In the 2025 National Family Island Regatta, the A-Class sloop Tida Wave was running second when Legend from Long Island collided with it, tearing a massive hole in the mainsail. The captain later told reporters he didn’t see the tear at first — his eyes were on Legend. Nobody on the boat suggested stopping. Two crew members grabbed the shredded canvas and held it together by hand, creating a makeshift sail on the fly, and the boat crossed the finish line for third place. That kind of resolve doesn’t come from a playbook. It comes from families who have been doing this together for generations.
“I didn’t see the tear at first—my eyes were on Legend… Nobody on the boat said we should stop. We were gonna cross that finish line.” — Tida Wave’s captain, 69th National Family Island Regatta, 2025
The National Family Island Regatta is the Bahamas’ national championship for traditional wooden sloops, held annually in Elizabeth Harbour, Great Exuma. It has run for more than seventy years, and the same surnames — Knowles, Rolle, Kemp, Miller — appear on results sheets decade after decade. The question this article explores is not who won, but how sailing families in the Bahamas build knowledge, skill, and identity across generations, and what that reveals about Bahamian culture more broadly. If you are curious about living maritime traditions, multi-generational knowledge transmission, or the social fabric of island communities, this is a window into all three.
Competitive Bahamian sailing families are not simply racing boats. They are maintaining a lineage of boatbuilding, seamanship, and community ritual that predates the nation itself. The regatta is the public face of a private world — family compounds, inherited tools, oral instruction — and understanding it requires looking past the finish line. The easy answer is that families compete for trophies. The more honest answer is that they compete to keep a tradition alive, and that is a much more complicated thing.
Quick reference: Boat classes at the National Family Island Regatta
The regatta features four classes, each with its own rules, crew sizes, and character. The table below summarizes the key distinctions based on the 2025 and 2026 events.
| Class | Length | Typical crew | Key features | 2025 A-Class winner |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-Class | 28 feet | Up to 18 | 60+ foot masts, 32-foot booms, cotton sails, no vangs, uses a hiking board (pry) | Silent Partner, Leslie “Buzzy” Rolle, Exuma |
| B-Class | Not specified in source | Not specified | Intermediate class between A and C | Lonesome Dove, Jeff Gale, Abaco |
| C-Class | 17 feet | Varies | Popular class, often family-crewed | H2o, Efford Kemp, Exuma |
| E-Class | 12 feet | 2–3 | Most popular class; recently opened to adults; juniors may sail with three | Lady Annamarie, David Knowles, Long Island |
Note: The first A-Class winner of the National Family Island Regatta, in 1954, was The Marie, captained by Rolly Gray of Staniel Cay. The event has been held annually since, with interruptions only for weather and national circumstances.
The boats: Wood, cotton, and family hands
Every boat in the regatta is a traditional wooden sloop, full keel with no cutaway forefoot, external ballast no more than 50 percent of displacement, and a concave sheer line required to maintain traditional hull and rig grace. That is not a stylistic preference — it is a rule. The class specifications are designed to preserve the look and behaviour of the working sloops that once carried goods and people between islands.
A-Class boats carry cotton sails, not modern synthetic cloth. They have no vangs (the line that controls the shape of the mainsail), which means crews must manage sail shape by hand and by weight distribution. The hiking board, or “pry,” is a plank extending over the side that crew members sit on to counterbalance the boat. In the 2025 regatta, one observer noted that A-Class crews of up to 14 people act as human ballast on the pry, leaning out over the water at speeds that would be illegal in most modern racing classes. E-Class boats do not use a pry, and optimal crew weights are calculated across all classes.
Boatbuilding is itself a family skill. Many of the sloops are built and maintained in backyard yards on Exuma, Long Island, and Black Point, using techniques passed down orally. The wood is typically local pine or imported hardwood; the cotton sails are hand-cut and hand-sewn. A single boat can serve a family for decades, and when one is retired, its timber is sometimes reused in a new hull. There is no central registry of how many such boats exist, but the regatta draws more than thirty boats in the E-Class and C-Class alone, suggesting a fleet of several hundred active traditional sloops across the islands.
