The Fools Regatta in the Turks and Caicos Islands is a fun and unique Turks and Caicos tradition that celebrates a great legacy in sailing, and makes for a fun day at the beach.

The Regatta started out years ago as an April Fool’s Day event, but has since meandered around the calendar and has taken different shapes and forms. But fun and sailing are still the two hallmarks of the day. All sorts of sailing vessels will be on display, including native Turks Island sloops. And, the event is a fundraiser for the folks hoping to build a National Sailing Center in Turks and Caicos.

This is year, the event will be held June 20 at the new Children’s Park on the west end of Grace Bay Beach (next to Gansevoort Hotel). There are all sorts of game and activities, music, food and drink. The highlight of the day is always the Great Raft Race where teams compete in uniquely constructed rafts to see who can get across the finish line fastest by shear paddle power. Previous year’s rafts have been made up of all sort of exotic materials, including beer kegs and Styrofoam coolers. This year’s Great Raft Race will award prizes for best design, fastest raft and most team spirit. Proceeds benefit the TCI Volunteer Fire Department.

Tip of the cap to Dave Douglas of Sun Charters (the folks who bring you great sunset cruises on the sailing ship Atebeyra) and his team of dedicated volunteers who make the Fool’s Regatta one of the social highlights of the year in TCI.

It’s great to see that there is an increasing amount of blogs on the Turks and Caicos Islands.  Even though these islands are relatively small, there’s big interest in the everyday goings on here, and there’s actually quite a lot to blog about. 

The contributors, writters and editors of these blogs certainly have no shortage of items to write about and take pride in showcasing the many events, festivals, tourism experiences, and such that make living and working here interesting.  From a tourist’s perspective, it also provides some really interesting insight into what makes these islands tick, and what it feels like to actually live here.

Here are some interesting blogs to read and follow depending on what you’re interested in:

• MyTurksandCaicosBlog - a blog authored by the lovely Marta and Barry, owner/managers of the Harbour Club Villas in the Turtle Tail area of Providenciales.  One of Marta’s passions in life is photography, what better way to showcase her work than by putting them up on the blog along with short stories about where she was when she took them, what was going on, etc.  There are stories about nature, events, restaurant reviews, and much much more!
• Tropical Imaging - probably one of the first real blogs on the island, Andy and his very professional team at Tropical Imaging writes about the many photo sessions that they take around the island.  They do many many weddings and I understand that brides stalk the blog about 6 months before they arrive on island and at least 6 months after they depart to see if they made it to the wall of fame
• Turks & Caicos Sporting Club - offers a very unique island experience from this gorgeous resort on the remote island of Ambergris Cay.  View lots of video clips about their many charity events, fishing, and real estate opportunities
• Remax Turks & Caicos Elite Blog - offers some excellent views on the many real estate opportunities, including market trends, eco tourism here in the islands, mortgage information, financing and much much more

There are lots more to add to the list, if you’re a Turks and Caicos company and you keep your blog up to date, feel free to contact us, we’ll add you to our list!