Defending champion Allie Blecher wasted no time reminding the fleet why she holds the title. On the opening day of the 2026 Santa Maria Cup at Eastport Yacht Club, Blecher and her Team Baam crew reeled off eight wins from nine races, putting themselves firmly at the top of the standings as ten of the world's best women match racing teams compete in Annapolis across Stage 2 of the Women's World Match Racing Tour.
The chasing pack is tight. Sweden's Anna Östling, sailing with Team Wings, and the Netherlands' Julia Aartsen, representing Team Out of the Box, each sit on a 7-1 record, one win adrift of the leader. Three teams are separated by a single loss, with plenty of racing still to come, and the standings could hardly be tighter heading into the final days.
Blecher kept her post-race assessment understated despite the commanding scoreline. "We had a pretty good day," she said.
"I made a few mistakes but we fought back and the racing was fair, which was good. The conditions are tricky but that is my favourite type of racing because you are never out of it and you are never safely ahead."
Six nations are represented across the fleet, giving the event a genuinely international character. Among the most notable debuts is China's Lijia Xu, the Olympic gold medallist who claimed the Laser Radial title at the London 2012 Games. Xu is competing alongside a group of local Annapolis sailors and is new to match racing after two decades of fleet and dinghy competition. The 2026 Santa Maria Cup marks her first appearance on the Women's World Tour.
"This is my first Women's World Tour event and I feel very fortunate to be here," Xu said. "Even after losing a few races today, I feel very happy because we are learning more after every race. After 20 years of dinghy and fleet sailing, there are still many synergies with match racing as you still need to know how to make a boat go fast and call the wind shifts."
Canada's Tara Golonka, from British Columbia, experienced a day of sharp contrasts. Her crew opened with two wins before the depth of the fleet caught up with them in the afternoon, illustrating just how competitive the field is. Golonka, like Xu, is making her Women's World Tour debut.
"It is super cool to be on the Women's World Tour for the first time," she said. "We are quite new to match racing so it has been awesome to compete at this high level. Today we started strongly and then struggled later in the day, but we have been learning all the time."
Racing continues through Saturday 6 June, when the 2026 Santa Maria Cup champion will be crowned.
