October Racing Keeps the Heat On
If you expect that West Coast yacht racing will slow down in the first full month of fall, you may be surprised by the robust roster of October regattas.
Keelboat Racing on San Francisco Bay
Encinal Yacht Club will host the Express 27 Nationals on October 3-5.
The Singlehanded Sailing Society will conclude their 2025 season with the Vallejo 1-2. Sail to Vallejo YC singlehanded on Saturday the 4th and doublehanded from VYC to Richmond YC on Sunday the 5th. The SSS will hold a competitors’ meeting at 7 p.m. this Wednesday at Oakland YC in Alameda. Wednesday is also the deadline to register.
October happenings at St. Francis YC include:
- Oct. 18, the Jessica Cup for Classic Wooden Boats
- Oct. 18-19, the Fall Invitational for Alerion 28, Folkboat, J/88, Knarr, Moore 24 and Star Boat classes
- Oct. 19, the Joe Logan regatta for Mercurys
Richmond YC’s Great Pumpkin Regatta will rock a Pirates of the Caribbean theme on October 25-26. This popular regatta features fleet racing around the buoys on Saturday, a costume and dance party on Saturday night, and a pursuit race (complete with pumpkin hunting) on Sunday.
Because Sailors Are Already a Little Dinghy…
They can go Totally Dinghy at Richmond YC on Saturday, October 4. Register here.
In El Toro fleet news, Gordie Nash shares the following: “On October 12, Vickie Gilmour will run Richmond YC’s oldest regatta, the El Toro Stampede. Vickie changed the format last year to a four-race fleet event. The last race does finish down the club channel to the turning basin. Only $20 for all day and trophies. We had a big fleet last year. This date does not conflict with other sailing events. Next year’s Nationals will be sailed in Alameda. On October 18, Alameda [Community Sailing Center] has scheduled an opportunity to practice on the same water.” ACSC will host a Fall Fun Regatta that day.
St. Francis YC will host their Fall Dinghy Regatta on October 25-26. The regatta will serve as the North Americans for the RS Tera class. Additional classes include 29er, 5O5, c420, i420, ILCA 4, ILCA 6, ILCA 7 and RS Feva. (The RS Tera NAs will have a clinic and social on Friday the 24th.)
Women’s Regattas
The YRA’s new Women’s Championship Series will wrap up with the Bonita Regatta on October 4.
Island YC’s Jack & Jill + 1 will return to the Estuary on October 19. This unique race features triplehanded crews with women drivers. (Crewmembers can be any gender.) Save $20 by registering before 7 p.m. on October 12.
Long Beach YC will host the Linda Elias Memorial Women’s One Design Challenge on October 10-12. The regatta will use the matched fleet of Catalina 37s.
More in Southern California (and Beyond)
Southwestern YC’s Little Ensenada International Yacht Race will set sail from San Diego on October 3. In Ensenada, Club Náutico Baja’s Regata Todos Santos will follow on the 6th.
San Diego YC will put on two of their signature regattas in October: the International Masters Regatta on the 17th-19th and the Lipton Cup on the 24th-26th.
There’s so much more sailing coming our way in October! Be sure to check out a more extensive list in our Calendar section. The new issue of Latitude 38 will come out tomorrow, Tuesday, September 30.