Sailing Into February With Some Sweet Races and Seminars

By Christine Weaver | January 30, 2026 | West Coast |

The YRA’s Intro to Racing

The Yacht Racing Association is trying out something new this winter to encourage and train sailors new to racing. It’s a three-part online seminar series followed by a beginner-friendly regatta. The first online session, covering boat and crew basics, will be on February 17. The series will continue in March. Learn more at http://yra.org/into-to-racing-series and sign up here. It’s free!

Midwinters Update

We see one Bay Area midwinter series getting its start in February, and a few others wrapping up. Tiburon Yacht Club’s series will start on February 15 (and end on March 15, with two races each day).

Those wrapping up include:

Encinal YC’s Jack Frost, with two races scheduled on February 7.
The YRA’s Doublehanded Midwinters on Sunday the 8th.
RegattaPRO Winter One Design for Express 27s, J/105s, J/88s, J/24s and Moore 24s on February 14 with two races scheduled.
The Berkeley Midwinters will end on February 14 and 15, with the exception of the Champion of Champions Race for podium finishers on March 1. (BYC’s Sunday Chowder Series will continue through March 8.)
The Corinthian Midwinters will wrap up with their second big weekend on February 21-22.

Melges 24, Olson 30 and SC 27 racing, with other boats in the background. — A Melges 24, Olson 30 and Santa Cruz 27 walked into a Berkeley midwinter race.…
© 2026 Glen Garfein

From the Singlehanded Sailing Society

As famous (infamous?) as it is, tomorrow’s Three Bridge Fiasco (303 boats registered) is only the first race in a 10-month series for the SSS. Next up will be the Corinthian Race on February 28. It will be another Bay tour for singlehanders and doublehanders but without the crazy chaos factors of the Three Bridge pursuit race.

boats sailing up the Cityfront and on the Central Bay — The legs to and from Blackaller Buoy in the 2024 SSS Corinthian Race, as viewed from the San Francisco Marina.
© 2026 Latitude 38 Media LLC / Chris

Racing Seminars

We have observed over the years that February is a popular month for seminars. Safety at Sea courses in February include ones this weekend in San Diego; in Seattle on February 15; at Long Beach YC on February 21-22; and in Vancouver, WA, on February 22. The Sailing Foundation will present the Washington courses.

The Newport to Ensenada Race will start on April 24. Organizers at NOSA offer five evening seminars at various SoCal locales to help racers prepare for the international regatta. The ones in February include:

February 12 at Dana Point YC
February 18 at Long Beach YC
February 26 at Bahia Corinthian YC

More in SoCal and Onward

Speaking of the Newport to Ensenada Race, we received this message from NOSA yesterday: “Our second Early Bird drawing for the 78th N2E will take place live online via Zoom on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026, at 10 a.m. PT. The first 78 paid entries received are eligible to win the Grand Prize, a B&G Zeus S9 chartplotter, as well as first- through third-place B&G prizes! NOSA is aiming for 200 entries this year. Keep your eye out for other exciting opportunities to win prizes. Enter today.”

At San Diego YC, the Etchells West Coast Spring Series will continue with the Pacific Coast Championships on February 21-22. This year, the series is leading up to Worlds, which SDYC will host on May 7-15.

As previewed in Wednesday’s ‘Lectronic Latitude, the Puerto Vallarta Race will start from San Diego on February 26.

Many more worthy races and maritime events pack our Calendar; find them in the February issue of Latitude 38, coming out today. And plan ahead with the aid of our 2026 Sailing Calendar.