October Regattas Keep the Heat On
Around the Bay Area
San Francisco Yacht Club will host the Express 27 and Olson 25 Nationals on October 2-4. At the same time, the Wylie Wabbits will hold their Nationals at Inverness YC on Tomales Bay.
Don your lederhosen for Oakland YC’s Oktoberfest on October 3.
Berkeley YC’s beer-can-style Chowder Races will sail every Sunday in October.
Kim Desenberg of Richmond YC writes, “This year’s Lipton Cup is taking place in the fall — October 9-11 — sponsored by Corinthian YC. That is the same weekend as Fleet Week. I am happy that it can be held in the fall, as the milder weather should suit the J/22s a bit better.” CYC advertises sailing on “Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with a mix of windward/leeward and Bay-tour races, on-water judging on Saturday, and parties at the clubhouse.” As of this writing, nine teams had registered: Corinthian, Encinal, Inverness, Richmond, South Beach, San Francisco, St. Francis, Sequoia and Tahoe YCs. That leaves three boats in the 12-boat fleet still available! See https://race.cyc.org/lipton26.
The final regatta in the Singlehanded Sailing Society’s 2026 season will be the Vallejo 1-2 on October 10-11. Racers sail solo to Vallejo YC on the Saturday, pick up one crew, and sail from VYC to Richmond YC on that Sunday.
The final race in the YRA’s Women’s Championship Series will be on October 17, from the Cityfront to Point Bonita. “This series requires a female driver and tactician for each participating boat. Mixed-gender crews are welcomed and encouraged, provided at least 50% of the crew are women,” says the YRA. See http://yra.org/womens-championship-series.
Island YC has opened registration for the the Jill & Jack + 1 Race (previously Jack & Jill +1), to be sailed on the Estuary on Sunday the 18th. IYC explains that it’s a “women-helmed race, so Jill is listed first now.”
Tiburon YC’s Red Rock Regatta will be on October 24.
St. Francis YC Has Got It Going On…
On October 17, StFYC will host the Jessica Cup for classic wooden boats. The club offers divisions for Birds, Farallone Clippers, Classic Gaff, Classic Marconi 1 (40-ft-plus) and Classic Marconi 2 (under 40-ft).
The Fall Invitational will overlap on the 17th-18th. Alerion 28, Folkboat, Knarr, Mercury and Moore 24 are the invited classes.
StFYC’s Fall Dinghy Regatta will take place on October 24-25. “We are also hosting the 5O5 Pacific Coast Championships October 23-25,” says StFYC. The following classes are invited to participate: 29er, 5O5, c420, i420, RS Feva, RS Tera (Sport & Pro), and ILCA 4, 6 and 7.
… And So Does Richmond YC
October’s shaping up to be a busy, racy month across the Bay at RYC, starting on October 2-4 with the Ultimate 20 North Americans and Express 37 Nationals. October 10 and 11 are for the smaller boats, with Totally Dinghy on the Saturday and the El Toro Stampede on that Sunday. The Stampede may be the cheapest regatta you can enter this year, with entry fees ranging from $5 to $20.
On October 23-25, the Santa Cruz 27 Nationals converge with RYC’s largest regatta of the year, the Great Pumpkin. “We will have our own buoy racing on Friday and will join in with the Great Pumpkin Saturday and Sunday. Our fleet will have a class start on Sunday.” The Great Pumpkin consists of three course areas of fleet buoy races on Saturday and a pursuit race on Sunday around Alcatraz and Angel Island — skipper’s choice of direction. This year’s Halloween theme is Angels and Demons.
Coastside
Santa Cruz YC’s Mix & Match/Jack & Jill Regatta includes divisions for Doublehanded, Family or Foursome, with spinnakers or main and jib only, on October 24. Meanwhile, Elkhorn YC in Moss Landing will host a Women’s Invitational.
Half Moon Bay YC has a Pumpkin Roundup on October 24 and a Die Hard Regatta on October 31.
Monterey Peninsula YC’s Kelp Cup, in Santana 22s, will serve as the club’s Champion of Champions Regatta on October 25.
In Southern California and Beyond
In an odd turn of events, the Little Ensenada Race, from San Diego to Ensenada, will sail into Mexican waters but turn right around and end back where it started, in San Diego. Southwestern YC explains it as “a race that takes everyone into Mexican waters without the immigration issues of SD2E. Hussong’s is out — SWYC’s Mexican Fiesta is in!” The newly rebranded San Diego to San Diego International Yacht Race will start on October 3. We imagine this will affect the turnout for Club Nautico Baja’s Regata Todos Santos on October 4.
Alamitos Bay YC in Long Beach will host the US Youth Championship for competitors under 20 years old on October 9-11. The Youth Champs will feature the following classes:
- Doublehanded Dinghy — International 420
- Doublehanded Skiff — 29er
- Singlehanded Dinghy Light — ILCA 6
- Singlehanded Dinghy — ILCA 7
- Windsurfing — iQFOiL Youth & Junior
- Kitesurfing — Formula Kite
The same three days and also in Long Beach, the Linda Elias Memorial Women’s One-Design Challenge comes to LBYC.
San Diego YC will host the US Match Racing Championship (aka Prince of Wales Bowl) on October 16-18. They’ll hold the International Masters Regatta on October 23-25. They’ll wrap up the month with the San Diego Lipton Cup on October 30-November 1.
LAYC in San Pedro will welcome the Mercury fleet for their Pacific Coast Championship on October 24-25. This will be last regatta in the Mercs’ 2026 Travel Trophy series.
Farther Afield
It’s not often (ever?) we have a chance to preview a regatta taking place on Lake Mohave. But the Hobie Fleet 51 of Las Vegas and the Hobie Cat Association of North America (HCANA) will host the Hobie Wave North Americans on October 4-9, with a lay day on the Wednesday. Sailing will launch out of Cottonwood Cove Resort & Marina in southern Nevada. The lake is a wide spot in the Colorado River that straddles the state line between Nevada and Arizona.
There’s more to come in October, including a small number of clubs kicking off their midwinter series. Don’t be afraid to scan our monthly Calendar for regattas and events in spooky season. You can find it online here, or in the pages of the October issue of Latitude 38.