Est. 2025 · Santa Barbara Channel, California
The World's Most Prestigious Slow-Moving Maritime Race
Every four years, the oil platforms of the Santa Barbara Channel race north from Newport Beach to Monterey — 350 miles of California coastline, four checkpoints, and one very good reason to care.
The Oil Rig Regatta is a celebration built around an unlikely premise. The environmental pressures on the Santa Barbara Channel are entirely real. All proceeds support the non-profits working to address them.
Three of the five active Regatta competitors — Platform Harmony, Platform Heritage, and Platform Hondo — are Sable Offshore assets in the Santa Ynez Unit. On March 13, 2026, U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright invoked the Defense Production Act and ordered Sable to immediately restart production. Oil began flowing the following day. Combined output is expected to reach 50,000 barrels per day by April 1, with first commercial sales confirmed.
The competitive implication is without precedent in the race's short history. The Sable platforms have been offline since the 2015 Refugio oil spill — an eleven-year shut-in period that, by the race's own mechanics, represents the largest reservoir pressure accumulation in the Santa Barbara Channel in recorded history. The wells are primed. Platform Gail and Platform Hidalgo, which operate in separate units under different ownership, were not subject to the shutdown and are unaffected by the restart order.
The California Attorney General filed suit challenging the federal order on March 23. The restart is proceeding regardless. Standings have been updated to reflect post-order production rates.
The Haul
Between checkpoints, each competing platform undergoes "The Haul" — a multi-week tow operation where pairs of tugboats drag 30,000-ton structures up the California coast at speeds that rival continental drift. The wake is real. The progress is arguable.
The Regatta course runs north from Newport Beach — Checkpoint 1 — up through Santa Barbara, past Point Conception, through Morro Bay, and along Big Sur to the finish at Monterey Bay. Four checkpoints. Approximately 350 miles. All of it on purpose.
Four years later, the same platforms reverse the course — Monterey back to Newport — for the next edition. The platforms return to their home in the Santa Barbara Channel only after the full round trip is complete.
View the Course MapWhy We Race
The health of the Santa Barbara Channel is not a fiction. These waters are home to blue whales, sea otters, giant kelp forests, and dozens of protected species. The organizations below work year-round to keep it that way.
Every dollar raised through the Regatta goes directly to them. Root for your favorite rig. Drink beer on the beach. And please, donate.
Meet the Non-Profits →