Short Sightings: SailGP, El Toros, Marine Mammals and Congressional Cup

SailGP Kicks Off California Tour This Weekend in L.A.

SailGP will be launching its two-weekend California tour in the Port of Los Angeles this weekend, March15–16, before it heads north for SailGP San Francisco the following weekend. This is the first time SailGP has staged events on consecutive weekends, making a challenging turnaround for the shore crew.

The course inside the Port of Los Angeles harbor requires tight, close-quarters racing — if there’s breeze (the current forecast looks light). The road show then moves north to race off the San Francisco Cityfront on March 22–23.

The current event leaders, after three of the 14 events happening in season five, are Great Britain in first with 27 points, followed by Australia with 24 points, and Spain at 20 points. The US team has yet to get up to speed and is languishing in 11th place out of the 12 teams on the tour. Purchase your grandstand seats here.

El Toro Regatta Moves Dates

It’s always something. The original Lake Washington SC El Toro Nationals conflicted with ceremonies for high school and college graduations, requiring a change in dates. The new dates will have the El Toro Nationals held June 26–29. There is a Thursday practice day in advance of the three-day regatta.

The class is also looking forward to the April 6 Richmond YC #4 and the April 26 Bullship Race from Sausalito across the Bay to San Francisco, and has also been invited to the Whiskeytown Regatta on May 24 and 25 for good, warm weather, flat water, and moderate-wind racing. We also noticed a competitive-looking El Toro in classifieds here.

Two-time Champion Chris Poole Returning for 60th Annual Congressional Cup

The Long Beach Yacht Club Congressional Cup will be celebrating its 60th anniversary during the April 30 to May 4 event. They’ve confirmed 10 skippers coming from seven countries, including defending champion, USA’s Chris Poole and his Riptide Racing team. Riptide Racing has won the last two editions and is looking to repeat for a third consecutive win. As usual, there will be some strong competition, including past winner Johnie Berntsson from Sweden (Berntsson Sailing Team) and Switzerland’s Eric Monnin (Capvis Swiss Match Race Team), keen to secure his first Congressional Cup win.

Past winners include numerous famous names from the racing world, including Ted Turner (USA), Dennis Conner (USA), Rod Davis (NZL), Harold Cudmore (GBR), Peter Gilmour (AUS), Chris Dickson (NZL), Terry Hutchinson (USA), Gavin Brady (NZL), Dean Barker (NZL), Francesco Bruni (ITA), Taylor Canfield (USA), Johnie Berntsson (SWE), and Ian Williams (GBR). Learn more about the 2025 Congressional Cup here.

ABYC Educators and Industry Forum

There are many opportunities for careers in the marine trades, as the maritime industry has a shortage of skilled workers. Many new initiatives are starting up to address the shortage and provide opportunity for future careers in the industry.

The American Boat and Yacht Council (ABYC) is inviting members of the industry to an online Educator Forum. The event will bring together educators, school administrators and industry leaders to discuss the future of marine workforce development. Attendees will gain valuable insights from the executive director of SkillsUSA on how businesses can collaborate with local schools to create a verified talent pipeline of career-ready students. You can learn more and register for the event here, or email Sarah Devlin at [email protected].

Marine Mammal Survey

The Marine Mammal Advisory Group, a coalition of stakeholders established to collaborate on the protection of biodiversity, has been working with The Ocean Race and IMOCA to survey marine mammal collisions. They are reaching out to the sailing and boating community to participate in this vital work of identifying collision hotspots by taking part in the survey. Their goal is to protect marine life, improve crew safety, and enlist sailors to be part of raising awareness and finding solutions. Connect with the survey here.

If any of this action makes you want to get a bigger, faster, or just different boat, remember to list your current boat for sale in the Classy Classifieds — April print issue deadline is tomorrow, Saturday, March 15, at 5 p.m.