Sailing events to look out for in 2025

Every year, the boating world surprises and delights sailing fans around the world with events, races and regattas. We’ve put together a short list of sailing events we’ll be looking out for throughout 2025. Taking place around the world, they’re also a perfect excuse to rent a boat and join teams wherever they are racing!

Sail GP 2024-2025: happening throughout the year
Tall Ships Race 2025: 4th July
Cowes Week: 2nd to 8th August
Ocean Race Europe: 10th August
SAIL Amsterdam: 20th-24th August
Les Régates Royales de Cannes: end of September
Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race: 11th October

Sail GP 2024-2025

Starting off strong is the Sail GP. Organised for the first time in 2018, the Sailing Grand Prix is a set of races featuring high-performing F50 foiling catamarans. These are organised around the world over the course of a year. Each grand prix event is composed of two days of competitive racing, with fleet racing, and a match race final.

This year’s edition will see 12 national teams racing each other in 14 iconic locations.

The tour kicked off on 23-24th November 2024 in Dubai. It will finish on 29-30th November 2025 in Abu Dhabi. During the final, the three top ranked teams will face each other.

The next grands prix coming up are Auckland, Sydney and Los Angeles. European destinations include Portsmouth, Geneva, Tarento, Sassnitz, and Cadix.

How about joining in the fun at the different events? Book a boat to see the races up close, from the water!

Tall Ships Race 2025

Tall Ships Races, held annually around Europe, are races for traditionally-rigged sailing ships. These events are designed to encourage international friendship and to train young people in the art of sailing. The global charity Sail Training International is behind these regattas. For over 60 years, they have been organising sail training voyages at sea for disadvantaged young people.

This year, the Tall Ships Race will take place along the English Channel and the Baltic Sea. It will start in Le Havre on 4th July 2025. The event will consist of 4 races, with stops in Dunkirk, Aberdeen, and Kristiansand, before the finish in Esbjerg in Denmark.

Festivities will be held in each city during the stops, starting off with Les Grandes Voiles du Havre festival. It’s a fantastic opportunity to see the world’s biggest sailing ships on display in the historic basins of the French port. Visit Le Havre at the beginning of July to admire the boats. And maybe even sail out with the fleet at the start of the race… The perfect way to have first seats to the show!

Cowes Week

Cowes Week is one of the UK’s longest-running sporting events and is a key highlight of any sailor’s summer. Organised since 1826 by the sailing clubs of the Isle of Wight, it brings together over 500 boats from different classes. A combination of traditional and new classes can be seen racing throughout the week, with classic classes including Dragons, Flying Fifteens, Swallows and more.

The event attracts all kinds of sailors, from Olympic and world-class yachtsmen to weekend sailors. Cowes Week also attracts over 60,000 visitors, giving a festival atmosphere to the regatta.

The event is held in the Solent, the waterway between the Isle of Wight and Southampton, one of the most popular sailing spots in the United Kingdom. This year, Cowes Week will be held from 2nd to 8th August. And summer is the perfect time to visit the south of England, with fair weather and good winds. Why not join the racers for a sail?

3 boats with their spinnakers out during one of the regattas of Cowes Week.

Ocean Race Europe 2025

The Ocean Race Europe is coming back in 2025 for its second edition! This offshore yacht race is organised every four years around Europe. On the 10th August 2025, the foiling IMOCAs will set off from Kiel in Germany for four legs of racing. The race will take teams through Portsmouth, Cartagena, and Genoa, before the finish in Boka Bay, Montenegro.

The 8 teams that will take part are each to be composed of 4 sailors, and one on-board reporter. Teams already announced include Boris Herrmann’s Team Malizia, Rosalin Kuiper’s Team Holcim PRB, and Yoann Richomme’s Team Paprec Arkéa, to name a few.

The goal of this race is to connect Europe, and to highlight the importance of ocean health and sustainability. Initiatives taken as part of the race include on board science programmes to collect data. Teams are also required to generate at least 30% of their onboard energy from renewable sources.

Follow along the Ocean Race Europe 2025, and take the opportunity to discover the cities the race will pass through. Will you choose to join the teams in Kiel, Portsmouth, Cartagena, Genoa, or Montenegro?

Boats lining up at the start of the Volvo Ocean Race.

SAIL Amsterdam

SAIL Amsterdam is coming back in full force to Amsterdam this year for its 10th edition. From 20th to 24th August 2025, more than 10,000 ships will be present in Amsterdam’s harbour, coinciding with the capital’s 750th anniversary.

This maritime event happens every 5 years, bringing people and ships from around the globe together to celebrate nautical history and the diversity of cultures and people. Events such as music shows, exhibits, and performances are held on water and on land, with the highlights being the ‘sail in’ and ‘sail out’ at the beginning and end of the festival. The visiting ships gather together to enter or exit the harbour, resulting in an impressive parade of masts and sails.

If you’re in Amsterdam when SAIL is happening, take the opportunity to visit the boats (some of them will be open for tours), or better yet, hire a boat and take part in the sail in or sail out!

Sunny Amsterdam Canal, lined with houseboats, trees and houses.

Les Régates Royales de Cannes

The Régates Royales of Cannes, organised at the end of September every year since 1929, are another great opportunity to admire some classic ships in all their glory. This yearly event synonymous with maritime excellence and iconic yacht designs brings together classic vessels from around the world for a week of racing in the waters of the renowned city of Cannes.

Alongside the racing, a range of social events, parties and boat parades take place, cementing this regatta as a highlight of the sailing calendar.

Every sailor’s dream is to see, or participate in, this regatta at least once: why not make it come true? Sail out of Cannes alongside the yachts to admire the racing.

Renting a boat in Cannes is also a great chance to explore the French Riviera. Spend the week cruising in and out of Cannes, and visit Toulon, Antibes, Nice, Saint-Tropez, Monaco and other Mediterranean gems.

Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race

Let’s jump to the other side of the world, to discover the Sydney to Auckland Ocean Race.

This challenging 1250-nautical-mile race takes sailors across the Tasman Sea, from Australia to New Zealand. The winner of the inaugural 2023 edition set the benchmark race record of 5 days, 3 hours, 37 minutes and 57 seconds.

It’s coming back in 2025 for its second edition, to welcome past champions and new competitors. The crewed yachts will leave from Sydney Harbour on 11 October 2025, sailing up the coast of Australia, before turning to the open sea, and crossing to Auckland Harbour.

The race takes place during the spring-summer season, so it’s the perfect time to visit Sydney!

Hire a boat to watch the start, then cruise around Sydney Harbour, past the iconic Opera House, and out towards one of Sydney’s many beaches, such as Manly or Bondi for the afternoon. It’s bound to be more relaxing than the actual race!