With its champagne sailing conditions that are extremely hard to beat anywhere else in the World, Barbados has played host to a large number of diverse sailing events through the years, from local and regional regattas, to World Championships and has, itself, produced some world-class sailors along the way, who have represented their country at many international events, including the CAC Games, Pan Am Games, a variety of World Championships and the Olympic Games. Many of these sailors began their sailing careers at the Barbados Yacht Club or the Barbados Youth Yacht Training Association, later known as the Barbados Sail Training Association.
This year, 2024, the Barbados Yacht Club celebrated its Centennial; a significant achievement for any organisation. The idea of forming a Yacht Club was conceived by Captain (later Lieutenant Colonel) William Bowring and four others at a meeting held at the Bridgetown Club on August 23rd, 1924. The Club was then officially opened on Boxing Day, Friday, December 26th, 1924 by Sir Charles O’Brien, the then Governor of Barbados and patron of the newly formed Club.
One hundred years later, on August 24th, 2024, a Cocktail Reception was held under the distinguished patronage of the first President of the Republic of Barbados, Her Excellency The Most Honourable Dame Sandra Mason, FB, GCMG, DA, SC, LLD, to celebrate the founding of the Club. During the evening’s proceedings, Her Excellency unveiled a Commemorative Plaque, mounted at the entrance of the Club, to mark the Club’s Centennial.
Immediately after the Club was formed in 1924, it began organising yacht racing on Saturday afternoons in Carlisle Bay, and participation was open to both members and non-members, thereby ensuring that all of the island’s sailors could take part and enjoy the sport they loved so much. The boats were all locally built, wooden boats which were outfitted with wooden spars and booms, and canvas sails that had been cut and sewn locally. They were of different designs and lengths, and their performances varied, consequently they competed against each other in a single Handicap Class.
From that time on, the number of boats taking part in the Saturday afternoon races rapidly increased and, with their lengths ranging from under 10 ft to 30 ft or more, and their huge diversity of designs and performances, they had to be divided into several different handicap classes. By the late 1940s and early 1950s, the Club’s Saturday afternoon yacht racing had become so popular that it had become the norm to see 50 or more boats crossing the starting line, and spectators congregated in large numbers to watch the excitement from various vantage points around Carlisle Bay.
By the mid-1970s, Yacht Club members and others began to purchase larger keelboats, and the annual sailing programme started to include Offshore Races on Sundays in addition to the Saturday racing, and a variety of sponsors came on board to lend their support. The early 2000s unfortunately saw the demise of the Saturday afternoon racing, however, offshore and dinghy racing still continues to take place on Sundays throughout much of the year along the South and West Coasts of the island, as well as in Carlisle Bay.
This year’s sailing programme got underway in mid-January with Barbados Sailing Week 2024. Organised by the Barbados Cruising Club in association with the Barbados Yacht Club and the Barbados Sailing Association, and sponsored by the Barbados Tourism Marketing Inc (BTMI) and Mount Gay, the Week included offshore, dinghy and one-metre radio-controlled DragonFlite 95 racing, together with wing foiling and kitesurfing competitions.
The Week began in style with the Junior Dinghy Regatta. Sailed over the weekend of January 13th and 14th, the Regatta saw some of the island’s most talented junior sailors compete around a trapezoid course in the calm waters of Carlisle Bay. Constantly challenged by the Bay’s shifty wind conditions, competition was tight and exciting in all three classes: ILCA 4, O’Pen Skiff and Taz. This year also saw the introduction of the Optimist Green Fleet Class for youngsters in their first year of racing. The sailors were then treated to a special awards ceremony at the Cruising Club after racing on the Sunday.
This year’s Coastal Racing Series attracted entries from as far afield as Poland, the UK and Canada, and was sailed over two days: Thursday, January 18th and Saturday, January 20th. Divided into three classes: CSA Racing 1, CSA Racing 2 and J/24, the courses saw the boats racing in Carlisle Bay and along the South Coast of the island, with one race taking them several miles out to sea.