Family dynasties on the water
The most visible family name in the regatta is Knowles. In 2025, David Knowles won the E-Class in Lady Annamarie from Long Island. In 2026, the same David Knowles captained New Legend to the A-Class victory at the 70th National Family Island Regatta. Between those two results, the Knowles family also fielded a 15-year-old skipper, Emit Knowles, who led a junior team to second place in the E-Class aboard Mako. Emit is from Exuma, and David from Long Island — the same surname, different islands, both racing at the national level.
At the 2026 regatta, crew member Emile Knowles described how the boat tangled with a vessel from Ragged Island, breaking the main support jib stay. He repaired the break using a traditional sleeve technique that he learned from his father. The repair allowed the boat to continue and eventually win. Emile Knowles stated that the goal is to mentor young sailors and give them experience in the sport. New Legend‘s crew in 2026 included up to 18 members, with three sailors under 17, including a 13-year-old female sailor and a 16-year-old named Drake who is training to be a future captain.
Age is not a barrier to participation. In 2025, 83-year-old Efford Kemp won the C-Class aboard H2o with a crew of family and friends. The sailing photojournalist covering the event noted that “old age and treachery will always beat youth and exuberance” proved true in the E-Class, where experience often outweighed raw athleticism. The same regatta saw Leslie “Buzzy” Rolle of Exuma win the A-Class aboard Silent Partner and also place in the B-Class with Lady Sonia. Rolle is a multi-generational competitor whose family name appears on trophies stretching back decades.
If you attend the regatta in George Town, look for the family encampments along Elizabeth Harbour. Each boat crew typically sets up a cook tent with conch salad, peas and rice, and fried fish. These are not commercial stalls — they are family kitchens. You can watch the racing from the waterfront, but the best conversations happen at the tents between races.
Regatta week: A national gathering
The National Family Island Regatta is not just a race. It is the largest annual gathering in the Exumas, and during Regatta Week, George Town transforms into a cultural hub. Stalls, food vendors, music, and games line Elizabeth Harbour. The Royal Bahamas Police Marching Band performs, and the stage hosts concerts and ceremonies. The final ceremony in 2025 featured music including “We Are The Champions” and Bahamian rake-n-scrape, a traditional music style that uses a carpenter’s saw as a percussion instrument.
Deputy Prime Minister Chester Cooper presented the second-place A-Class trophy to Tida Wave in 2025. Commodore Emeritus Danny Strahn was honored for three decades of service to the regatta. These are not token gestures — the regatta is recognized as the national sport, and the government provides support. The food and bazaar area has been compared to European summer regattas, with Bahamian barbecue and music replacing the more formal clubhouse atmosphere found in North America or Europe.
Spectator challenges include boat proximity at marks, with pinwheels (close-quarters manoeuvres) addressed by good boat handling to avoid collisions. There are no grandstands, no VIP sections, no corporate hospitality tents. The entire event unfolds on the waterfront and the adjacent streets, with no separation between participants and audience.
An outsider perception is that the National Family Island Regatta is a small, local event — a “fishing village regatta” of the kind found throughout the Caribbean. In reality, it is the national sailing championship of the Bahamas, with government recognition, national media coverage, and prize money that attracts top crews from across the archipelago. Referring to it as a “local event” misses the scale and seriousness of the competition.
Context and comparison: How Bahamian family sailing differs from other traditions
Family sailing traditions exist in many places — the Maine lobster boat races, the Thames sailing barge matches, the Philippines’ paraw regattas — but the Bahamian version has several distinctive features. The table below compares the National Family Island Regatta with other family-centred sailing events.
| Feature | National Family Island Regatta | Maine lobster boat races | Thames sailing barge matches |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boat type | Traditional wooden sloop, cotton sails, full keel | Modified lobster boats, often fibreglass | Flat-bottomed spritsail barges, steel or wood |
| Primary crew structure | Multi-generational families | Commercial fishermen and their families | Professional crews with some family participation |
| Knowledge transmission | Oral, father-to-son, with formal mentoring | Apprenticeship on working boats | Formal training and guild-style apprenticeship |
| National recognition | National championship, government-supported | Local and regional events, no national status | Local and regional events, heritage status |
| Role of children | Children as young as 13 serve as crew; junior skippers common | Teens often crew, but junior skippers rare | Minimal youth participation |
One key difference is the formal role of young people. In the 2026 regatta, New Legend carried three sailors under 17, including a 13-year-old girl. The E-Class openly encourages junior participation, and the 15-year-old Emit Knowles skippered a boat to second place in 2025. This is not a youth program running parallel to the main event — it is the main event. Young sailors race alongside adults, on the same boats, under the same rules.
