RED SEA SAILING WEEK · 2027
Concept & Alignment
RED SEASAILING WEEK
The inaugural edition, hosted at Somabay. A week built around the Somabay Sailing Festival — racing, wind sports, food, music and sea across the whole destination.
Hosted at Somabay · 2027
2027
Red Sea Sails
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SOMABAY
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01 · The Model
01 · The Model
Warm Water. Steady Wind. Serious Fun.
Racing by day, food and music by night, a destination that fills up because of it — the warm-water regatta is a proven format. The Red Sea has the water, the wind and the venue, and in late March the bluewater fleet is still here before it transits north. The week runs on two pillars: the racing — which we'd propose naming the Somabay Marina Cup — and the Somabay Sailing Festival for everything public.
Reference · St. Maarten Heineken Regatta
videos/video-1.mp4
Video
Heineken Regatta highlights
Reference · Antigua Sailing Week
videos/video-2.mp4
Video
Antigua or BVI Spring Regatta
EventWhereBoatsReachWhat it is
St. Maarten
Heineken Regatta		Sint Maarten100–25020,000+ Four days. Sailors from 37 countries. Racing by day, international acts and beach parties by night. The largest warm-water regatta in the world — motto: "Serious Fun."
Antigua
Sailing Week		Antigua100–2005,000 Running since 1967. A full week, 1,500 participants, 24 countries. Known as much for its parties as its racing.
BVI Spring Regatta
& Sailing Festival		Tortola, BVI130+15 countries A sailing festival wrapped around a regatta. Their own words: hot racing, cool parties.
Sources: heinekenregatta.com, Antigua Sailing Week, BVI Spring Regatta. For scale, Europe's Kiel Week and Cowes Week run at 1,000–2,000 boats.
The Caribbean has a dozen of these. The Red Sea has none. That is the whole opportunity.
02 · The Week
02 · The Week
One Week, Two Named Events.
Red Sea Sailing Week is the umbrella. Inside it sit two events — the racing, which we'd propose naming the Somabay Marina Cup, and the Somabay Sailing Festival for everything public. The rule is simple: if it's raced, it's the Cup; if it's celebrated, it's the Festival.
Red Sea Sailing Week
The umbrella — the whole event, arrival to closing party. The brand that grows year on year.
Somabay Marina Cup
Working name · yours to confirm
The racing inside it — all classes, the trophy. The sporting spine, and a showcase for the new marina.
Somabay Sailing Festival
The public celebration — parade, village, talks, demo day, nights and the closing party. The name Somabay already knows.
Day by Day
Day 0–1
Arrival & Opening
The fleet lands and rigs on the beach. The passage fleet sails in from El Gouna. Opening ceremony on the dock, then the first big night.
Arrivals · Feeder · Opening party
Day 2–3
Racing & Demo Day
Cruisers offshore, dinghies racing in front of the beach. Anyone can try sailing, wing or kite. Village and yacht showcase open.
The Cup · Racing
Day 4 · Somabay Sailing Festival
Everything at Once
No scored racing. Every class on the water together — sail, kite, wing, windsurf. Village at full strength, families on the beach, music on the sand.
Festival · Parade · Public peak
Day 5
Finals & the Cup
Short finals close to shore. The Cup and the closing party — the biggest night of the week.
The Cup · Finals
Every day
The Village
Food, vendors, talks, young sailors, brand activations and live music. What keeps the 95% who aren't racing here all week.
Somabay Sailing Festival
Every night
A Different Venue
Barbouni, Kaktus, Wyte, the marina — the after-party moves. The week tours the destination instead of parking in one bar.
Somabay Sailing Festival · Nights
03 · The Festival
03 · The Festival
Food, Music, and the Sea.
The Somabay Sailing Festival is the public face of the week — the nights, the food and the village that turn a regatta into something people don't want to leave. It's the part Somabay is built for, and the name Somabay already owns. The racing is the backdrop.
Nights that move
A different Somabay outlet each evening. Opening party on the dock, then the closing party and the Cup.
