Easter Regatta on Bequia

Bequia's Easter Regatta is a four-day festival of sail. All types of sailing boats can compete in the races and do, from old schooners to sleek racers, but the highlight of the event is reserved for traditional Bequia style dinghies.

It is a Le Mans start, the sailors wait in the shallows ready to launch the boats on the gun. From the start it's frenzy as each heads out into the bay, jostling to steal the wind and the win.

Each of the double-ended hulls is painted bright colours and all the sails are kaleidoscope hued too, making it a visual feast as well as a hard fought race.

The Easter Regatta has only formally been running since 1981 but its origins are much older. Easter was one of the few holidays for fishermen and instead of putting out to fish they would bet each other whose boat was the fastest and settle the argument with bets and a race.

Founder Nollie Simmonds describes the Bequia Easter Regatta... "The regatta's a beautiful sight. To see fifty or sixty old double ender fishing boats out there competing, racing. It is beautiful."

It's not just the races between the double-ended Bequia dinghies that makes the Regatta such a special event for the island. The children's coconut boat races between the model boats fashioned out of coconut husks also takes place during these four days.

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