Trade Wind Sailing Caribbean Articles

Five Hours Flat Out in the Trades as Antigua Racing Cup Exploded Into Life

Antigua Racing Cup 2026: Trade Winds Delivered a Blistering Opening Day If there was any doubt about what the Antigua Racing Cup was going to be, it disappeared within the first hour. This wasn’t a gentle warm-up. It was straight into it. Out off Nelson’s Dockyard, the fleet met exactly what Antigua does best — proper trade wind sailing. A gradient easterly breeze sat firmly in the high teens, with gusts pushing beyond 20 knots, and just enough variation late in the day to keep tacticians honest.
Antigua Racing Cup 2026: Trade Winds Delivered a Blistering Opening Day
© Paul Wyeth/Antigua Racing Cup

Fast water Hard racing No passengers

08-05-2026

Trade Winds, Tight Racing and Rum on the Lawn as Antigua Launches Its New Regatta

Antigua Racing Cup 2026: A New Chapter Begins in Nelson’s Dockyard
© Michael Hodges
Antigua Racing Cup 2026: A New Regatta with a Proper Antiguan Welcome There are places that host regattas. And then there are places where sailing actually belongs. Nelson’s Dockyard is firmly in the second camp — and in April 2026, it added a new story to its long, salt-stained history with the arrival of the inaugural Antigua Racing Cup. From 9–12 April, crews from more than 15 nations gathered beneath the old stone walls and timbered galleries of this UNESCO World Heritage Site — the world’s only working Georgian dockyard — to kick off what feels less like a new event, and more like something that has simply been waiting its turn.
13-04-2026