Calendar / King Edward VII Gold Cup
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Sailing in Hamilton
King Edward VII Gold Cup
Oct 11–18, 2026ConfirmedKing Edward VII Gold Cup 2026
Run by Royal Bermuda Yacht Club, with published dates and a real program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why go
Bermuda is one of the spiritual homes of sailing, and Hamilton Harbour is where you watch the best of it up close. The island's deep, protected Great Sound hosted the 2017 America's Cup, and every October the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club runs the King Edward VII Gold Cup, a match-racing regatta first competed for in 1907 and one of the oldest trophies in the sport. Match racing is sailing distilled to a duel: two identical one-design keelboats, one against one, circling and luffing at the start before a short, tactical windward-leeward sprint, and because it is sailed in the tight confines of Hamilton Harbour, spectators watch the whole thing unfold a few meters from the seawall rather than as distant sails on a horizon. The Gold Cup is a stop on the World Match Racing Tour and pulls in the top skippers in the discipline, many of them America's Cup and Olympic sailors, so the standard is exceptional and the racing close. Around the regatta, the Great Sound and the island's steady sea breezes make Bermuda a fine place to sail more generally, but the Gold Cup in October is the reason to time a trip: world-class competition in a natural stadium, decided in minutes and meters.
When it runs
Held every year in October on Hamilton Harbour, in the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club's one-design keelboats. The exact dates are set annually by the World Match Racing Tour calendar; confirm with the club.
- Oct 11–18, 2026ConfirmedKing Edward VII Gold Cup 2026
Dates read confirmed where the organizer has published them, and expected where we've projected the recurrence. Always verify with the organizer before booking.
These dates are confirmed.
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What to expect
The King Edward VII Gold Cup is held each October on Hamilton Harbour, sailed in the club's identical one-design keelboats, with the racing set close to the shore so it can be watched from land. October in Bermuda is warm with reliable breezes and outside the peak Atlantic hurricane weeks. Exact dates are set year to year by the World Match Racing Tour calendar, so confirm them with the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club before booking.
Getting there & around
Hamilton is central and easy to reach by bus, ferry or taxi, about 25 minutes from L. F. Wade International Airport. The Royal Bermuda Yacht Club sits on the harbor in the middle of the city, and the Gold Cup racing is watched free from the harborside and Albouy's Point. Bermuda allows no rental cars for visitors, so use the buses, ferries, taxis or a hired scooter.
Where it happens
Hamilton, Bermuda.
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