San Diego Chosen to Host Extreme Sailing Series in 2017

An international sailing competition known for staging high-speed races in exotic locales will make its debut in San Diego next year as part of a return to the Americas after six years away.

Spectators will be able to watch race action as close as 16 feet from the shore as the Extreme Sailing Series comes to San Diego Oct. 19-22, 2017. The event’s race village will be based at Harbor Island.

From here, the 11th season of the series will head to Los Cabos Nov. 3-Dec. 3, marking its first visit to Mexico. Other venues include Muscat, Oman; Qingdao, China; the Madeira Islands, Portugal; Hamburg, Germany; and Cardiff, United Kingdom.

“I have no doubt that both San Diego, which has a long sailing tradition, and Los Cabos, which is a great sailing destination in its own right, will quickly establish themselves as among the classic venues of our circuit,” Andy Tourell, event director for the series, said in a news release. The series organizer, OC Sport, is a global sports marketing and events company based in East Cowes, UK.

San Diego has previously hosted sailing competitions including the America’s Cup and the U.S. Olympic Trials.

The president and CEO of the San Diego Tourism Authority, Joseph Terzi, acknowledged the help of Sailing Events Association San Diego, the San Diego Tourism Marketing District, the San Diego Sports Alliance and the Port of San Diego in helping attract the event to the city.

“On behalf of San Diego and our thriving, distinguished sailing community, we welcome with open arms the 2017 Extreme Sailing Series to America’s finest City,” Terzi said in the release.

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