The 2026 AMYA Soling 50 National Championship will be held at the San Diego Model Yacht Pond on August 29–30, 2026, with an optional practice day on Friday, August 28.
Hosted by the San Diego Argonauts, the event will bring together many of the nation’s top Soling 50 skippers for a weekend of competitive racing on Mission Bay.
Registration is limited to 20 competitors. The entry fee is $65 through August 17, increasing to $75 until registration closes on August 20. Competitors can pay online via Square at: https://square.link/u/3VbFtz1x.
We look forward to welcoming sailors from across the country to San Diego for another outstanding weekend of RC sailing.
Congratulations to Argonauts Commodore Jess Atkinson who will be GIVEN THE CHAIR for winning the 2026 Dragon Flite 95 Region 8 Travelers Trophy! (His personalized Lounge Chair will be presented at the first race of the 2027 season at the Long Beach Yacht Club.)
Congratulations to Annoying Orange who bested the Defending Champion Boys of Summer to claim the top prize in Team Challenge II with Team BS coming in 3rd!
Teams Green, Orange and Black advanced directly to the Finals, while Red, Blue, Yellow and White duked it out in the sudden-death Wild-Card Bracket:
Team Red emerged the victor to join the Finals:
In the Finals, Annoying Orange ran the table and won the championship (having lost only a single race in Stage 1 to 2nd Place Boys of Summer).
Videos courtesy of OCMSC and Larry Grant:
Thanks to Len Bose & the Orange County Model Sailing Club for hosting the Event and providing logistics, mark management (and ice-cold bottled water!)
The Region 8 DF95 Travelers Trophy season continued on Saturday, August 8, with a great day of racing at Mason Regional Park in Irvine, home of the Orange County Model Sailing Club.
Entries were limited to 17 skippers, allowing everyone to race together in a single fleet. With temperatures in the mid-80s, bright sunshine, and consistent winds, conditions were ideal for an impressive 16 races.
And San Diego Argonauts sailors had a very strong showing!
🥇 1st – Jess Atkinson – 28 points 🥈 2nd – Keith Ives – 42 points 🥉 3rd – Larry Grant – 49 points 4th – Dennis Rogers – 60 points 5th – Stephan Cohen – 72 points
Awards were presented by Len Bose, AMYA President and originator of the Region 8 Travelers Trophy series.
Photo credit: OCMSC
Don Frakes served as PRO, with Bob “Shoe” Schumacher, Alex Brown, and Rock Kendall handling scoring.
A big thank-you to everyone who helped make another full day of Travelers Trophy racing possible — and especially to our friends at OCMSC for hosting us at Mason Park.
There’s also some good news from our friends in Orange County: OCMSC has launched its own YouTube channel!
The new channel gives sailors throughout Southern California — and anyone curious about radio-controlled sailing — a chance to see some of the action at Mason Regional Park.
And they have already posted videos from Saturday’s Travelers Trophy regatta:
It’s great to see another Southern California model sailing club putting racing footage online. Videos like these help introduce newcomers to the sport, let sailors study the action, and help connect our growing RC sailing community.
So give OCMSC a subscribe and help get their new channel off to a great start!
And Then Came Sunday…
Saturday’s fleet racing wasn’t quite the end of the weekend.
The next day, many of the same sailors were back at Mason Park for the DF95 Team Challenge, a very different — and very fun — format featuring two-person teams and only four boats on the course at a time.
We’ve already covered all the action from Sunday in a separate post:
The Argonauts Board and the Race Week Committee have officially met and selected the dates for our 16th Triennial San Diego Race Week, which will take place at the San Diego Model Boat Pond from September 27 through October 11, 2027.
Our current plan is to host eight National Championship Regattas across eight model yacht classes over two weeks.
We are currently working with the AMYA class organizations to finalize the Race Week schedule and determine the order in which each class will compete.
Mark your calendars! We look forward to welcoming sailors from across the country for two exciting weeks of competitive racing and camaraderie at one of the premier model yachting venues in the United States.
Stay tuned for additional details as planning continues.
The latest episode of San Diego Argonauts Radio is now available!
In this episode, Commodore Jess Atkinson sits down harbor-side with one of radio sailing’s true legends, Craig Mackey. With 27 National Championships across multiple classes and 13 World Championship appearances, Craig has spent decades competing against the very best sailors in the world.
Craig shares stories from some of the finest radio sailing venues in North America and Europe, including Foster City, Corpus Christi, White Rock Lake, West Kirby, and many more. He reflects on how he got started in RC sailing after racing full-size yachts, discusses the evolution of IOM racing, and offers practical advice for sailors of every experience level—from learning the Racing Rules to making the most of practice sessions. His insights into regatta management, race courses, international competition, and sportsmanship make this one of our most informative episodes yet.
Results from the June ODOM and Soling 50 point races.
Coverage of the Filippo Busalacchi Champion of Champions Masters Regatta, where Ty Beach successfully defended his title.
A reminder that registration is open for the DF95 Traveler Series event at Mason Park on August 8–9.
An announcement from Dan Shire about the upcoming Region 6 IOM Championship in Seattle.
Whether you’re a seasoned competitor or just discovering radio sailing, this episode is packed with stories, history, racing wisdom, and practical tips from one of the sport’s most accomplished sailors.
🎧 Be sure to listen to the full episode, and as always…
The latest episode of San Diego Argonauts Radio takes us to the beautiful Foster City lagoon for the 2026 California IOM State Championship—widely regarded as one of the finest radio sailing venues in the country.
Recorded pond-side during the regatta, Commodore Jess Atkinson talks with four competitors about the racing, boat tuning, and what makes this championship such a standout event. The episode also celebrates a terrific performance by the San Diego Argonauts, with all five club members finishing in the top 10.
The show wraps up with a call-in from Vice Commodore of Power Division Bill Bridge, who shares results from the NAMBA District 19 Heat Race Series in San Diego, where an impressive 137 boats competed across 11 classes.
Whether you’re planning a road trip to race new waters or simply want to learn more about the broader RC sailing community, this episode is worth a listen.
