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Main Sailing Events Around the World:

A water person is likely a person who would end up engaging in any water-related sports such as sailing or swimming. If boat racing is the person’s passion, with the sailing races around the world that are happening at any time of the year, there is always an activity ready to give enjoyment, challenge, and fulfillment. The Internet is one of the best places to find boat races and cruises that will surely give a person utmost satisfaction. Whether a person is a novice or a professional, there is a sailing event that will be suitable and be of great interest. Among these events are:

America’s Cup was born during the 100 Guinea Cup sailing race in 1851 where “America”, a schooner representing New York Yacht Club led by Commodore John Cox Stevens won the race. Stevens sold the famous “America” schooner and donated the trophy to the New York Yacht Club under a Deed of Gift, which declared that the trophy was to be used as a challenge cup for friendly racing contest between countries. John Cox Stevens became the first head of the New York Yacht Club.

Annapolis Race Week – Maryland is a three-day racing event on the bay of Chesapeake with an average of seven crews per participating boat. This foremost sailing regatta is an annual event coinciding with Labor Day weekend handled by Chesapeake Bay Yacht Racing Association.

Big Boats Series – California, an annual race organized by St. Francis Yacht Club and sponsored by Rolex catches the attention of numerous world-class sailors. These sailors are vying to win one of the six uniquely engraved Rolex watches given to winners of the SFYC Perpetual Trophies.

Block Island Race Week – Rhode Island that started in 1965 with more than 175 boats competing is now one of the most prestigious and popular sailing race weeks in the United States. This race is organized by The Storm Trysail Club and sponsored by Rolex. The event for this year was held from June 18th to June 24th.

Buzzards Bay Regatta – Massachusetts came about after a discussion over lunch between Bob Saltmarsh of the New Bedford Yacht Club and Bill Saltonstall over their dwindling regatta participants. In 1972, the first Buzzard Bay Regatta was held with the purpose attracting the best boats to compete with each other. This is done by getting the yacht clubs around Buzzard Bay to sponsor one big regatta yearly. Today, Buzzards Bay Regatta is the biggest multi-class regatta in the USA.

Charleston Race Week – South Carolina is organized by the Charleston Ocean Racing Association, which was established in 1967 with a principal goal of promoting sailing and encouraging good fellowship among yachtsmen, onshore and offshore.

Cock Island Race – Virginia is a sailboat race in Portsmouth, Virginia conducted this year on June 17th to 18th with The City of Portsmouth and the Portsmouth Boat Club as sponsors. This is a yearly happy event where participants are treated with food, spirits, friendship, and fun.

Congressional Cup – California, a race presented by the Long Beach Yacht Club is one of the most prominent and oldest match racing events worldwide. Each spring, hundreds of foreign guests enjoy coming back to participate and witness the events and feel the fair weather and winds of California.

Dauphin Island Race – Alabama, hosted by Lake Forest Yacht Club for this year was held in April at Aloe Bay on Dauphin Island. This year is the 53rd year since this race first started. The Governor’s Cup is given to the club with the most points with club boats finishing in first up to third places.

Essex Rum Cup – Connecticut is Long Island Sound’s annual event for summer regattas that attracts large fleets of participants from different states and other places that usually ends with music, dancing, barbecue, beverages, and awarding of trophies on the grounds of the Essex Yacht Club.

Fastnet Raceis a popular classic offshore yacht race that occurs every two years with the first race in 1925 won by Jolie Brise. Rolex has been sponsoring the race since 2001 with the winner taking home the Fastnet Challenge Cup.

Figawi – Massachusetts or Figawi Race Week is now an authentic annual East Coast sailboat racing event that started by the initiative of three sailors; Bob Moose, Joe Horan and Bob Luby who decided to race on Memorial Day weekend from Hyannis to the Island. The race from Hyannis to Nantucket was initially aimed to be a fun event, but now is a legitimate race with participation by world-class sailors.

Gotland Runt, a yacht race organized by the Royal Swedish Yacht Club in 1935 with the first race held in 1937 that until now is one of the biggest international ocean racing events worldwide. The race with a course of 250 miles starting in Visby and around Gotland before going back to Visby is held every two years.

Key West Race Week – Florida is North America’s prestigious annual big boat regatta that is well participated by people from all over the United States and other nations.  This event is held in January annually and claimed to be the only race being held on that month. This is the best race after the cold weather of the Christmas holidays.  

Lake Pontchartrain Racing Circuit – Louisiana, was created by the four affiliated members of the Gulf Yachting Association in 1985. The purpose of the Association is to hold a series of races on Lake Pontchartrain in order to select an area champion and set up a regatta that would become an event of national importance. Today, it is one of the well-participated racing events in the USA.

Larchmont Race Week – New York, a race organized by the Larchmont Yacht Club that has been organized in 1880. The Larchmont Race Week has been in existence for more than 100 years and until now is one of the best racing events in the United States. This year, young sailors aged 9 up to 15 years were able to experienced the challenge of boat racing. This proves that the organizers are determined to let more people at any age enjoy and experience boat races.

