Antigua and Barbuda / Special Interests / Events

Antigua holds a number of regattas each year. Please see below for more information about what is on offer and how to get involved:

Antigua Sailing Week - The major event for the year, which takes place during the last week of April or the first week of May. There are five major races with a number of different classes held in different areas around the island, some out of Dickenson Bay, others out of Falmouth Harbour. There are races for bareboats, so anyone (qualified) can get a crew together and join in. And then there are any number of beach parties, cocktail parties and the official send-off, Lord Nelson’s Ball.

RORC Caribbean 600 Race - This ran for the first time in 2009 when the Royal Ocean Racing Club and Antigua Yacht Club joined forces to run the RORC Caribbean 600 Race. The race was the first of its kind to circumnavigate a number of Caribbean islands and covers 605 nautical miles. It sets off from Fort Charlotte, just outside English Harbour, the fleet will then pass a mark off Barbuda and on to Nevis, Saba and St Barths before circling St Maarten and heading south for Guadeloupe and then back north to Antigua for the finish.

Ondeck Antigua - If you would like to join in the fun of Antigua Sailing Week or the RORC Caribbean 600 Race, Ondeck’s Ocean Race Experience offers individuals the opportunity to participate in crews at around £1,495 (or the equivalent in US$). Based in Falmouth Harbour (and St Thomas in the USVI), Ondeck also offers RYA instruction to all standards of sailors, from novice up to race skipper, as well as a number of day sails and longer excursions such as Hidden Caribbean - a week-long itinerary that starts and finishes in St Maarten and visits five of the lesser- known islands in the north-eastern Caribbean. Their rationale is hands-on sailing and instruction, so you should expect an active time on the water.

Antigua Classic Yacht Regatta - Takes place a couple of weeks before Antigua Race Week. Races are restricted to yachts with a classic design and include a tall ships race. These yachts are of course some of the most beautiful yachts in existence, so there are also parades of yachts for spectators to see from the shore.

The Antigua Yacht Club also organises a number of other yacht races during the year. The annual High Tide series is run in December; the Green Island Race which involves a race to Green Island in June; and they also hold a Round the Island race in January. They also have a series of “after work” races on Thursday afternoons.

Another key moment in the Antigua sailing calendar is the Antigua Charter Yacht Show, which takes place at the start of the season in the first week in December. Many of the charter yachts available for the season through the Caribbean are there on show.