Calendar / National Family Island Regatta
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Sailing in George Town, Exuma
National Family Island Regatta
Apr 20–24, 2027ExpectedNational Family Island Regatta 2027 (expected, late April)
Run by National Family Island Regatta Committee, with published dates and a real program.
Dates & details verified against: Official event site ↗
Why go
The National Family Island Regatta is the Super Bowl of Bahamian sailing, and Elizabeth Harbour at George Town is its stadium. Every April since 1954, wooden Bahamian sloops built and crewed on the Out Islands converge on Great Exuma to race for the title of best in the Bahamas, their vast single sails leaning hard over crews who hike out on long wooden planks called pries to keep the boats flat. These are not yachts. They are the workboats that once carried the islands' trade, kept alive and raced as a point of island pride, in Class A, B and C fleets that draw sailors and supporters from every settlement in the country. On shore the harbourfront turns into a days-long festival of rake and scrape music, food stalls and celebration. Watching a fleet of these sloops round a mark under one enormous sail, crews stacked out over the water, is one of the most stirring sights in Caribbean sailing, and the regatta is the best window there is into the Bahamas' living maritime culture.
When it runs
Held each April in Elizabeth Harbour off George Town, Great Exuma, staged by the National Family Island Regatta Committee since 1954, racing traditional Bahamian Class A, B and C working sloops over about five days. Dates fall in the last full week of April and are confirmed by the committee nearer the time. The 2026 edition (the 70th) ran 21 to 25 April 2026; 2027 is expected in late April.
- Apr 20–24, 2027ExpectedNational Family Island Regatta 2027 (expected, late April)
- Ran Apr 21–25, 202670th National Family Island Regatta 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.
What to expect
The regatta is held over about five days in late April in Elizabeth Harbour off George Town, with racing across the Class A, B and C sloop fleets and a shore festival running alongside. Trade winds in April are steady and the harbour is sheltered, which makes for close racing and easy spectating from shore or a chartered boat. Exact dates shift year to year around the last full week of April and are confirmed by the organising committee closer to the event. This is a spectator and cultural event; the sailing itself is by invited island crews.
Getting there & around
George Town on Great Exuma is reached by air from Nassau or direct from the United States, and Elizabeth Harbour sits right at the town, so the racing is watched from the waterfront, from Regatta Point, or from a boat on the water. Rooms in George Town are limited and book out for regatta week, so reserve well ahead or plan to stay on nearby cays or a boat. The shore festival is free; getting out among the fleet means chartering or hitching a ride with a local boat.
Where it happens
George Town, Exuma, Bahamas.
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