Over 80 Boats and 700 Sailors Ready to Storm the Start at Rolex Big Boat Series 2026

Racing for Rolexes, Perpetual Trophies & ORC Championship Titles at St. Francis Yacht Club, September 16-20, 2026

16 September 2026 - San Francisco, CA, USA -  It’s the ORC North American Championship. It’s 81 boats lining up to compete in five classes, with four ORC splits. It’s every 2025 trophy winner returning to defend their title. It’s over 700 sailors, plus hundreds more friends, family and fans coming to St. Francis Yacht Club for the 2026 Rolex Big Boat Series. With four days of racing on San Francisco Bay and five evenings of socials at St. Francis Yacht Club, attendees look forward to championship sailing and world-class hospitality—what they have come to expect from this storied regatta.

At the high end of the performance spectrum, 30 handicap boats will be vying for the ORC North American Championship, competing in four divisions. “We’re very excited to have our first ORC North American Championship on the Pacific coast. StFYC has been exceptional in the planning and organization of an event at this high level, and the turnout of competitive entries looks impressive,” said Matt Gallagher, Deputy Chairman of the Offshore Racing Congress. 

“We wish everyone good luck and look forward to crowning our new North American champions at the end of a hard-fought regatta.” 

This year’s formidable ORC entrants include Rolex Sydney Hobart division winner Ron Epstein, racing his JPK 11.80 Bacchanal. Keep an eye out for the 2025 RBBS ORC A winner Zeus, a slippery-blue Infiniti 52 raced by Michael Fermin, an Australian who’s been enjoying this side of the Pacific. His recent Pacific Cup ended with “Fastest Passage,” and now spectators will watch to see if the speed translates around the buoys. Among the biggest boats are the 68ft Bill Lee-designed sled Merlin, the RP56 Vasara, the TP52 Fox, Santa Cruz 52 City Lights, Santa Cruz 50 Octavia and Santa Cruz 52 Rosebud.

Keeping it sporty: Rich and Tony Festa’s Melges 32 Groundhog Day, Dan Brumlik’s Beneteau First 30 Final Final, Stan Phillips’ Farr 30 Frequent Flyer, Dave MacEwen’s J/90 Lucky Duck and Gregory Winters’ J/35 Jarlen.

Racing for Rolexes and other prestigious trophies

ORC A is racing for a Rolex Submariner Timepiece and the St. Francis Perpetual Trophy, which was donated anonymously to StFYC in 1966 and meant to encourage competition between large offshore racing yachts.

ORC B is racing for the City of San Francisco Perpetual Trophy, awarded at RBBS since 1968.

ORC C is racing for a Rolex Submariner Timepiece and the Atlantic Perpetual Trophy, featuring a ship’s bell from the 1905 Transatlantic-record-breaking schooner Atlantic.

ORC D is racing for the Keefe-Kilborn Perpetual Trophy, named in honor of late StFYC members Harold Keefe and Ray Kilborn.

The first race of the series is the ORC Distance Race held on Thursday where all ORC classes will start off the St Francis YC race deck and proceed out the Golden Gate and into the Pacific Ocean on race courses that stretch from the Marin headlands to the beaches west of San Francisco before returning into the Bay after 5-6 hours of racing.

The remainder of the series will consist of courses set inside the Bay, with two races planned for Friday and Saturday and one long race held on the final day on Sunday. Besides the prizes mentioned above, winners in each class will be awarded titles of 2026 ORC North American Champions.

For more information on the 2026 ORC North American Championship at the Rolex Big Boat Series, visit https://rolexbigboatseries.com.