Calendar / Carriacou Regatta Festival
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Carriacou Regatta Festival
Jul 31 – Aug 2, 2026ConfirmedCarriacou Regatta Festival 2026
Run by Carriacou Regatta Festival, with published dates and a real program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why go
The Carriacou Regatta Festival is the longest-running regatta festival in the Caribbean, started in 1965 by the yachtsman J. Linton Rigg as a race for local working boats. Over Emancipation weekend at the start of August, hand-built wooden Carriacou sloops and open workboats race off Hillsborough, crews wading out through the surf to launch them from the beach, joined by vessels from Bequia, Petite Martinique, Grenada and other islands. These are not fibreglass yachts but boats still built on the beaches here by eye, from a tradition brought partly by Scottish shipwrights and kept alive for two centuries, so the racing doubles as a living display of Carriacou's boatbuilding craft. Onshore the festival runs a full fete of string band and quadrille, the African-derived Big Drum Nation Dance, food stalls, a greasy pole out over the water and plenty of rum and soca. It is a small-island celebration where the sailing, the music and the community all belong to the same heritage, and where visitors are welcome rather than herded.
When it runs
Held over Emancipation weekend at the start of August each year (the festival dates from 1965), with traditional Carriacou sloop and workboat races off Hillsborough and onshore string-band, Big Drum and quadrille celebrations. Upcoming: 31 July to 2 August 2026; expected late July to early August 2027.
- Jul 31 – Aug 2, 2026ConfirmedCarriacou Regatta Festival 2026
- Jul 30 – Aug 2, 2027ExpectedCarriacou Regatta Festival 2027
Dates read confirmed where the organizer has published them, and expected where we've projected the recurrence. Always verify with the organizer before booking.
What to expect
The regatta runs over Emancipation weekend at the very start of August each year, tied to the first Monday of August public holiday. In 2026 it falls on 31 July to 2 August. Racing depends on wind and sea state and schedules run on island time, so treat published start times as approximate and ask locally on the day. Hillsborough and its guesthouses fill for the weekend, and the ferry and flights from Grenada get busy, so plan travel and a bed well ahead. Days are hot and shade is limited on the waterfront, so bring sun cover and water.
Getting there & around
Carriacou lies about 40 kilometres north of Grenada, reached by a roughly 90-minute passenger ferry from St. George's to Hillsborough or a short flight to Lauriston airstrip. Most regatta events centre on Hillsborough and its beach, walkable once you are there, though some races and fetes spread to other bays. There is no ticket to watch the racing from shore; some fetes and parties charge at the door. Accommodation is limited guesthouses and small inns, so book early for the weekend. Bring cash, as cards are little used outside the main shops.
Where it happens
Carriacou, Grenada.
Want to go? The full Carriacou guide: conditions, logistics, providers →