16th Aruba International Regatta 2026
15 July, 2026, Aruba
To all partners, sponsors, volunteers, and participants: Thank you for your collaboration and contribution!
Thank you one and all for helping to make the 16th Aruba International Regatta a great success.
Your donations, knowledge sharing, dedication, and support were invaluable, and the Regatta would not be possible without the contributions, energy, enthusiasm, and hard work of all involved.
Your service as participants, race committee members, officials, medical teams, event coordinators, safety officers, media officers, system builders, cleaners, food and beverage staff, sound technicians, and registration team made the event run smoothly.
Above all: the Regatta is only possible thanks to the steady, loyal, and continuous support of our sponsors and partners, year after year. That reliability is what allows us to keep building this event for Aruba's sailing community.
Above all: the Regatta is only possible thanks to the steady, loyal, and continuous support of our sponsors and partners, year after year. That reliability is what allows us to keep building this event for Aruba's sailing community.
The Regatta opened Friday evening at the Regatta Village at Surfside Beach with registration, music, and a beautiful sunset over the water.
This year, 45 sailors sailed 20 races over 2 days in the Optimist, SailQube, F11, Sunfish, and Miniatuurboot classes. The Miniatuurboot fleet, organized together with Stichting Rancho, once again connected the Regatta to Aruba's maritime history.
This edition sailed without the yacht classes, which put the spotlight fully on the dinghy and beach classes and on our young sailors — the next generation of Aruba's sailing community.
The weather threw everything at the fleet this year: storm, flat winds, rain, and sunshine, sometimes all in one day. It made every race a true test of seamanship, and the sailors handled all conditions impressively.
There were no valid protests thanks to the excellent work of the race officials in the race tower and on the start boats, and the sportive attitude of the participants.
There were no accidents. The safety boats with lifeguards and our land-based medics provided full rescue coverage, and sailors told us they felt safe on the water all weekend.
This edition sailed without the yacht classes, which put the spotlight fully on the dinghy and beach classes and on our young sailors — the next generation of Aruba's sailing community.
The weather threw everything at the fleet this year: storm, flat winds, rain, and sunshine, sometimes all in one day. It made every race a true test of seamanship, and the sailors handled all conditions impressively.
There were no valid protests thanks to the excellent work of the race officials in the race tower and on the start boats, and the sportive attitude of the participants.
There were no accidents. The safety boats with lifeguards and our land-based medics provided full rescue coverage, and sailors told us they felt safe on the water all weekend.
The prizes consisted of 24 trophies for all classes with various certificates from Bula Surf Shop, Caribbean Mercantile Bank, Hilton Hotel and Casino and Marriot Hotel. The Ernie Kervel trophy this year went to Zane Winterdal.
The feedback from the sailors was clear: the food, the safety on the water, and the overall organization stood out. Trampolin pa Trabao served excellent lunches on both sailing days — their food and service were praised by everyone, and we look forward to working with them again next year.
Hala Atomico band and the Originalz band finished off the Regatta with their awesome tunes and jamming.
Hala Atomico band and the Originalz band finished off the Regatta with their awesome tunes and jamming.
The Aruba Regatta Foundation's vision is to create a platform to introduce as many people as possible to sailing and connect people to nature and sustainable water sport experiences.
We focus especially on the young sailor community to grow the next generation of sailors on Aruba.
This year's theme said it all: Let's Set Sail Together — Sports, People and Nature on the same team.
This year's theme said it all: Let's Set Sail Together — Sports, People and Nature on the same team.
As president of the Aruba Regatta Foundation, I am grateful to work together with all those who helped make this year's Regatta happen. See you at the 17th edition.
Rik van der Vaart
Friday 10th of July - Sunday 12th of July
