The Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival returned to Marine Stadium on Saturday, July 25, with a day full of competition, live performances, food and fun — and celebrating its 30th anniversary.
Three decades after Dr. Howard Chen first envisioned the festival, the annual event once again drew scores of competitors, making it one of the largest dragon boat competitions in California
“The festival has evolved into a different style since COVID-19,” Chen said in a phone interview after the event. “We have fewer spectators and the focus has become on the races themselves.”
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
A team prepares to race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Brothers Jace, 9, and Vai Ueligitoue, 8, paddle their rubber dingy as their mom races in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams exit their boats after a race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Students from Lowell High School in San Francisco cool off before their next race during the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
Teams maneuver to their racing position as others return from their heat during the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
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Teams race in the Long Beach Dragon Boat Festival at Marine Stadium in Belmont Shores on Saturday July 25, 2026. (Photo by Axel Koester, Contributing Photographer)
The festival drew 108 entries across 10 divisions.
Long Beach’s Rising Tide team won gold in the Mixed I Division and the L.A. County Dragon Boat Club took the top spot in Mixed II, while the Aero Dragons, also from Long Beach, won in the Mixed IIIA and Masters divisions. The San Diego Dragon Boat Team won in the Open Division and Long Beach’s ReBelles Dragon Boat Team won gold in the Women’s A Division, Dragon Boater competitor Jeff Kiesel said.
“The festival,” he said, “is grateful to the city for its help in posting signs, directing boat owners away from Marine Stadium during the event and for providing the crane to lift the 16 dragon boats off their trailers and onto the beach.”
Beach to Bay
Alamitos Bay Yacht Club’s Ben Green won top honors in Long Beach Yacht Club’s annual Beach to Bay regatta — winning the perpetual trophy for the Terra class.
I spoke to Green, who took time out from his busy summer schedule. He attends the Long Beach Fire Department’s Junior Guard program in the morning and ABYC’s foiling classes from noon to 7 p.m. each day. Later this summer, he will mountain bike with his family in Europe.
This was his second year racing in the B2B race. He felt he was 2 to 3 seconds late to the start and his position wasn’t as close to the pin as he wanted to be. But a less-than-perfect start didn’t phase him.
He attributed his win to more body movement — and more tacking in the choppy waters.
“Until you have crossed the finish, you don’t know you have won,” he said, with his parents shouting in the background that he was “the first boat to enter the channel.”
Green didn’t realize that he was the overall winner because he raced in the largest fleet until his name was called to receive the perpetual trophy.
The RS Tera class boat was first built in 2006; it is kinder than the Sabot that I learned to sail in. It has a self-draining cockpit and is easy to right after a capsize. It is also light enough to transport on a roof rack, with the mast coming in two pieces and the boom padded. The RS Tera can also be rowed and has oarlocks
There were 65 entries and 14 boats in the largest class, down from pre-COVID-19 days of more than 20.
The Jessica Uniack Memorial Beach to Bay Race, now in its 38th year, runs from the ocean, near Gaucho Grill, into Alamitos Bay. The regatta was renamed in Uniack’s honor in 1995 after her tragic death.
Uniack, a beloved LBYC junior sailing supporter and mentor, was a parent deeply involved in youth programs at the Long Beach Yacht Club,
“This one is really special with all kids from our street,” Ashley Landers, a proud LBYC mom, wrote in a text message.
It was also special for her. That’s because her children, coached by LBYC’s Sophia Corzine, were among the winners. Emily Landers won in the Sabot class, while her brother, James Landers, joined Blake Brodsky in winning in the CFJ class.
The Greens and the Landers live on the same street.
Olympic Classes Regatta
The Olympic Classes Regatta took place in San Pedro and Long Beach this month, with the latter city hosting the formula kites and the IQ foils a couple of weeks ago. Then, the regatta moved to San Pedro from July 17 to Friday, July 24, with the Los Angeles port town hosting the ILCA 6, ILCA 7 and Mixed 470’s.
The San Pedro OCR will continue from Saturday, August 1, to Aug. 8, with the Nacra 17’s, 49ers and 49er FXs.
Athletes use these regattas to train on the exact waters on which they will compete during the 2028 Summer Olympics, experiencing and testing wind patterns, swell behavior and foiling conditions, as well as familiarizing themselves with the pier-based spectator layout.
San Pedro’s venue allows for longer regatta formats, additional classes beyond formula kites and IQ foil’s, and logistical rehearsal for multi-week Olympic operations, such as housing, transport and race management.”
Formula Kite’s and IQ Foil’s
Immediately following the Long Beach OCRs, ABYC hosted its inaugural Formula Kites North American Championship, then hosted its inaugural IQ Foil North American Championship.