Ryan McKillen’s Surge tops the April event as Miami delivers a perfect send-off.
The whole season came down to the very last race. Miles Julien’s Youngblood versus Charlie Julien’s Rated X: two brothers, two boats, two points separating them in the standings. After the final gun fired on Biscayne Bay, it was the older brother who walked away with the title and the infamous M32 Rooster Trophy.
The Season: Youngblood Takes It All
Miles Julien’s Youngblood claimed the 2026 M32 Miami Winter Series season championship with 55 points across four events — a two-point margin over his younger brother Charlie’s Rated X (53 points), with Cy Thomson’s Tuuci rounding out the podium in third with 50 points.
It’s been a long road. This was Miles’s fourth Miami Winter Series, and his first series title. Youngblood opened the season with a January victory, backed it up with second-place finishes in February and March, and then held on through a pressure-cooker finale to seal the win. Julien has sailed for years with the same team, tactician Carlos Robles, Bernardo Freitas, Moritz Spitzhauer, Leonard Takahashi, and Dan Morris.
“This is my first series win,” said Miles. “It’s been a long road — my fourth Miami Winter Series. Carlos, Mo, Bernie, Leo, and Dmo all did a fantastic job. Everyone has put in a ton of hard work. It’s great to finally get a result like this.”
The family angle is hard to miss. Last summer, it was Charlie who stood on top — Rated X claimed the 2025 Newport Summer Series title while Youngblood finished mid-fleet. This winter, the roles reversed. Miles built the most consistent program on the circuit and never let go. To make it even more layered: their father Bobby Julien’s Dingbat finished fourth in the season standings. Three brothers — Miles, Charlie, and Jake — and their father, all racing M32s, all racing each other. The brotherly rivalry that’s defined this season now heads north to Newport.
The Event: McKillen’s Surge Locks Up the April Win
Ryan McKillen’s Surge won the April event — the fourth and final stop of the winter series — with a commanding lead across three days. Tuuci finished second and Rated X third.
Defending M32 World Champion Surge dominated Day 1, going wire-to-wire in the first three races and building an event lead before the weekend was out. McKillen’s team — tactician Taylor Canfield, Sam Loughborough, Stewart Dodson, and Will Tiller this weekend — continues to be among the most complete programs in the fleet.
Coach Morgan Trubovich gave us the Surge stats: 9 teams. 14 races. 5 race wins. 2.6 average points. 1 OCS. 3.9 average at mark 1. 13 boats gained upwind. 4 boats gained downwind.
“Yesterday we got off the line really well,” said McKillen. “The pin end was definitely favored and we just went down there every time, elbows out. We had some good battles for the pin. That ended up getting us the first three races wire to wire. It was fun.”
But Sunday brought a twist. McKillen wasn’t on the boat. Ian “Pallets” Iles-Lee — Surge’s shore crew, drone pilot, water-bottle filler, and general all-around team backbone — got the call Saturday night to take the helm. With just two prior sails in an M32 to his name, Iles-Lee stepped up and delivered an epic Day 3 that included a race win.
“I got the call last night then was like, ‘Oh, I should probably get to bed,'” said Iles-Lee. “Most of my focus out there was locked into the speed numbers. Sometimes I had no idea if there were boats near me — there were a couple calls where I was like, ‘Oh, there’s a boat.'” For McKillen, watching from the dock, it was a full-circle moment.
“He’s been with us for a couple of years,” said McKillen. “He works hard, helps us stay on the water, the boat’s always in good shape — we love him. It was pretty cool to give him the opportunity to take the helm and go bring it home. It was special for him, and special for me.”
The Sandbar Cup: Distance Racing Around Biscayne Bay
Hello distance racing! As the final race of Saturday, the fleet took on the Sandbar Cup — a distance race that sent the nine-boat fleet on a 16m course all around Biscayne Bay. We sailed a lap on our reaching-start buoy racing course then zoomed south to Black Ledge before turning back north toward the finish. We dropped the M32s at the dock, hopped into the tenders, and zoomed off to the sandbar.
Surge crossed first in 1:03:35, with Bobby Julien’s Dingbat second at 1:05:36 and Bill Ruh’s Pursuit third at 1:06:32. Our Newport summer has lots of distance racing in the works – who will be the king of the distance race?
The Sandbar: Where Racing Ends
The Sandbar Cup finishes between buoys — but the real finale happened on the sandbar off Key Biscayne. Every team made it. The Great Scott, the M32’s race committee vessel, served as floating party headquarters on Saturday after racing, and the tender boat from every team rafted up alongside. High dives off the tuna tower. Cold beers in hand. Families in the sun. Miami did what Miami does. We won’t name names.
