks after completion of the registration form, a payment link will be sent out to teams of more than five attendees. Please be exact with your attendees count, however if there is any change, please contact sailbot2026@cornell.edu.
- Registration includes a welcome meal, awards reception, and event t-shirts!
Other Information:
- All sailing events will be held at the Merrill Family Sailing Center, and reception/awards and presentations are expected to be held on the Cornell University campus.
- An itinerary with the week’s schedule along with location details is still being finalized, and will be posted in following weeks.
- The competition events and requirements remain the same as the previous year, so check out the Rules tab for details.
- Transportation will not be provided, so please plan to make your own arrangements.
- Housing: There will not be any organized on-campus housing, so it would be recommended for teams to look towards hotels or other living accommodations. The possibility of hotel blocks is currently being explored but not certain, and we will update as soon as a decision is made. For interest gauging purposes, please email sailbot2026@cornell.edu ASAP if your team would want to participate in a hotel block (along with # of people and # of rooms).
Please check back periodically for updates! Additionally, email sailbot2026@cornell.edu if you have any other inquiries, or to be added to an interest list and notified when new information is posted.
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17th International Robotic Sailing Regatta (9-13 June 2025, Lake Quinsigamond, Worcester MA, USA)
The 17th annual International Robotic Sailing Regatta (IRSR) was held the week of 8-13 June 2025 at Regatta Point Community Sailing on Lake Quinsigamond in Worcester Massachusetts. It was sponsored by the 2024 winners: Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
The week provided better than expected sailing conditions with sailable breezes (4-11 kts) most times Mon-Wed with day temps of 65-85F. A light rainfall on Tuesday with no wind led to an hour extension for that day’s events. Thursday proved more challenging with 5-12 kts sustained but with occasional 20 kt gusts. All events proceeded as scheduled with the exception of the Search event when a passing boat with prominent orange life jackets spoofed Cornell’s boat and forced a restart.
Electrical gremlins plagued several of the teams but eventually all boats made it to the water. While not the largest fleet to assemble for SailBot, it was one of the most varied fleets in recent history. Displacements varied from 144 lbs to 30 lbs; lengths from 1.4m to 2m; sail rigs from sloop, to cat, to gaff, to rigid wings; underbodies with lead, iron, rock, or no ballast; monohulls to trimarans; keel depths from 1.5m to 0.2m. Several teams’ boats underwent significant modifications as the week proceeded after recovering from breakages and rescues.
In the end, the Cornell team showed its mettle and excellent preparation by placing first in 5 of the 6 events it entered. Congratulations to the team and their boat “RedForty”!
