Sport Life: Semana Nautica
The Semana Nautica Summer Sports Festival dates back nearly a century, getting its start when local Santa Barbara residents challenged the crews of five U.S. Navy battleships that were moored outside the harbor in 1933 to a series of athletic contests staged along the beach. Dubbed Fleet Week, the events proved so popular that the powers that be arranged to charter the contests on a permanent basis the following year, changing the name to Semana Nautica to reflect the city’s Spanish heritage.
The Navy no longer regularly has its fighting vessels visit along our coastline – these days, you’re much more likely to see behemoth cruise ships at anchor – and when they do, activities are sponsored by the Navy League, whose members toured the U.S.S. Santa Barbara last October.
But Semana Nautica remains a fixture on the Santa Barbara summer scene at the shore, even if the vibe has changed over the years.
“Historically, Semana Nautica was a giant party in Santa Barbara,” said Dana Longo, who has served as president of the nonprofit for decades. “It’s transitioned as the years have gone by and what we’ve been doing now is promoting aquatic and related events that are coordinated by their own event directors. But we’re keeping the spirit of Semana Nautica very much alive.”
In serving as an umbrella organization, Semana Nautica encompasses a wide variety of running events, mostly along the shoreline, and ocean swimming, as well as several that combine the two and/or offer team relays. Many of the events are extremely physically challenging, such as the closing six-mile ocean swim that follows a coastal route from Goleta Pier to Hendry’s Beach, and requires participants to have a dedicated kayak safety-escort with them throughout the competition. Others welcome participants of all ages and abilities, such as the Age-Group Swim Meet and the 500 Meter Master Swim.
Ocean swimmers can feel free to use a wetsuit, although that will remove them from award consideration.
“There’s the philosophy that ocean swimming is more pure when you are only wearing a bathing suit,” Longo said.
Events change every summer, and in past years have included baseball, tug-of-war, and even inline hockey. The ever-popular Crazy Kardboard Kayak Race required teams to fashion their own kayak equipped only with provided cardboard, scissors, and tape, and negotiate a short course out to a buoy and back at West Beach without sinking. It’s on hiatus for 2025 as the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum chose not to produce it this year.
“I can assure you that the race is not going to become part of permanent history,” Longo said. “It will be resurrected, probably next year.”
In the meantime, there are several events that should provide those who prefer to watch with plenty of thrills, including the annual California Beach Volleyball Association’s Men’s and Women’s Santa Barbara Open tournaments, at historical East Beach, and the Santa Barbara Sea Shell Association’s one-day regatta in the harbor off West Beach, an opportunity for alumni to relive their glory days of racing in the small handmade wooden sailboats.
“You don’t have to actually be an alumni, just be comfortable getting in a tiny little boat and sailing it around,” said Longo, a local native who grew up on the water and still does weekly ocean swims.
The best spectator event might be the Ocean Water Polo Tournament, held close to shore off Stearns Wharf and the Sea Center.
“You can stand on the pier with a great vantage point from above, looking down at the players to see what’s going on underwater,” Longo said. “That’s where half the action is.”
If the floating faction of America’s armed forces are no longer involved, at least the patriotic aspect remains, as the series of events are generally organized around the two-week period surrounding the July 4th holiday that celebrates American independence. What also survives is the friendly nature of the competition: Nearly every event explicitly warns that entrants can be disqualified for unsportsmanlike conduct, and in addition to the annual athlete of the year, there are two more awards that recognize leadership and character embodying the spirit of Semana Nautica.
As for resurrecting the original concept of the competition?
“We don’t have much contact with the Navy right now,” Longo said. “Nobody has spearheaded the Navy coming back. But that’s a good idea. It could happen.”
You might also be interested in...
