< PREVIOUS
NEXT >
Credits: Sharon Green, Ultimate Sailing
50 Years. 74 Boats. Still Racing:
The Moore 24 celebrated its 50th anniversary the best way it knows how, with a packed start line in Santa Cruz.
Fifty years after the first Moore 24 was launched, 74 boats lined up for the 2026 Moore 24 National Championship in Santa Cruz.
Only 156 Moore 24s were ever built.
That means close to half of the entire production run came together to race for the class's 50th anniversary.
The three-day championship brought world-class professional sailors together with the owners and amateur crews who have kept the Moore 24 racing for generations.
After eight races in classic Santa Cruz conditions, there was plenty for Ullman Sails to celebrate across the fleet.
ULLMAN AT THE FRONT
First and second overall both raced with Ullman SFMB mainsails, while the first two amateur boats, finishing fifth and sixth overall, carried full Ullman SFMB inventories.
At the top of the standings, Philippe Kahn and Pegasus #125 took the 50th Anniversary National Championship.
But there was another part of the story sitting in the Ullman archive.
THEN: 2016
Ten years ago, Ullman sails were already at the front of the Moore 24 fleet.
In 2016, Bart Hackworth and the team aboard Gruntled #68 claimed the National Championship as part of a four-year run of National titles from 2014 through 2017.
David Hodges, owner of Ullman Sails San Franscisco & Monterey Bay, whose history with the Moore 24 stretches back decades, was also part of the championship-winning Gruntled team in 2015.
NOW: 2026
A decade later, the boats may be older, but the racing certainly hasn't slowed down.
Bringing 74 boats together would be an impressive Nationals fleet for any class. For a design celebrating its 50th birthday, with only 156 boats ever built, it says something about the sailors who continue to race them.
And once again, Ullman sails were right at the front.
Some sailing stories are worth sticking around for.
ullman sails san fransisco >
