Rolex Big Boat Series Takes On the Bay and Ocean

The 2026 Rolex Big Boat Series hosted 81 boats crewed by 700 sailors who came out to take on the challenges presented by the Bay, the ocean and their class competitors. As always, it was a challenging four days of diverse conditions and varied courses.

This year’s series served as the ORC Nationals, so racing included more time outside the Bay on ocean courses. Days one and four were a bit gray and quieter, and days two and three had spectacular sunshine and solid Bay Area breezes. While we’re putting together a story for the upcoming October issue, we thought we’d share the photos of Zeus‘ spectacular finish-line spinnaker split.

These kinds of events happen all over the Bay, but it’s always generous to treat the spectators at the St. Francis Yacht Club to a finish-line drama.

Michael Firmin’s Infiniti 52 Zeus had a spectacular series battling it out with rival Victor Wild’s TP52 Fox for the ORC title in Class A. Fox took the overall win over Zeus in second.

As always, St. Francis Yacht Club’s Rolex Big Boat Series showcased why San Francisco Bay remains one of the world’s best sailing venues. Spectacular scenery, challenging conditions and reliable winds attract and challenge the world’s best sailors.

We’ll have a more complete wrap-up and photos in our October issue, but you can check out the complete results here.