Geographe Bay Race Week 2026 - Day 1
by Geographe Bay Yacht Club 15 Feb 18:39 PST
14-20 February 2026
Geographe Bay Raceweek 2026 is now in full swing on the stunning waters off Busselton, in the southwest corner of Western Australia. Under the careful curation of race director Scott Olney, this event has quickly become the 'not to be missed' regatta of the season and now attracts international interest, including some of the who's who of the sailing community.
This year's festivities started with a bang on Saturday evening, as the opening night on the waterfront at the Geographe Bay Yacht Club lit up against the spectacular backdrop of an incoming cold front with embedded thunderstorms, showcasing the many moods of Geographe Bay. A throng of over 300 sailors and their support teams had the Club jumping by 6 pm, fueled by liquid refreshments from regatta sponsors Shelter Brewing and a constant parade of delectable delights from the galley.
Raceweek 2026 has attracted more than 80 boats, across 9 separate divisions, with Race Director Scott Olney saying:
"It's great to see so many boats joining the regatta. It's the biggest fleet we've had since Covid but we'd really like to get the fleet over 100 again and we're always working towards that goal".
The real business of the week got under way on Sunday morning, with the regatta organisers turning on a brilliant day of sailing. The Viper, VX One and Flying Fifteen sailors in the Mini-Regatta hit the water a little after 10 am and were greeted by clear skies and a building south westerly breeze. Racing got under way next to the iconic Busselton Jetty just after 11 am, with the Race Officer Rod and his dedicated team punching out 4 races as the breeze built to over 20 knots, making for spectacular spinnaker runs and some close racing - but this was just the entre!
A parade of close to 70 keelboats made their way toward the start line just after midday, with the mini-regatta already putting on a show, providing the pre-race entertainment and letting the crews know they were in for a great afternoon of sailing. Race Officer Dubbo and the team on RPYC 'Challenger' got things under way on schedule at 1 pm, with the various fleets traversing a passage race that took them from the start line at the end of the Jetty, across to marks near Abbey Beach before a series of spinnaker runs took sailors out into the crystal blue water of Geographe Bay.
Despite the 15-20 knot breeze, the offshore breeze made for champagne sailing with most crews happily back at the clubhouse, enjoying the hospitality, by 5 pm - smiling faces telling the stories of yet another epic day on the water.
Monday is looking like a carbon copy of Sunday - more to follow!
Results from Sunday, 15th of February 2026 available here.