Food & music
Local kitchens, a stage from afternoon into the evening, dance — the kind of night people come back for.
Come and try
Free demo sailing, wing and kite on the beach. The entry point for anyone who's never been on the water.
For most people, the nights are the event. This is what we're best placed to do.
04 · Who Comes
04 · Who Comes
The Fleet, and Who We Invite.
Numbers we can stand behind on the water. The spectator figure is one to build with you off Somabay occupancy rather than guess.
On the water20262027Where from
Cruising yachts1525–30 El Gouna, Hurghada, Abydos and Cairo owners, plus yachts wintering in the Red Sea before the transit north.
Dinghies &
wind sports		930–50 Federation dinghy squads plus the kite, wing and windsurf community, Somabay's home crowd.
Spectator fleet—New Motor yachts and guest boats at anchor along the course — close-up viewing and hosting. The shot that makes the week look like an event.
Invited — Egypt
Sailing and yacht clubs from Cairo, Alexandria, El Gouna and Hurghada · Federation squads and junior teams · brokers and dealers · marina and charter operators · marine trade and press · Somabay residents.
Invited — International
Clubs and cruising associations from Turkey, Greece and Cyprus · Italian, French and Northern European sailing communities · international brokers, yacht brands and marine industry · charter companies · sailing media · guest sailors and Olympic-class names.
The showcase
A boat show inside the week.
FX Yachting joins with its fleet — and this is why the timing matters: those yachts are in the Red Sea in March, heading north, and gone by May. Alongside them, Red Sea Sails brings Hanse, Fountaine Pajot, Lagoon and X-Yachts, with Felix Maritime as technical partner — boats in the water, booths on the dock, sea trials through the week. A yacht buyer and a Somabay property buyer are frequently the same person; the showcase puts both in front of the same audience.
05 · The Return
05 · The Return
What Somabay Gains.
The week isn't a cost centre with a party attached. It drives revenue across the destination, and puts the new marina in front of the world.
Occupancy
A full week of room nights across the resort's hotels — in a shoulder season the event fills rather than competes with.
F&B across the resort
The village plus a different outlet every night activate every restaurant and bar, not just one.
The new marina, launched
The event showcases the new marina to an international audience the moment it opens — and builds berth demand behind it.
Property leads
A yacht buyer and a Somabay property buyer are frequently the same person. The showcase audience is your real-estate market.
Name on the event
A marina cup and the sailing festival would carry the destination's name — on the trophy, and on the public face of the week. The naming is yours.
Destination positioning
490K+ media impressions in 2026, growing. Somabay becomes known as the Red Sea's sailing destination — an annual anchor.
06 · Your Call
06 · Your Call
Two Decisions. Then We Build.
Not budget, not detail — direction. Once these are settled we build the programme and go to partners together.
Decision one
Do we grow the festival into a full Red Sea Sailing Week?
Decision two — the window
Option A
23–28
March
Preferred
Into the European Easter break
  • FX Yachting's fleet is in the Red Sea in March, not May — we want their boats part of the experience
  • A bluewater rally brings a fleet up the coast to Egypt that same window — a chance to have them stop and stay for the week
  • The wider northbound fleet is still here before the Suez transit — by May it's gone
  • Kicks off the marine season — and puts Somabay's new marina in front of the world the moment it opens
Option B
Eid
al-Adha
Mid-May, subject to the lunar calendar
  • One of the largest domestic audiences of the year, already on the destination
  • Continuity with 2026 — a similar window, one year on
  • Exact dates confirm late, which compresses the runway
  • The bluewater fleet has already transited north — it's gone by May
Both sit against long holidays. We'd want to check either against Somabay's own calendar before fixing anything.
If it's a yes
1
A working session to settle format and window.
2
Build the programme — racing, village, nights, invitations.
3
Go to partners jointly, and announce early.
Contact
Mo Hammoud · Red Sea Sails
Email
mo@redseasails.com
Phone
+20 120 656 0777
+20 127 0247 317