With less than 50 days until sailors push off the docks of San Diego Yacht Club and head south for the sunny skies of Puerto Vallarta, SDYC is putting the finishing touches on what is sure to be an exciting multi-day offshore race of the 2026 season.

26 boats from across the United States, including California, Nevada, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Washington, as well as Australia are registered to compete in the biennial regatta which starts February 26.

Given the margaritas, mariachi bands, and warm welcome of Mainland Mexico waiting for sailors at the end of the race, the 2026 Puerto Vallarta Race tends to be a favorite for many offshore racers from across the country. SDYC’s Commodore Alli Bell echoes this sentiment stating, “This biennial race is a favorite for good reason; 1,000 miles of champagne sailing to arrive to a warm welcome down in PV. It’s always a privilege to work with our friends in Mexico to put on a great party for arriving sailors. I look forward to seeing many of you down there!”

Several boats that took 1st in Class in the 2024 PV Race, including Amazing Grace skippered by Jim Puckett, Blackwing skippered Barry Clark, Pyewacket skippered by Roy Disney, and Vitesse skippered by Thomas Furlong, will be returning to defend their titles. The PV Race is excited to welcome a few new teams to the regatta including the Rogers 46 Natural Nine skippered by Patrick Nichols and Class 40 Patriot IX skippered by Michael Rose. When asked what he was most looking forward to when it comes to racing Patriot IX, the first Class 40 boat participating in a major west coast offshore race, Michael eloquently states, “What we’re looking forward to is the Camaraderie, the Challenge, and the Experience!

 Biennial Puerto Vallarta Race © San Diego Yacht Club

“The chance to take a handful of Veterans and head down the coast to Puerto Vallarta and see as Veterans do how we can tactically come out on top! After PV, the boat will sail down to Panama and then over to the east coast with the intent of competing in some east coast offshore events.” The US Patriot Sailing program is comprised of over 1000 active, retired and reserve veterans that have 10 boats around the country, used to compete in a variety of offshore races. The Patriot racing program was last seen in SDYC’s PV Race with Steve Meheen’s Botin 80 Cabron.

The PV Race attracts offshore race boats of all sizes, often from a Hobie 33 up to a 100′ maxi. For 2026, two thirds of the registered boats are 50+ feet in length with the largest boat in the series, Velos, reaching 73 feet. The other third of registered boats are mostly in the 40 foot range with the smallest boat, TC skippered by JJ Hoag, coming in at 33 feet. PV Race Regatta Coordinator Ben Mitchell discusses the current entry list stating, “This year’s PV Race has solid entries consisting of the best ever West Coast gathering of TP52’s and similar styled boats with a total of seven super competitive racers. It will be a genuine test of skill and yacht design in this year’s event.”

The PV Race will be scored using each boat’s ORR certificate and US Sailing’s Forecast-Time Correction Factor (F-TCF) ratings in an effort to reduce the differences in wind conditions on the multiple start days of the event. Competitors will start on either Thursday, Friday or Saturday depending on class assignments.

Since it has been several months since most sailors have participated in a longer offshore race, the SDYC/NHYC Islands Race, which starts on February 6, 2026 out Point Fermin, rounds Catalina and San Clemente Islands, and concludes off of Point Loma in San Diego, is the perfect occasion to dust off one’s foulies and get reacclimated to overnight racing. Over the years, most teams racing to Puerto Vallarta have participated in the Islands Race as a tune up event. As veteran PV Racer and skipper of BadPak Tom Holthus states when it comes to offshore racing, “The best advice came from Stu Bannatyne who has done (and won) several around the world races, rest on your off watch. The crew on duty will do just fine without you.” Bannatyne will be racing against BadPak aboard Zeus in these events.

Registration is open for both the Puerto Vallarta Race and the Islands Race. For the Islands Race, late entry fees will go into effect after January 14. To register, visit www.islandsrace.com. The deadline to register for the 2026 Puerto Vallarta Race with the standard entry fee is January 9, 2026. Late registration and the applicable fees are available through February 6, 2026. Visit www.pvrace.com to register and for more information.

Thank you to the 2026 Puerto Vallarta Race sponsors Marine Weather University, Velas Vallarta, Bebemos Tequila, Flamingo Vallarta Hotel, Sailing Supply, and Marina Vallarta for making this signature event possible.

For more information on the 2026 Puerto Vallarta Race, visit pvrace.com.

by Karina Sandhu, SDYC