Yachting Cup Weekend Concludes with Sunday Racing and Awards
Sunday racing at Yachting Cup 2026 delivered another strong day on the water, with eight classes spread across San Diego Bay and the Coronado Roads courses. With 48 boats on the line and a full range of conditions in play, Day 2 tested teams’ versatility as the regatta moved to its conclusion.
Three classes - J/24, Classics, and ORR - started inside San Diego Bay where the J/24s continued their buoy racing, and the shifting breeze and current made for strategic, high-concentration sailing. The Classics class sailed a 12.3nm course from the Bay out to the ocean and back to a Shelter Island finish. The ORR class raced a 20.3nm course covering much of the cityfront inside the bay and the second half of the race out in the ocean.
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Yachting Cup 2026 Opens Strong Following Ton Cup Showdown
The 2026 Yachting Cup got underway this weekend with a lively start beginning with Friday’s Ton Cup - a fast-paced, tactical showdown that set the tone for the racing ahead.
Sailed in J/22s in La Playa, the Ton Cup brought together 16 teams for an exciting afternoon of short-course, round robin racing. Under sunny skies and a steady breeze, the compact format kept pressure high with quick turnarounds, tight mark roundings, and no room for error. Consistency and clean execution were rewarded across the rotation.
Emerging at the top of the fleet was Skeleton Key, skippered by Peter Wagner (St. Francis Yacht Club). Close behind, Given-Ho, skippered by Erika Barth (San Diego Yacht Club), secured second, with Kea, skippered by Matt Brown (San Diego Yacht Club) rounding out the podium in third.
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Join Us at San Diego Yacht Club for the 2026 Yachting Cup
May 1-3, 2026, over 50 boats in several classes are expected to descend upon the waters of San Diego Bay and Coronado Roads to compete in the 2026 Yachting Cup. The Yachting Cup is one of the most highly anticipated regattas of the year featuring fun, challenging race courses designed with each class in mind, as well as a variety of socials each day.
SDYC’s Commodore Alli Bell states “The 2026 Yachting Cup represents the continuation of one of the longest running and most prestigious events at San Diego Yacht Club. We are looking forward to welcoming sailors from around Southern California and beyond for good competition and fun on and off the water.”
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2025 Yachting Cup Awards 7 Class Winners along with the Overall Award to J/24 Wharf Rat
Day 2 of SDYC’s Yachting Cup started with a bit of rain and overcast coastal skies. The race management team was concerned about the forecast conditions - specifically the sea state, which built as a result of an overnight offshore front. A race committee boat went out about 7:30am to check the conditions on both ocean courses; the decision was made to postpone racing by one hour, and to move both courses to more protected areas closer to shore.
With the handicap classes using ORC ratings in 2025, the 5-band model allowed for optimized ratings to be used based on the conditions seen on the race course. The Race Committee was tasked with monitoring wind conditions across the course in the lead up to and during the races, and then to apply the appropriate rating for those conditions. On Day 1, the “low” wind speed model was used for all 3 races, but Sunday saw more breeze to give competitors new conditions to race in.
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Competitive Racing With Light Conditions for Yachting Cup’s Seven Classes on Day 1
Just because it's forecast, doesn't mean it's going to happen...
After all the concern about inclement weather and alternate plans… Day 1 of San Diego Yacht Club’s Yachting Cup defied the forecasts. “Today's fleets struggled getting off the startling line in the super light winds. Races one and two were below 5 knots at the start with puffs to 6. Seas were flat. That forecast was not made,” Near Course Race Officer Jeff Johnson observed. Patches of blue sky eventually came through in the afternoon, while the clouds and breeze remained fairly stable at 210 to 220.
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