As the BPI Private Wealth Signature Yacht Race Series Wraps Up, Filipino Skippers Give Tips on How to Get Into Sailing

After four days of navigating the shifting winds in Subic Bay, the participating skippers and crew members of the BPI Subic Regatta have found their champs. April 11th marked the fourth and final leg of the BPI Private Wealth Signature Yacht Race Series 2026.

The series, which was first organized in 2023, has been a huge boost for the Philippine sailing community. It features our country’s iconic sailing destinations and brings together elite Filipino sailors, while advocating for responsible sailing and marine conservation.

With this year’s theme of “Do More for the Philippine Seas,” the 2026 series kicked off in November 2025 with the BPI 200, a multi-day, 200-nautical-mile offshore race from Subic to Boracay. In January, the BPI Busuanga Cup featured a 135-nautical-mile offshore race that started in Nasugbu, Batangas, and finished in Busuanga Bay, Palawan. In February, the BPI Corregidor Cup took place in Punta Fuego on the coast of Nasugbu. This April, the BPI Subic Regatta’s four-day race wrapped up at the bay with a scenic backdrop of Mt. Cinco Picos.

Choosing Subic Bay for the final leg is, as the skippers told Esquire Philippines, a strategic way to cap off the whole series. “Subic is a fantastic racing destination. It’s one of the best race courses in the entire Philippines,” said James Villareal, the skipper of Raw Honey, one of the nine boats that joined the racing class division. “You have a beautiful bay. It’s secluded with flat waters and great winds. There’s wind almost every day. It’s really a test of skill in terms of [technicality, judgment, and teamwork].”

Villareal is also a trustee of the Ocean Racing Club Philippines (ORCP), one of the three organizers of the yacht race series. The other two are the Philippine Inter-Island Sailing Federation (PHINSAF) and Subic Sailing.

The final leg’s awarding ceremony took place in Lighthouse Marina Resort, Subic, on April 11th, where the following teams emerged as the winners of the three competing race classes:

Ocean Multihull Class:

• Estelita Del Mar


• Cariño



Cruising Class:

• Papaya


• Neptunus III


• Enterprise

IRC Class:


• Raw Honey

• Belatrix


• Centennial III

The Philippine sailing community also celebrated one of this year’s highlights—the participation of the first-ever all-female crew in the history of the yacht race series—Team Enterprise, represented by Sikhay, an all-female sailing team founded by Wivinia Tabora.

“My team started training through Papaya or PYCS' Beneteau First 45, a cruising boat meant for charters,” Tabora told Esquire Philippines. “I started teaching my girlfriends the basics or Sailing 101 mid-February until the other women came along around February to mid-March, and we’d train every weekend leading up to April.”

Tabora has been joining the BPI regattas since Season 1 as a volunteer crew of the Papaya Team. “They are our main brand sponsor, our training ground, and the very reason I got into sailing, which enabled me to inspire other women to want to learn sailing too,” she said. In April, Sikhay represented Team Enterprise, and they clinched the bronze spot in the cruising class. 

Yacht racing may not be the most popular water sport in the Philippines, but the sailing community is growing.

“When I say growth, [I mean] the number of sailors participating, both owners and crew members, and the number of hulls or boats on the water,” said Albert Altura, skipper of Hurricane Honor and chairman of the ORCP. “We’re really growing fast.”

They’re also looking to tap new blood.

“Sailing in the Philippines is not so big if you compare it to other countries… One thing lacking here in the Philippines is the youth development program,” said Villareal, whose team, Raw Honey, is this year’s IRC overall winner. “We need to do a little bit more to invite the collegiate athletes. We made it a point to try and engage with local universities and schools… maybe putting up a sailing club and then moving forward from there.”

One misconception about sailing as a sport is that you need to own a boat. According to Bobby Benares, one of the seasoned Filipino sailors who also participated in the series, newbies are welcome to sign up as crew members for existing boats. “They can start with dinghies,” he said. “They can go to the Taal Yacht Club and learn there. They can come here and learn here [in Subic] also. They have summer sessions here.” 

He told Esquire Philippines about his early sailing days. He started as a crew member of dinghies—smaller, more versatile boats—and as he got older, he progressed to bigger, more challenging boats. “You start with a small boat, and then you can rent or borrow a boat. You don’t even have to buy, because all of these big boats need crew.”

Altura echoes the same sentiments. “Just say, ‘I want to experience this regatta sailing,’ and we’ll welcome you,” he said. He suggests contacting the three organizers of the annual regatta—the ORCP, Subic Sailing, or PHINSAF, if you’d like to get onboard sailing adventures.

“Our goal by next season and in every regatta is to have at least 20 boats,” said Altura. “And in the following season, keep coming up with bigger numbers.”

ERRATUM (April 21, 2026): Information about Enterprise and Sikhay have been edited. Apologies for the oversight.

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