Every year, during the last full weekend in April, the National Family Island Regatta is held in Elizabeth Harbor in Georgetown, Exuma. This is not to be confused with the annual Cruisers’ Regatta which is held at the end of February/beginning of March each year. The Cruisers’ Regatta is just that…it’s an event for us cruisers. The Family Island Regatta, however, is a highly anticipated event for the locals, and it happens to be taking place right now. Unfortunately, we are not in Georgetown now, but we were there in 2016 and had a wonderful time. Jim took some amazing photos which we’ve not yet shared, so figured no better time than the present!
The start of one of the A Class races – the boats all drop anchor and then fall back about 50 feet to the starting line. When the starting gun is fired, there’s a mad scurry as they all simultaneously weigh anchor and raise their sails to start the first leg of the race, which is always upwind.And they’re off! These Bahamian sloops are all handmade wooden boats (the decks may be fiberglassed, but not the hulls) with Egyptian cotton sails (no Dacron or synthetic materials are allowed) and must be Bahamian designed, owned, skippered and crewed. However, up to four non-Bahamians may crew on the A Class boats, and many times cruisers are asked to participate.Tida Wave – a famous sloop in the Bahamas which has won the regatta numerous years in the past. Notice the pry board (plank held to the deck by large staples) out to windward with human ballast! If they lose a crew member during a race, they must retrieve them before continuing on. Good rule!Rupert’s Legend from Long Island – another one of the A Class boats which has dominated the races. Each boat is allowed up to three pry boards, which they quickly slide across to the new windward side after tacking.Beautiful, right? The masts must also be wooden and there can be no spreaders or aluminum bars, no bowsprits, no winches, no tell tales, and no wind or speed instruments. These boats are based on the traditional Bahamian work boats of years gone by. For more information on the history of these boats and the regatta, check out this article.Tida Wave rounding the race marker. This is my FAVORITE picture from the regatta!Getting ready to round the race markManeuvering in close quarters!
And one more of Tida Wave for good measure!That’s us in the dinghy. For one of the races we chased the boats around while Jim tried to get photos and then we realized we could get much better shots if we anchored just off the start/finish line, which also served as one of the race marks they’d be rounding twice.Regatta Point – a good spot for watching the race from shoreIn addition to the A Class boats, there are also a few smaller classes, and pictured here are some of them anchored in the harbor amidst the cruising boatsOnce the last race is over, it’s time for the parade! This is the Exuma Youth Marching Band, which put on a great performance.Followed by the Royal Bahamas Police Force Band, which also put on a wonderful performance!The leader of the police bandHe was quite entertaining!I felt sorry for them…they looked like they were all roasting in those uniforms! You can see the sweat just dripping down this tuba player’s face.A group of Bahamian women watching the paradeNot sure if she knew Jim was taking her picture or not!Stacey (S/V Smitty), my partner in crime during the regatta, and myself having a good ol’ time!A whole village of these temporary shacks was constructed the week before the regatta started. Many of them served typical Bahamian fare such as conch salad, conch fritters, cracked conch, cracked lobster, fried or grilled fish, and chicken. The most common side dishes were baked macaroni & cheese and peas & rice, which is typical of what we’ve found throughout the Bahamas.Conch salad prep – a very familiar site at the regatta, as well as throughout the BahamasThere was no shortage of drinking establishments!This happens to be the shack we tended to frequent, although we never did see the “Jungless”, which according to Urban Dictionary is “Bahamian slang for a wild woman at a party or club who dresses in little to nothing, over accessorizes, has exotic nails and hairstyles”. Hmmm….interesting!Me with Clinton, one of the guys running the shack shown above, where we ate a couple of times with our friends on S/V Smity. While we were there, he gave us each a Kalik t-shirt and plastic Kalik mug, and when we asked about a beer we’d never hear of, Bush Crack, he opened one and split it amongst the four of us to try. Super nice guy!A group of women in front of the Liquor is Quicker Kitchen & Bar. Hmmm…interesting name!The regatta is a big event for the Bahamians and many were decked out in very colorful outfits and hats, such as this lovely lady.Enjoying some dinner with the lovely setting sun for a back-dropAnd of course, as night time fell on the last day of racing, it was time for the closing ceremonies, which were held at the Administrator’s Complex near Regatta PointEven Perry Christie, the Prime Minister of the Bahamas at the time, was on hand to give out the awards. Notice all the security around the Prime Minister? Yeah…us either! So different that what we are used to as far as public appearances by heads of government goes!And then the shenanigans continued into the wee hours of the night! Here we are with some of our cruising friends – from left to right – Jim, me, Fabio (S/V Odoya), Frank, Stacey and Jesse (S/V Smitty) and Andrew (S/V Solace)
Retrieving a crew member who has fallen overboard – definitely a good rule to follow 🙂 These are amazing pictures. I’d love to see this in person one day.
Ellen
April 28, 2018 at 1:04 pmRetrieving a crew member who has fallen overboard – definitely a good rule to follow 🙂 These are amazing pictures. I’d love to see this in person one day.
Chris
April 28, 2018 at 3:11 pmHa ha! I know, right?!? Glad you enjoyed the pictures and I do hope you get to see it someday! It was such a cool experience!
Sharon Holbrook
April 29, 2018 at 5:32 pmI really love the actual parade pics! Thanks for taking time to share.
Chris
April 29, 2018 at 6:45 pmGlad you enjoyed!
Pamela Kungel
April 30, 2018 at 12:03 pmLooks like it was a great time! Thank you so much for sharing these with all of us.
Chris
May 7, 2018 at 10:07 pmYou’re welcome!
Kathy Walden
May 1, 2018 at 6:39 pmBeautiful pictures. I can tell you guys had a great time. Such amazing adventures.
Chris
May 1, 2018 at 6:46 pmThanks!
Dee Walker
May 6, 2018 at 9:17 pmBeautiful pictures!!! You two are having way too much fun! Lol. So happy for you. Enjoy all your comments and descriptions.
Chris
May 6, 2018 at 10:13 pmThanks! Glad you enjoyed them!
david Mckeown
April 2, 2019 at 12:52 pmWe are off to this years party …. all the way from Belfast Northern Ireland ….looking forward to it !
Chris
June 25, 2019 at 11:11 amHow was the regatta this year? I really hope we make it back again some time!
Wood Ship Kits
December 17, 2020 at 3:41 amThat’s really nice post. I appreciate your skills, Thanks for sharing.
Chris
December 17, 2020 at 9:43 amThank you so much!