Level Regatta – New York is considered one of the biggest sailboat races in North America with an annual estimated generation of $100,000. In 1936, Youngstown Yacht Club consented to hold the Lake Yacht Racing Association regatta in Youngstown. Lake Yacht Racing Association, which was organized in 1884, is an association of yacht clubs on eastern Lake Erie and Lake Ontario with an aim to promote yacht racing among the club members.

Long Beach Race Week – California is handled by Long Beach Yacht Club and Alamitos Bay Yacht Club. The race is held in June every year with several championships such as the Catalina 37 National Championship, Cal 25 Carl Kindrich Challenge Cup, Open 5.70 National Championship, and many more. The Long Beach Race Week for 2012 is going to be held from June 22nd until June 24th. Registration for the race is open and interested parties are encouraged by the organizers to register in advance.

Mackinac Race – Illinois, which is a 333 mile race that starts from the Chicago Lighthouse until Mackinac Island is the oldest yearly freshwater distance race worldwide. The race is managed by Chicago Yacht Club that was founded in 1898. This year is the race’s 103rd year and took place on July 16th.

Miami to Key Largo – Florida is a race that started in 1956 with 33 participating boats. Today, this annual race, which signifies spring to South Florida sailors, has over 200 participating boats. The boat race starts at Rickenbacker Causeway and goes straight to Jewfish Creek of Key Largo. The Miami Yacht Club Youth Sailing Foundation is the recipient of the proceeds of this boat race.

Mills Trophy Race – Ohio, an invitational race that is home to Toledo Yacht Club. Toledo Yacht Club was established in 1865 when rowing was the popular sport. Today, races are managed by the Mills Trophy Race Committee in cooperation with the Storm Trysail Club and Toledo Yacht Club. Races are usually held within the vicinity of Toledo Harbor and Put-in-Bay in Ohio.

Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race – California originally was called the Governor’s Cup in 1948 during the first race with a total of 117 participating boats to contend in the 125-nautical mile contest from Newport Beach, California to Ensenada, Mexico. The race was renamed to Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race with focus on camaraderie and competition, which attracted thousands of people from all over the world including movie producer Milton Bren and comedienne Vicki Lawrence. This race was declared the largest international yacht race in the world in 1983 with 675 participating boats, which is a world record. Newport to Ensenada Yacht Race was established by the Newport Ocean Sailing Association as a simple, just-for-fun race for sailors from World War II that has grown into multi-classes race vying for the President of the United States Trophy as one of the many awards.

NYYC Race Week – Rhode Island – New York Yacht Club was formed on July 30, 1844 through the leadership of John Cox Stevens with the purpose organizing a club between the businessmen and residents of New York, which could be an avenue for New York Harbor weekend racing, and summer cruises. The meeting of the members of the New York Yacht Club on July 15, 1845 gave birth to traditional New York Yacht Club’s Annual Regatta, which is now in its 154th year. The NYYC Race Week for 2011 in Newport, Rhode Island is being sponsored by Rolex and Sperry Top-Sider.

Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge – Maryland is organized by the Southern Maryland Sailing Association, which was founded in 1972 and now has over 185 members. The racing for 2011are held at the mouth of the Patuxent River. Screwpile Lighthouse Challenge also brings to light Solomons as a wonderful tourist destination that attracts more than 1,000 people from different countries. SMSA puts forward wide-ranging cruising, racing, women’s, junior, and on-shore events that permit members to appreciate the sport of sailing through different  venues throughout the year.

Sydney Hobart Race, a yacht race hosted by the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia in cooperation with Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania with a distance of about six hundred thirty nautical miles from Sydney to Hobart.

The Lobster Run – Connecticut/Maine – A team of dedicated and talented people with enormous experience in managing and organizing races, has combined their commitment to establish a remarkable ocean-racing event. The Corinthians Stonington to Boothbay Harbor Race is a race event of the Corinthians Association in cooperation with the Boothbay Harbor Yacht Club and the Stonington Harbor Yacht Club. This race is also known as the Lobster Run, where the top three winners in the event are presented with big live lobsters at the awards. The next Lobster Run is set on July 27, 2012.

Volvo Ocean Race is an around the world crewed yacht race initiated by Guy Pearce and Anthony Churchill after Robin Knox-Johnston won The Sunday Times Golden Globe Race in 1969. With the victory and tragedy of its first race in 1973, it is now the hottest global race using the latest technology not only on building the yacht, but also on capturing the events through 24-hour surveillance system.

Yachting Cup – California is now on its 39th year. The Yachting Cup, a San Diego Yacht Club’s exclusive regatta that draws together one-design racing and competitive fleet at various venues on courses both offshore and inshore San Diego. It is the mission of the Club to encourage and cultivate interest in all facets of yachting. This year, the organizers are bringing back the Ton Cup as part of the Yachting Cup Regatta weekend as a standout Friday regatta with its own awards and prizes.