Winning back-to-back titles at any level demands something special. Winning with a crew that hasn't shared a boat since the last trophy ceremony demands something more. Allie Blecher delivered both, steering Team BAAM to a second consecutive Santa Maria Cup with a 3-1 final victory over Sweden's Anna Östling across four races at Annapolis.
Blecher's crew for the final was Beka Schiff, Katja Sertl and Ali Blumenthal Stokes. Together they navigated every twist of a closely contested series to outpoint Östling and confirm Team BAAM's standing at the top of the Women's World Match Racing Tour, the undisputed pinnacle of professional women's sailing. The format is unforgiving by design. Match racing reduces competition to its most elemental state, a tactical contest between two boats where every decision is immediately tested, and Blecher's crew showed they understood those pressures better than anyone across the week.
The final's early exchanges swung on a single costly error from Östling, who crossed the start line early in the opening race and handed Blecher a gift. With a 1-0 lead and momentum, a swift conclusion looked plausible, but Östling refused to unravel. She levelled the series at 1-1, and the contest became something altogether harder to predict. Race three proved the turning point in Blecher's favour. Late on the final upwind leg, she engineered an additional tack that shifted the inside position at the mark to her crew. That gain proved decisive, and Team BAAM moved ahead 2-1.
The fourth race brought one final surge of tension before the destination of the cup was confirmed. Östling entered carrying a penalty from pre-start manoeuvring that had turned aggressive, yet she still found a way to lead downwind. As the two boats converged on the finish line, she mounted a last-ditch lunge that Blecher read with composure and avoided cleanly. Team BAAM crossed first, claiming both the race and the title.
"It's amazing to win this event again," Blecher said after the final. "We kept our heads in the game and just kept plugging away, even when we were behind. This is the first time our team has sailed together since last year, so it makes the win even more special."
Blecher's breakthrough came in 2025, and consecutive victories at the Santa Maria Cup speak to a rare consistency that few teams achieve. The event is hosted by the Eastport Yacht Club and draws the world's leading female skippers each year. New Zealand's Megan Thomson was among the competitors, racing with 2.0 Racing Team and finishing fifth overall.
Perhaps the most compelling subplot of the regatta belonged to Julia Aartsen of the Netherlands, making her debut at the event with Team Out of the Box. The Dutch crew fell in the semi-finals after a narrow loss to Östling, but responded in the petit final by defeating Martina Carlsson's Beyond Racing Team 2-0 to claim third place. "We have loved being here in Annapolis this week," Aartsen said. "It's a fantastic venue, and the race organisation and hospitality have been world class. We're very proud of our result and hope to be back again next year."
The Santa Maria Cup is the second stage of the 2026 Women's World Match Racing Tour season, and the circuit now heads to Sweden for Stage 3. The Nordea Women's Trophy, scheduled for 29 June to 4 July in Marstrand, awaits the leading teams on Sweden's west coast, a venue whose match racing pedigree is well established. The 2026 title battle continues there in the weeks ahead.
