Mission accomplished for Charleston

A spirited rally by Cal Poly Maritime and relentless assault by the remainder of the fleet threatened – but couldn’t topple – College of Charleston as they held on to win the 2026 Port of Los Angeles Harbor Cup held on March 6-8 in Los Angeles, CA.

Ten teams racing in Catalina 37s, with the Cougars capturing their third victory in this college keelboat regatta. Cal Maritime Keelhaulers finished three points back in second and USC Trojans third in the ten-race series hosted by Los Angles Yacht Club (LAYC).

Charleston did not have a big boat program until the Harbor Cup piqued their interest, according to Coach Ned Goss. The opportunity to compete in this event was impetus for them to create their Offshore Sailing Team in 2013: today’s victory solidified the validity of that program.

“It all started here,” Goss pointed out, “so thank you very much to LAYC and the Harbor Cup organization.”

The Cougars have been on a roll, winning the Naval Academy’s Kennedy Cup regatta two years in a row, their division in Charleston Race Week, the Navy Shields Trophy Regatta and McMillan Cup, and the Larchmont Yacht Club IOR overall.

Polek added, “Our team has won all these events, and this (Harbor Cup) is the only one I haven’t, so I was hoping to get it before I graduate in two months.” Mission accomplished!

The Cougars had taken an early lead in the regatta on day one, but just a handful of points separated them from USC and the Univ. of Hawaii after the races on day two. Following a 50-minute postponement on the final day, the eighth race started in four to five knots from the southwest.

After strong winds the day before, the difference in conditions proved a challenge for the teams who had mastered the brisker conditions and lumpy seas, and the Cougars found themselves OCS. They rallied to a fourth-place finish, but Cal Maritime, who has dominated this regatta since its inception in 2008, won that bout and began an aggressive ascent.

By the ninth race, the breeze had crept up slightly and the competition on the heels of Charleston tightened between the Keelhaulers, Trojans, and the advancing Navy Midshipmen. Univ. of Victoria, the fleet’s newest competitor, had finally come into their own: familiar with the boats and conditions, they led the fleet around the course to victory in that race. The Keelhaulers finished second, shuffling the leaderboard and putting the squeeze on the Cougars.

With one final race, the podium was still up for grabs. Hungry for points and position the last start saw three teams OCS. Contenders spread out across San Pedro Bay on flat water beneath sunny skies, with the Trojans and Keelhaulers trading the lead around the track. But when Charleston finished fourth in that race, they had done enough.

“Being from the east coast, the biggest challenge for us is the waves and different water conditions,” explained Cougar helmsman John Polek. The team sails out of Charleston Harbor, “so it’s a little tough sailing in the West Coast conditions, but we just try to stay calm and keep doing what we do best.”

“If you take all the hopes and goals from when Harbor Cup was conceived, and fast forward 20 years, I feel we’ve exceeded all our expectations,” explained Capt. Jim Morgan, co-founder and ‘patron saint’ of Harbor Cup. “We took all the best ideas from other regattas and put it all into one.

“Our goal has been to introduce or perpetuate big boat offshore sailing for our young men and women. And if you think about it, we’ve had over 1,500 college sailors come through here in the last decade. That’s incredible!”

Event details: https://scores.collegesailing.org/s26/harbor-cup/

Source: Betsy Crowfoot