2026 Etchells World Championship Regatta Kicks Off Next Week at San Diego Yacht Club
by Etchells Class 8 May 05:25 NZST
May 11-15, 2026
All set for the 2026 Etchells World Championships in San Diego © Mark Albertazzi
Sailors from across the globe are gathering at San Diego Yacht Club (SDYC) for the 2026 Etchells World Championship, with official measurement taking place this week ahead of racing, which begins Monday, May 11, and continues with 2-3 races planned per day through Friday, May 15.
Seventy-six teams representing 12 countries will battle on the water to claim the International Etchells Class Association World Championship title. Olympic medalists, world champions, Hall of Famers, and elite Corinthian sailors make up the fleet in one of the world's most prestigious one-design championship regattas.
The Worlds return to the United States after back-to-back championships in Australia. San Diego previously hosted the Etchells Worlds in 2011 and 2000, and both winning teams from those regattas will be represented this year. 2011 world champion skipper Bill Hardesty will crew aboard John Dane III's DanEgerous (USA 1426) - the 2024 North American Champion - while 2000-winning crew member Rick Merriman returns to helm his own boat, Big E (USA 1452), competing for the Grandmasters Trophy, awarded to teams with a combined crew age greater than 150 years.
The 2025, 2024, and 2023 world champions will all be in attendance. Team Magpie (AUS 1525), led by James Mayo, will look to complete a hat trick after back-to-back victories in Melbourne and Fremantle. John Sommi returns with his entire 2023 Miami-winning crew: Beccy Anderson, Victor Diaz de Leon, and Will Ryan.
Among the top teams to watch is RayGun (USA 1527) skippered by Olympian Austin Sperry. Last month, Sperry and his crew handily won the Etchells Orca Bowl pre-Worlds regatta, finishing in the top three in all but one of five races, culminating their dominance in the West Coast Spring series. The crew of this American boat includes fellow Olympian and US Sailing Hall of Fame member John Kostecki and one-design expert and sailing legend Noel Drennan.
Gunning for RayGun will be several strong American and international teams, such as Hong Kong's Racer Smithy (HKG 1496) owned by Mark Thornburrow, and the Great Britain's No Dramas (GBR 1490) skippered by Andrew Lawson. Alongside crew members Graham Vials - 2024 Fremantle Top Corinthian Skipper - and Billy Russell, Lawson and No Dramas took the runner-up spot overall in the Orca Bowl and won the Corinthian division.
A new trophy will also debut this year in recognition of the continued growth of female participation in sailing. Under the leadership of SDYC Commodore Alli Bell, who also serves as Etchells Class Secretary, a new perpetual award for the Best Female Team at the Etchells World Championship has been introduced. Two teams — Coyote (USA 1092) and Mostly Harmless (USA 909) — are eligible for the award this year.
The trophy was gifted to the International Etchells Class in 2026 by SDYC and generously donated by Vince Brun, 2000 Etchells World Champion and event co-chair. Rich in history, the trophy is a repurposed prize from the 1997 J/24 World Championship in Buenos Aires, Argentina — an event won by Brun.
The class already awards a trophy for the top female helm. In addition to the two all-female teams competing for the new award, Flying Higher (AUS 1518), helmed by Etchells Governor Jeanne-Claude Strong, and Passenger Princess (USA 1217), helmed by Erika Barth, will also compete for top female helm honors.
"San Diego Yacht Club has a long, proud history of hosting major world-class events. Our race committee is top-notch, our facilities provide everything a sailor could hope for, and our shoreside activities will make sure everyone feels at home," says SDYC Commodore Alli Bell. "San Diego has a lot to offer for sailors and their families outside of the event, making it an ideal place to host the 2026 Etchells World Championship."
"Co-chairs Vince Brun, Casey Schnoor, and I, with an ever-growing host of able and experienced volunteers, have been working on this event for well over a year, and it is exciting to see everything lining up so well," adds 2026 Etchells Worlds Co-Chair Charlie Mann. "The always evolving quality of sailing competition is a hallmark of this venerable class. With an emphasis on Corinthian, female and young sailors, as well as top top-tier US and international competitors coming to San Diego, this event promises to provide the best our sport has to offer for all."
Find out more at 2026.etchellsworlds.org