Regatta officials unveil 2026 Port of Los Angeles field     

VALLEJO, Calif. – Officials for the Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup, one of the premier collegiate offshore sailing regattas in the nation, set the field for the 2026 competition and announced their selections on Friday.

Cal Maritime received one of three automatic berths as the event's co-host, USC and College of Charleston secured the other spots by virtue of winning the 2025 Harbor Cup and this past November's Kennedy Cup, respectively. 

The seven at-large selections that complete this year's field are Cal Poly, Coast Guard, Hawai'i, Maine Maritime, Navy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the University of Victoria (Canada).

Of the 17 previous races also co-hosted by the Los Angeles Yacht Club and Port of Los Angeles, the Keelhaulers captured a regatta championship eight times — 2011-15, 2017, 2020 and 2022 — the most of any of the event's participating institutions.

USC (2010 champions) won this competition for the second time in its program history last March, joining Cal Maritime, Maine Maritime  (2008. 2009, 2024) and College of Charleston (2016, 2019) as multiple-time Harbor Cup winners.

Navy (2018) and Hawai'i (2023) each ending their weekend in San Pedro, California, as event champions on one occasion.

The 2026 competition is Coast Guard's 16th Harbor Cup appearance; Cal Poly and U.S. Merchant Marine's will race around Los Angeles Harbor for the sixth time in each program's history; University of Victoria returns after making its regatta debut last year. 

The 18th-annual 10-race event will commence March 6 and conclude two days later.