Four yacht clubs hosting 2019 California Offshore Race Week
May 1, 2019
This year’s regatta features a new race: the CA 500 from San Francisco to San Diego.
STATEWIDE—This year’s Memorial Day Weekend will be a treat for sailing fans, as four yacht clubs up and down the state will co-host the 2019 California Offshore Race Week, May 25 to June 1. The four clubs joining together for the race week are: Encinal Yacht Club, Monterey Peninsula Yacht Club, Santa Barbara Yacht Club and San Diego Yacht Club.
One of the new elements added to this year’s weeklong sailing competition is the CA 500, a race from San Francisco to San Diego. The inaugural CA 500 is reserved for monohulls with an ORR rating of 1.06 or higher and multihulls with an LOA of 45 feet (ORR-MH rating of 1.4 or higher).
Qualified monohulls and multihulls competing in the CA 500 race will begin at St. Francis Yacht Club and head south toward San Diego. The approximate length of the race, which is presented by San Diego YC, is 500 nautical miles. Racing takes place May 30 to June 1. The race is intended for large, fast boats with deep drafts and could be held every other year.
Kicking off the 2019 California Offshore Race Week is the Spinnaker Cup, which is jointly presented by Encinal YC and Monterey Peninsula YC. Sailing teams will race from San Francisco to Monterey, May 25-26.
The second race of the week is Coastal Cup, which runs May 27 and 28 and is presented by Encinal YC and Santa Barbara YC. The Coastal Cup starts in Monterey and finishes in Santa Barbara.
Leg Three of California Offshore Race Week is the SoCal 300, which runs from Santa Barbara to San Diego and is presented by Santa Barbara and San Diego yacht clubs. SoCal 300, like Cal 500, starts on May 30 and ends on June 1.
Entry fees, qualified vessels, safety information, course announcements and schedules are all available on the published Notice of Race.
Contact San Diego YC’s Jared Wohlgemuth at 619-758-6309 or jared@sdyc.org for more information about the week’s festivities.
Dave MacEwan was last year’s overall Offshore Race Week winner, finishing ahead of the pack aboard his Santa Cruz 52, Lucky Duck. Rounding out the top eight winners (overall) were Shelter Island TA Partners (Prospector, Mills 68), Bill Helvestine (Deception, Santa Cruz 50), Mark Dowdy (Hana Ho, Santa Cruz 50), Mark and Shana Howe (Adrenalin, Santa Cruz 50), Simon Phillips (Astra, Farr 40), Ivan Batanov (Numbers, Taylor 49) and John Shulze (Horizon, Santa Cruz 50).
Photo: Sharan Green – ultimatesailing.com
