Photo: Land Rover MENA (Flickr)

With the year-round weather as lovely as ours, it’s no surprise that San Diego’s such a popular destination for sporting events—a healthy share of them taking place along our sun-swaddled Pacific coastline. There’s an especially exciting on-the-water thriller coming down the pike this October, and as a guest of ours at the Sofia Hotel—one of the top hotels in SanDiego—you’re just a short cruise down the bayfront from all the drama.

We’re talking here about the Extreme Sailing Series, an elite international Stadium Racing competition more than a decade old that’s chosen San Diego for the second-to-last race event of its globe-hopping season. The cranked-up catamaran contest will be going down October 19 through 22 at Harbor Island, so book your room today at the Sofia, so you’re all set to take it in!

A Day (or Four) at the Races

The high-riding, high-adrenaline, ultralight watercraft involved in the Extreme Racing Series are GC32 catamarans, which thanks to their hydro-foiling technology fly as much as they do ride the water at speeds of up to 39 knots. Last year the GC32 replaced the larger and slower Extreme 40, and their nimbler, fleeter design and more hair-of-your-pants handling has really upped the drama in what was already a plenty dramatic competition.

Seeing these state-of-the-art boats (and their fast-acting crews) in up-close action is awesome, and that’s just what you’ll get to do at Harbor Island: The races, each of which kicks off with a four-minute countdown, take place just offshore.

The Extreme Sailing Series will also be hosting the first-ever Extreme San Diego Kiteboard International, so the watersports action will really be fast and furious—and varied. The kiteboarding races will be held before and after the daily GC32 matchups.

Throw in some post-race live music Friday and Saturday nights—the Destroyers and Ottopilot, respectively—and you’ve got plenty of entertainment both on and offshore at Harbor Island for the Extreme Sailing Series!

Attending the Extreme Sailing Series Event at Harbor Island

The Race Village at Harbor Island is free to enter for watching the Stadium Racing proceedings, though if you want a really exclusive look at the catamaran spectacle, you can spring for one of the VIP packages.

When you stay with us at the Sofia—one of the best hotels in SanDiego—you’re only a few miles from the kiteboarding and foiling contests taking place on San Diego Bay during the 2017 Extreme Sailing Series. Treat yourself to an October vacation in America’s Greatest City, take in some superb sailboat racing, and enjoy the unsurpassed Downtown San Diego hospitality of the Sofia Hotel throughout your stay!