The San Diego Yacht Club has canceled this year’s race from California’s second-most populous city to Puerto Vallarta, which was scheduled to begin this week, with organizers citing the recent unrest in Mexico that followed security forces killed that nation’s most powerful drug cartel leader.
The 2026 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta International Yacht Race had been slated to begin on Thursday, Feb. 26, and run through March 6.
“The safety of the sailors, support crew, staff and boats are of utmost importance,” the SDYC said in a statement. “Taking into consideration all the information available at this time, the San Diego Yacht Club Board of Directors has made the difficult decision to cancel the 2026 San Diego to Puerto Vallarta International Yacht Race.”
Mexican security forces killed Nemesio Rubén Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho — the head of the powerful Jalisco New Generation Cartel — during an operation on Sunday, Feb. 22. The operation, in Mexico’s Jalisco state — where the coastal town of Puerto Vallarta is located — set off a spate of violence and unrest, including gunfights, fires and roadblocks. Mexican officials said they had arrested 70 people and killed 34 people suspected of being cartel members, while 25 members of the National Guard have been killed.
It also led the United States to implement a “shelter in place” advisory for American tourists in Guadalajara, Puerto Vallarta and Ciudad Guzmá, even though visitors from other countries are often insulated from cartel violence. The U.S. lifted the advisory to shelter in place on Tuesday, and officials said flight schedules had returned to normal in Guadalajara.
“Puerto Vallarta is currently experiencing an evolving, unstable and unpredictable security situation,” SDYC said in its statement about canceling this year’s race. “Additionally, authorities have reported ongoing transportation disruptions, including curtailment of operations on certain toll roads and road blockages affecting travel access to and from Puerto Vallarta.”
While the violence has waned and there were no reports of road blockages on Tuesday, the U.S. State Department still has Jalisco listed under a “Level 3” travel advisory — meaning people should reconsider traveling there.
“There is a risk of violence in the state from terrorist groups, cartels, gangs and criminal organizations,” the State Department said on its website, as of Tuesday. “In Guadalajara, battles between criminal groups have happened in tourist areas.”
Despite that, however, yacht club officials will offer alternate racing from Friday, Feb. 27, to March 1.The club also plans to host social events, including the traditional send-off party, on Thursday in San Diego. A full schedule was set to be released on Wednesday, Feb. 25, after this publication’s press deadline.
As for the upcoming Newport to Ensenada race, which is scheduled to begin on April 24, Newport Ocean Sailing Association Commodore Joe Negron said race organizers are monitoring the situation in Mexico.
Ficker is quicker
Winning her Ficker Cup matches 3-2 on Sunday, April. 27, 2025, American skipper Nicole Breault and her crew steered their way into next week’s Congressional Cup, (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
American skipper Nicole Breault, center, competes in the Ficker Cup on Sunday, April. 27, 2025, off the Belmont Pier in Long Beach. (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
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Winning her Ficker Cup matches 3-2 on Sunday, April. 27, 2025, American skipper Nicole Breault and her crew steered their way into next week’s Congressional Cup, (Photo by Howard Freshman, Contributing Photographer)
The full eight skipper line up for the 2026 Ficker Cup match racing regatta, which will take place from April 24 to 26, has been announced.
The Ficker Cup is a Grade 2 match race event on the World Match Racing Tour and serves as a qualifier for the Congressional Cup, which will begin on April 29. The top two Ficker Cup finishers will earn invitations to the Congressional Cup — the granddaddy of match racing.
The Ficker Cup is named after Bill Ficker, who won the 1970 Americas Cup, as skipper of Intrepid, and the 1974 Congressional Cup.
The four returning competitors are led by Long Beach Yacht Club’s own Scotty Dickson, the winningest skipper in Ficker Cup history — with 14 prior victories. If Dickson places first or second in the Ficker Cup, he will be make his 23rd attempt at the Congressional Cup.
Nicole Breault of St. Francis Yacht Club will make her fourth appearance at the Ficker Cup. She finished in second last year, and subsequently came in ninth at the 2025 Congressional Cup. Breault ranks No. 26 on the 2025 WMRT Leaderboard.
Chris Weis of Richmond Yacht Club, who won the 2023 Ficker Cup, will make his third appearance in the race.
Irish skipper Ruairi Finnegan will come back for his second attempt at the cup. Finnegan placed eighth in the 2023 regatta but has worked his way up to No. 30 on the 2025 WMRT Leaderboard.
There are also four first-time Ficker Cup competitors: Patryk Zbroja of Poland, ranked No. 25 on the 2025 WMRT Leaderboard; Tom Picot, from Australia, ranked No. 20; Lennard Bal from the Netherlands, who is ranked 19th; and No. 4 Oscar Engström, from the Royal Gothenburg Yacht Club in Sweden.
Racing will take place at the Congressional Cup Stadium, just off the Belmont Veterans Memorial Pier. Free spectator viewing will be available each race day from the end of the pier.
The Congressional Cup will take place from April 29 to May 3, with 10 teams competing.
For more information on the Ficker Cup and Congressional Cup, visit thecongressionalcup.com.
Harbor Cup
Sailing in the Long Beach Sailing Foundation fleet of 37-foot Catalina sailboats, the same boats used in both Ficker and Congressional Cup racing is the Harbor Cup.
The Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup — an intercollegiate sailing regatta in keel boats — will take place from March 6 to 8, with 10 teams will competing.
The event is hosted by the Los Angles Yacht Club, the Port of Los Angeles and Cal Poly Maritime.
USC won the 17th running of the Port of Los Angeles/Cal Maritime Harbor Cup Regatta last weekend. (Photo by Jo Murray, Grunion Gazette/SCNG)
USC will return to defend its 2025 title. With several returning crew members, and having won seven of the 10 races last year, the Trojans will be tough to beat for the nine other contenders: Cal Poly Maritime, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, College of Charleston, University of Hawaii, Maine Maritime Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Coast Guard Academy and University of Victoria.
The visionaries who founded the cup were LAYC Staff Commodore Jim Morgan and LBYC Staff Commodore John Z. Strong. Both are Cal Maritime graduates and worked together as port pilots for the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
“Everyone at LAYC is so proud of the amazing athletes who participate in Harbor Cup: we love being a part of their inspiring sailing careers,” Susannah Beven, LAYC commodore, said in a press release. “Since 2008, Harbor Cup has hosted over 1,500 varsity athletes and coaches from across 166 sailing teams. It is truly inspiring to see the drive and commitment to the sport from all of the teams, and we love seeing the friendships they make with each other along the way.”
For more information on the POLA Harbor Cup, go to layc.org. For results, visit scores.collegesailing.org/s26/harbor-cup.
The New York Times contributed to this report.