The 2025 sailing season began in style with the Barbados Sailing Week in mid-January.
As in previous years, the event began with the Junior Dinghy Regatta for sailors 18 years and younger. Restricted to only one day due to exceptionally high seas, this year’s Regatta attracted a total of twenty-two young sailors, including two from St Vincent and one from Trinidad. Six of our youngest raced around marks close to shore in the Optimist Green Fleet, where they were cheered on from the beach by a large group of enthusiastic parents and supporters. At the same time, the more experienced sailors competed around a trapezoid course in the middle of Carlisle Bay in three different classes: ILCA 6, ILCA 4 and O’Pen Skiff.
The Junior Regatta was followed by the Coastal Racing Series on Saturday, 18th and Sunday, 19th January. This year’s racing took place along the South Coast of the island and in Carlisle Bay. Strong winds and relatively high seas made for challenging sailing conditions and exciting competition. The CSA Monohull Racing Class was dominated by local boats, with all four races being won by ‘A-Salt Weapon’, skippered by Jason Tindale, whilst ‘Dandelion’, skippered by Geoffrey Evelyn, placed second overall and ‘Whistler’, skippered by Peter Lewis, finished third. In the one-design J/24 Class composed entirely of local boats, ‘Fly’, skippered by Robert Povey emerged as the overall winner, with ‘Bunga Bunga’, skippered by Charlie Gloumeau, placing second and ‘Pheonix’, skippered by Greg Webster, placing third.
The introduction of a Bareboat Class into the Coastal Racing for the first time happened in 2025. The class was made up of boats that had been chartered in Martinique by crews of sailors from Europe. Introducing the class diversified the entries, encouraged more international participation and certainly interjected a fresh dose of fun and camaraderie both on and off the water.
At the same time as the boats were competing in the Coastal Series, on the Saturday, sixteen kitesurfers representing seven different countries took to the seas off Long Beach in Christ Church to take part in the Kitesurfing Competition. This was followed on the Sunday by the Wing Foiling Competition, which was held in the calmer waters of Oistins Bay and attracted a total of twenty-four competitors from nine countries. Both events proved to be hugely popular with the crowds of spectators that gathered on the beach to lend their support and join in the fun.
Once again this year, the 60 nautical mile Mount Gay Rum Round Barbados Race was scheduled for Errol Barrow Day on Saturday, 21st January. However, with winds up to 35 knots and swells up to 3 metres forecast for the day, the Race Committee took the last minute decision to offer an alternative race, christened the Mount Gay Calypso Coast Cup, to those boats that did not wish to sail around the island in the conditions forecast. Half the fleet ended up crossing the starting line with the aim of going around the island and the other half decided to sail the alternative course along the West and South Coasts.
Sailing around the island in gusts well in excess of 35 knots, local boats ‘Rapajam’, skippered by Paul Johnson, and ‘Whistler’, skippered again by Peter Lewis, placed first and second respectively in the CSA Monohull Racing Class, repeating their 2024 performances, whilst ‘Escapado’ from the United Kingdom came in third. The only other boats to successfully finish were ‘Hydro Therapy’, skippered by Gregory Cuke in the Non-CSA Monohull Class, and ‘Spirit of Everest’, skippered by Robbie Yearwood, in the Multihull Class. Unfortunately, despite the high winds, no records were broken again this year.
Sailing in the inaugural Mount Gay Calypso Cup, ‘Panacea X’ from Canada placed first, with ‘Emily of Cowes’ from the UK placing a very close second and the 65 ft classic yacht, ‘The Blue Peter’, also from the UK, placing third in the CSA Monohull Class. The 72 ft Whitbread Maxi yacht, ‘CJ Legend’, sailing in the Non-CSA Monohull Class, was the only other boat to complete the race. As in previous years, the day would not have been complete without the legendary Mount Gay Red Cap Party, which continued well into the night.
The Presentation of Prizes for this year’s Sailing Week took place at the Barbados Yacht Club on the evening of Wednesday, 22nd January, and the curtain then came down on this year’s event at 5:00 pm on Thursday, 23rd January when six boats crossed the starting line in Carlisle Bay to take part in the Rum to Spice Race, which finished the following day in Tyrell Bay, Carriacou and provided a smooth transition into Grenada Sailing Week.
The racing season then continued with dinghy and offshore regattas being held on most weekends from late January until early July. Racing took place mainly in Carlisle Bay and along the South Coast of the island thanks to the generous sponsorship provided by Harris Paints, Lucky Horseshoe, Massy Stores, the Parker Family and Stansfeld Scott.
In August, Barbados was represented at the second edition of Junior Pan Am Games by 18 year old Joseph Whelan. Sailing in the ILCA 7 Class, formerly the Laser Standard Class, Joseph performed creditably and gained valuable experience. Held this year in Asuncion, Paraguay, the Games serve as a platform for young athletes under 23 from across the Americas to compete and gain experience, often leading to participation in the senior Pan Am Games and the Olympic Games.
The 2025 SigniaGlobe National Dinghy Championships, sponsored by SigniaGlobe Financial, were sailed in the waters of Carlisle Bay over four Sundays in September and October. Organised by the Barbados Sailing Association and supported by the Barbados Yacht Club, the Championships comprised a series of twenty races in five different classes:

  • ILCA 6 (formerly Laser Radial)
  • ILCA 4 (formerly Laser 4.7)
  • Sunfish
  • O’Pen Skiff
  • Optimist

and attracted some of the island’s top dinghy sailors.
During the year, the Barbados Sailing Association, operating out of the Yacht Club, and Set Sail, operating out of the Cruising Club, offered Saturday sailing lessons, as well as Easter and Summer sailing camps, to teach the sport of sailing to youngsters from the age of 7. In addition to teaching beginners, the lessons and camps offered courses that developed the skills of the island’s more advanced junior sailors, and in early September, the Association welcomed a new Head Instructor, Justin Slater, to the island to run its sail training programme. As a Royal Yachting Association senior instructor, Justin brings plenty of experience with him, which bodes well for the future development of the sport of sailing in Barbados.
At the time of writing, two of the major events on the sailing calendar had not yet taken place, but this article would not be complete without their inclusion. In late October, Barbados will be represented at the Caribbean Dinghy Championships by a team of six sailors: Scott Gittens sailing in the ILCA 7 Class, Savannah Stuart in the ILCA 6 Class, Aaron Stewart in the ILCA 4 Class, Oliver Judd in the Optimist Class, and Lillian Spiceland and Kai Duncan in the two-person Topper Fusion Class. Held this year in Antigua, the annual Championships bring together some of the top dinghy sailors from around the Caribbean and continue to be the cornerstone of the region’s sailing development.
The other event scheduled for the first weekend in November is the J/24 International Open Championship. The event is organised by the J/24 Club of Barbados and expects to attract boats from several neighbouring islands. Sponsored by Tiki Bar, located on Accra Beach, and Corona, racing on Saturday will be a windward-leeward course set along the South Coast in the area of the Richard Haynes Boardwalk and Accra Beach, and on Sunday the fleet will race around a similar course set in Carlisle Bay.
Another exciting sailing programme is planned for 2026, 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