An exciting addition to this year’s Coastal Series was the Visit Barbados Sailing and Boardwalk Experience on the Saturday. Hosted by the BTMI, the Experience was designed to give spectators a taste of the thrills and excitement of sailboat racing. Those who participated were treated to live commentary on the racing, live music, cultural performances, and food and drink specials as they watched the racing close-up from the South Coast Boardwalk and Blakey’s Bar and Grill.
Sunday, January 21st saw sailors embark on the 60 nautical mile Mount Gay Rum Round Barbados Race and try to beat the record in their respective classes. The Race is sailed every year on the same date to honour the first Prime Minister of Barbados and co-founder of the Barbados Cruising Club, Errol Walton Barrow, who was born on this date in 1920.
Starting in Carlisle Bay and sailing clockwise around the island, those taking part had a fairly leisurely sail in a northerly direction along the West Coast before rounding North Point, where they encountered the full force of the Atlantic Ocean as they sailed southwards along the rough East Coast. The seas then eased as the boats rounded South Point and sailed downwind to the finish line, also in Carlisle Bay.
Whilst the sailors were treated to stunning views of the coastline, their avid supporters were treated to a variety of Mount Gay Rum cocktails being served at various bars around the island with vantage points to watch the racing. Unfortunately, conditions were such that no records were broken again this year, but this didn’t dampen the sailor’s spirits as they celebrated their achievements well into the night at the legendary Mount Gay Red Cap Party.
This year’s edition of Barbados Sailing Week also saw another exciting addition with the introduction of the Rum to Spice Race. Crossing the starting line in Carlisle Bay at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, January 24th, competitors sailed downwind through the night to Tyrrel Bay, Carriacou, where they were met with a tumultuous welcome by members of Grenada Sailing Week’s Organising Committee as they crossed the finish line the following morning. The approximately 120 nautical mile course provided a seamless connection between Barbados Sailing Week and Grenada Sailing Week, which was held from January 28th to February 2nd.
Racing in Barbados then continued with dinghy and offshore regattas being held on weekends from late January until early July in the waters of Carlisle Bay and along the South and West Coasts of the island, thanks to the generous sponsorship provided by Harris Paints, Lucky Horseshoe, Massy Stores, the Parker Family and Stansfeld Scott.
The Barbados Yacht Club also held a Centennial Regatta in early May and this was followed by J/24 Club’s International Open Championship in mid-May. The latter was sponsored by Tiki Bar and Corona, and saw racing on the Saturday taking place around a windward-leeward course set along the South Coast in the area of the Richard Haynes Boardwalk and Accra Beach. Sunday saw the fleet racing around a similar course set in Carlisle Bay, where the constant wind shifts made conditions far more challenging for the skippers and their crews.
In early July, the Barbados Sailing Association hosted a World Sailing Level 1 Technical Course for Females. Seven of the island’s young and talented female sailors were joined by two of their counterparts from St. Vincent as they embarked on the seven-day Course, which saw them all pass with flying colours to gain certification as Sailing Instructors from the world’s governing body for the sport of sailing, World Sailing.
During the summer holidays, the Barbados Sailing Association, operating out of the Yacht Club, and SetSail, operating out of the Cruising Club, offered one and two-week sailing camps to teach the sport of sailing to youngsters from the age of 8 years. In addition to conducting courses for beginners, the camps offered courses that developed the skills of the island’s more advanced junior sailors.
In late September and October, the Barbados Sailing Association ran its annual National Dinghy Championships in the waters of Carlisle Bay. SigniaGlobe Financial came on board once again this year as the title sponsor of the event, which comprised a series of fifteen races sailed over three weekends in various different classes, including ILCA 6, ILCA 4, Sunfish and O’Pen Skiff.
An exciting sailing programme is planned for 2025, kicking off with Barbados Sailing Week in January. This will be followed by offshore and dinghy events on most weekends until mid-July, when there will be a break over the summer before racing resumes with the National Dinghy Championships in the latter part of the year.
Websites: Barbados Sailing Association: www.sailbarbados.com
Barbados Yacht Club: www.barbadosyachtclub.com
Barbados Cruising Club: www.barbadoscruisingclub.org
Barbados Sailing Week: www.roundbarbados.com