The Antigua Bermuda Race Returns: 935 Miles of Open Ocean Await
The fifth edition of the Antigua Bermuda Race launches on April 29, and for bluewater sailors watching from the sidelines, this one deserves your attention. After a hiatus, the 935-nautical-mile offshore race from Antigua to Bermuda is back — and it's shaping up to be one of the most compelling ocean racing events of the spring season.
A Race Built for Bluewater Sailors
Unlike coastal regattas where you're never far from a safe harbour, the Antigua Bermuda Race is the real deal. Once the fleet clears Antigua and passes Barbuda, there's nothing but open Atlantic until the finish line off St. David's Head. That's roughly a thousand miles of tropical ocean sailing — long reaching legs, rolling swells, and the kind of star-filled nights that remind you why you went to sea in the first place.
The race is jointly organized by the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club and Antigua Sailing Week, and the timing is deliberate. It follows directly after ASW, giving boats already in Antigua a natural next chapter. For cruiser-racers especially, it's a rare opportunity to test yourself on a proper offshore course with organized safety infrastructure and weather routing support.
Who Can Enter
The entry categories are refreshingly inclusive. Alongside IRC and CSA racing yachts, there are dedicated classes for cruiser-racers, superyachts, multihulls, and classic boats. Double-handed teams get their own category too — a nod to the growing popularity of short-handed offshore sailing.
Perhaps most interesting for the cruising crowd: a secondary motor-sailing handicap in the CSA classes allows boats to use their engines and still receive a corrected-time result, subject to a time penalty. It's a pragmatic concession that opens the race to well-prepared cruising boats that might otherwise sit it out.
The Strategic Picture
The course runs roughly north-northwest from Antigua, threading between the Caribbean trades and the variable winds of the western Atlantic. Early in the race, expect steady trade wind sailing — beam reaching in 15 to 20 knots with a moderate sea state. As the fleet pushes north past 25°N, the picture gets more complex. The Bermuda-Azores High's position will dictate whether boats find a fast ride on its western edge or get parked in light airs.
Weather routing will be critical. The smart money watches for frontal passages that can deliver favorable shifts, but these same systems can bring squalls and steep, confused seas if you time it wrong. It's the kind of tactical decision-making that separates ocean racing from dinghy park stuff.
Why It Matters
The Antigua Bermuda Race fills a gap in the Atlantic racing calendar. It gives Caribbean-based boats a structured, competitive reason to make the northward passage that many would be making anyway as hurricane season approaches. And the finish in Bermuda — timed just ahead of SailGP Bermuda's Great Sound event on May 9-10 — means there's a vibrant sailing scene waiting at the dock.
For those of us watching from the dock or planning future campaigns, this race is a reminder that offshore racing doesn't have to mean million-dollar budgets and professional crews. A well-found cruising boat, a competent crew, and the willingness to commit to a thousand miles of open water — that's the entry ticket.
Registration opened November 15, and the Notice of Race is available at antiguabermuda.com. If you're in the Caribbean and your boat is ready, there are worse ways to start the passage north.
The Antigua Bermuda Race starts April 29, 2026, from Antigua, finishing in Bermuda. Full race information and entry details are available at antiguabermuda.com.