Five-year plan for Caribbean racing

The Caribbean Sailing Association (CSA) has updated its 5-year calendar, aimed at providing sailing enthusiasts with a diverse range of events across the Caribbean region. The CSA, along with its members, coordinate the region’s calendar to minimize event overlaps, allowing boat owners and crews to participate in as many events as they desire.

New for 2025 is the Windies Multihull Trophy, that will be awarded at the 2026 Caribbean Multihull Challenge. This trophy will recognize two multihulls (over 60ft and under 60ft) that have competed in the most events of the 2025 Caribbean Circuit and displayed outstanding performance. The CSA Travelers Trophy, which celebrates the best performance and most traveled boats, will similarly be awarded to a monohull at Antigua Sailing Week in 2025.

Barbados Sailing Week, the opening event of the island circuit, will feature two feeder races – Rum to Spice to Grenada Sailing Week and another to St. Maarten for the Caribbean Multihull Challenge.

The regattas offer racing using the CSA rating rule. Input and management comes from measurers spread out across the Caribbean, who are working with different boats and racing conditions/preferences, keeping the rule relevant and based on new developments in boat building. Ratings can be provided last minute accurately and complete certification within a day.

“Besides a monohull and multihull rating, the CSA has developed a simplified rating rule to accommodate sailors that are in the region and want to be part of the events, without having to take out their stoves to have some level of competition,” explains president of CSA and former chief measurer, Bastien Pouthier. “This is shown in many of the events offering a ‘Serious Fun Class’ or ‘Club Class’, making the Caribbean circuit more popular among cruisers hanging out in the region.”

Notable schedule changes for 2025 include the shift of the two superyacht regattas – St Barths Bucket and The Antigua Superyacht Challenge – to a week earlier, due to scheduling conflicts with other international regattas. One-design racing opportunities can be found at various regattas, with IC24s in St. Thomas, Diam 24s at the CMC and St. Maarten Heineken Regatta, VX-Ones at St. Thomas and BVI Spring Regatta, and Petticrow Dragons and RS Elites at Antigua Sailing Week.

These regattas play a crucial role in supporting local economies, yacht clubs, and sailing programs, with a strong emphasis on youth participation. Youth teams are actively encouraged to join the events, with initiatives such as the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta Next Generation program and the Youth to Keel Program at Antigua Sailing Week providing invaluable experiences for young sailors and local knowledge sharing opportunities.

More information: https://caribbean-sailing.com/