Local Sailing & Racing Calendar
Cowes Week • Round the Island Race • and the rest of the Solent’s major regattas
The Solent hosts one of the densest programmes of sailing events anywhere in the world, from small club regattas to Cowes Week itself. Rather than list every club fixture, this page pulls together the major regattas that draw boats and visitors from well beyond the Solent. Dates are checked automatically against each event’s own official site roughly once a month - see the “verified” note on each card below.
Click a marker to jump to that event below. Several events share Cowes as their venue, so markers overlap there.
Upcoming This Season
Earlier This Season (kept here for reference, most recent first)
Little Britain Challenge Cup
11 - 12 September 2026
Cowes Yacht Haven, Isle of Wight
The largest industry regatta for construction and property companies - four races over two days, run by the Island Sailing Club.
Not yet auto-verified — showing manually-entered date
Cowes Week (Bicentenary)
1 - 7 August 2026
Cowes, Isle of Wight
The Solent's biggest week of sailing and 2026's headline event - the 200th running of Cowes Week, with around 600 boats and 37+ classes from classic Solent one-designs to cutting-edge racing yachts.
Unconfirmed since 29 Oct 2026 — site check failed, showing last known date
Taittinger Royal Solent YC Regatta
24 - 26 July 2026
Yarmouth, Isle of Wight
Royal Solent Yacht Club's flagship regatta in the tricky, tide-swept Western Solent off Yarmouth, sponsored by Taittinger Champagne.
Verified against official site 28 Oct 2026
Emirates GBR SailGP - Portsmouth
24 - 25 July 2026
Southsea seafront, Portsmouth
Foiling F50 catamarans racing at up to 50 knots just off Southsea seafront - the closest thing the Solent gets to a spectator-friendly, TV-scale racing event.
Verified against official site 28 Oct 2026
British Classic Week
20 - 25 July 2026
Cowes Yacht Haven, Isle of Wight
The UK's leading classic and modern-classic yacht regatta, run by the British Classic Yacht Club - pre-1970-design and modern classic yachts of wood, steel or aluminium.
Unconfirmed since 29 Oct 2026 — site check failed, showing last known date
Round the Island Race
11 July 2026
Starts Cowes (Royal Yacht Squadron line)
One of the world's largest yacht races - around 1,000 boats sail the full 50nm lap of the Isle of Wight in a single day, organised by the Island Sailing Club. Start off the RYS line at 0730.
Verified against official site 28 Oct 2026
Cowes Classics Regatta
4 - 7 June 2026
Cowes, Isle of Wight
The leading event for classic racing dayboats and metre boats - Solent one-designs, Old Gaffers and Spirit of Tradition yachts racing central Solent courses.
Verified against official site 28 Oct 2026
Where this data comes from: each event’s dates are fetched directly from its own official site (linked on each card) roughly once a month, not just entered once and left. If a site changes its wording and the automatic check can’t confidently read a date, that card is flagged “unconfirmed” here rather than silently showing something wrong - always check the official link if you see that flag. Regatta dates can occasionally shift for tides or weather regardless, so the official link is the last word either way. Events already finished this season move down into “Earlier This Season” rather than disappearing, and roll forward on their own once each organiser publishes next year’s dates on their site — no manual update needed here.
See also: Local Tides • UK Wave Height • Local Marinas • Solent Weather Buoys