A race with the wind in its sails

The Tahiti Pearl Regatta is an ocean race open to any sailing ship without size limitation (monohull, catamaran, trimaran etc). This regatta takes place in the Leeward Islands. This is the most important regatta organized in the Pacific Islands region.  The race lasts 4 days from 07th to 12th May. This is a major event for every sailing passionate of French Polynesia.

The Tahiti Pearl Regatta will celebrate its 10th birthday this year.  The idea came in 2003 thanks to the efforts of Henri Dejust and a group of friends living in Raiatea. They have created the Raiatea Regatta association that aimed to bring together the sailors of the Pacific. Then, they wanted to organize an event to gather all those sailing lovers, and the Tahiti Pearl Regatta has emerged.

This race has different stopovers on Leeward Islands. Its path changes every year. This path is directly chosen by the public that can vote for its preferred itinerary on the official Tahiti Pearl Regatta facebook page. Thus, the Tahiti Pearl Regatta will pass this year through the islands of Raiatea, Huahine and Tahaa.

The competition is a perfect opportunity to the sailors to discover each island and its population. A program of festivities will be prepared in parallel to brighten up the event. Indeed, the numerous crews contesting the regatta could attend to: traditional sports competition, local dishes tasting, Polynesian singing and dancing show… It allows sharing the Polynesian way of life. Moreover, they could also enjoy: the special participation of the Faafaite outrigger to the event, a fashion parade to show artisanal creations, two conferences about the traditional polynesian way of navigation, and a concert that will conclude the festivities.

As in previous years, the regatta will propose beautiful human encounters thanks to increasing participation numbers. Open to almost any type of sailing boat, the spectators could enjoy a colorful parade : Hobbie cats, pogos, large yachts, a 82 foot tin sailing ship … they’ll be all present!! All of those competitors will be divided between the monohulls and multihulls categories.

Each year the race attracts about 40 to 50 boats that represent nearly nine nationalities. Initially a simple race between friends, we can see that the Tahiti Pearl Regatta has become over time a true international competition. In conclusion, the key words for this sailing celebration will be “competition” and “festivities”.

All we need now is to wish a very pleasant regatta to all sailors.

For more information do not hesitate to visit the official Tahiti Pearl Regatta website.