Swashbuckling Pirates expected at 36th Fiji Regatta Week at Musket Cove Yacht Club

36th Fiji Regatta Week © Liz Christmas

The entries are rolling in, the number of sponsors continues to grow, and the fun factor is ready to be set on "high" for the 36th edition of the South Pacific's most famous sailing event, Fiji Regatta Week.

Scheduled for September 13-18, Regatta Week will be contested on the island-studded turquoise tropical waters that surround Musket Cove Resort on Malolo Lailai Island, which is a mere 12 nautical miles off mainland Fiji's West Coast.

First staged in 1983 under the auspices of Musket Cove Yacht Club, Regatta Week has become recognised for delivering the most fun in the sun sailors can have in the region - both under sail and after racing. There is seemingly no end to it - which is one of the reasons why the regatta is deemed by cruising and racing sailors across the Pacific to be a "must do" annual sailing event.

"This year's entry list is looking more exciting by the week," said Musket Cove's General Manager, and regatta official, Garry Snodgrass. "We are expecting well over 100 monohulls and multihulls this year, a figure that will ensure the regatta lives up to its reputation for good times from start to finish.

"It is also really pleasing to see the level of sponsorship we are receiving, in particular from Tourism Fiji and other Fijian businesses.

"On that note, a special shout-out needs to go to our wonderful major sponsors from New Zealand: Marsden Coe Marina, Bay of Islands Port Opua, and CMP constructions. Without such impressive support from businesses both locally and internationally, this amazing event simply wouldn't happen."

36th Fiji Regatta Week - photo © Liz Christmas

One "fun" social highlight at Regatta Week this year will be the Seapower Pirate's Day. It is billed as "a swashbuckling day of grub, grog, pillage and plunder" - in short, enhanced sailing fun on the water and into the night onshore.

There is a lot more to Regatta Week that happens behind the scenes. For example, in support of the local Fijian community, the owners of the delightfully casual Musket Cove Resort have pledged a percentage of every entry fee will go to the Kuita Trust. This organisation was established specifically to assist Fiji's disadvantaged. Among its many wonderful projects, the Trust was instrumental in creating Fiji's first kidney dialysis clinic outside Fiji's capital, Suva.

The Notice of Race and entry information for Fiji Regatta Week can be found at www.musketcovefiji.com/yacht-club-marina

For a sample of the fun check out this gallery of photos.

36th Fiji Regatta Week - photo © Liz Christmas