Green Buoy Battle Returns to Dana Point for 2026

DANA POINT, California - The Green Buoy Battle is back for its second year on Saturday, November 14, 2026. Ocean Academy's open-ocean race launches from Baby Beach in Dana Point Harbor, rounds the Green Buoy outside the harbor and finishes back inside, with stand up paddlers, prone paddlers, OC1 and V1 outrigger paddlers and surfski racers all sharing one course.

If you were hoping to race, move fast: the 2026 race is sold out, and the organizer keeps a waitlist on PaddleGuru.

The Buoy Every Local Paddler Knows

Just outside Dana Point Harbor sits the Green Buoy. For local paddlers it has long been a symbol of courage and confidence, and for Ocean Academy athletes it is the first milestone beyond the harbor and into the open ocean.

Candice Appleby, the eight-time stand up paddle world champion who founded Ocean Academy and serves as race director, has coached hundreds of paddlers of every age and ability out to that buoy. Along the way she saw that it meant something to all of them, from first-time ocean paddlers to world champions. That shared milestone became the race.

"More than a race, Green Buoy Battle is Candice Appleby's love letter to the paddling community," Ocean Academy writes in its 2026 event deck, "and a celebration of the people who make it so special."

The Course: Single Run or Double Run

Racers choose one of two distances on the same course:

• Single Run, 3.25 miles: one trip out around the Green Buoy and back. Ocean Academy built it for first-time ocean racers, newer paddlers, and local legends who prefer one memorable lap.
• Double Run, 6.5 miles: the course twice, for experienced athletes after a bigger endurance test. According to the organizer's PaddleGuru listing, the two runs are separate starts, with both times added together.

From Baby Beach, the course runs down the channel along the breakwater and around its end, then heads into open water to the buoy. Outside the breakwater you get swell and wind, which is a big part of why reaching the Green Buoy feels like such an accomplishment.

A Sold-Out First Year

The inaugural race in 2025 had to wait a week when an atmospheric river forced a postponement. It still sold out. Ocean Academy counts 215 athletes across five disciplines, seven world champions on the start line, and an oldest competitor of 81. Twenty-three sponsors and partners backed the first year, more than 35 volunteers worked it, and photographers captured over 1,000 images of the day before everyone moved on to the after party.

Our announcement of the first race has more of the backstory, including the event's ties to Dana Point's paddleboard racing history.

What Racers Get

The race is grassroots by design. According to Ocean Academy, every entry includes a goodie bag with a handwritten thank-you card, an athlete lunch, an event T-shirt, the after party, and race photos for every competitor. Behind that is a team of volunteers, officials, safety and boat crews, photographers and media people, led by Appleby.

For Brands: Partnering With the Race

Ocean Academy is building a sponsorship package for each partner, from the title sponsor down to a Friends level. Depending on the level, partners can get logos on the race jersey, shirt, poster and website, a vendor booth, social posts and goodie bag placement. Brands that want to support one of Southern California's community ocean races can reach the team through Ocean Academy.

Follow Along

The race posts on Instagram at @greenbuoybattle, with more from @oceanacademyusa and Appleby at @applesteeze. Race date, distances and the waitlist are all on the Green Buoy Battle 2026 event page. With a free Supconnect account you can save the race to your guide, but you don't need one to read the page.