The first National Family Island Regatta in 1954 was won by an A-Class boat called The Marie, captained by Rolly Gray of Staniel Cay. That boat and captain are remembered in local oral histories, but no formal museum or archive documents the regatta’s early years in detail. Much of the early history exists only in the memory of families who attended.
- Bahamian family sailing is not a recreation — it is a primary vehicle for cultural transmission, boatbuilding knowledge, and community identity.
- The National Family Island Regatta is the national championship, not a local event, and it draws participants from across the archipelago.
- Children and teenagers race alongside adults, often in the same boats, creating a direct pipeline of knowledge from one generation to the next.
- The boat class rules are designed to preserve traditional design and construction methods, resisting modernization in favour of heritage.
Questions readers ask about Bahamian sailing families
How do families afford to build and maintain traditional wooden sloops?
Most boats are built and repaired by family members using locally sourced materials. Cotton sails and wooden spars require constant maintenance, and families often pool resources across multiple generations. Sponsorship from local businesses, such as HG Christie’s support of New Legend, helps offset costs for competitive crews.
Is the regatta open to visitors who want to watch?
Yes. The racing takes place along Elizabeth Harbour in George Town, Great Exuma, and the entire waterfront is public access. There are no tickets or barriers. The best viewing is from the shoreline or from a small boat anchored outside the race course. The regatta typically runs for five days in late April.
Do the same families win every year, or is there turnover?
Both. Certain family names appear consistently — Knowles, Rolle, Kemp — but the results show significant turnover. In 2025, Silent Partner won the A-Class; in 2026, New Legend took first place after finishing third the previous year. The same families compete, but the winner changes based on boat condition, crew experience, and luck with equipment.
What is the “pry board” and why is it important?
The pry board, or hiking board, is a wooden plank that extends over the side of A-Class boats. Crew members sit on it and lean out over the water to counterbalance the boat. Using the pry board effectively requires precise weight distribution and timing, and it is a skill that families practice for years. It is not used in smaller classes.
Is the tradition of family sailing in decline?
That is debated within the community. The regatta continues to draw large fleets, but some older builders report that younger people are less interested in learning traditional boatbuilding. The 2026 regatta included a 13-year-old female sailor and a 16-year-old training to be captain, suggesting that the tradition is still being passed down, but not necessarily at the same density as in previous generations.
What the regatta reveals about Bahamian culture
The National Family Island Regatta is not a tourist attraction. It is a national institution where Bahamian families demonstrate knowledge, resilience, and identity in a format that predates the country’s independence. The torn sail of Tida Wave in 2025, the 83-year-old Efford Kemp winning the C-Class, the 13-year-old girl crewing a championship boat in 2026 — these are not feel-good stories. They are evidence of a cultural system that places value on intergenerational skill, resourcefulness under pressure, and community recognition over individual achievement. For a deeper look at how Bahamian culture expresses itself beyond the beaches and resorts, read Beyond the Beaches: Discovering the Authentic Soul of Bahamian Culture.
Sources and further reading
Staniel Cay Life. “Tida Wave 2025 Sailing Regatta.” 2025. 🔗
Scuttlebutt Sailing News. “We are family in the Bahamas.” 2025. 🔗
ZNS Bahamas. “HG Christie Celebrates New Legend’s Victory in Class A at National Family Island Regatta 2026.” 2026. 🔗
Related reading on IslandHopperGuides
Celebrating Life: How Conch Shells Are Used in Bahamian Festivals — explores another Bahamian cultural tradition that combines music, community, and maritime heritage.
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