Two dates on this page do more for a cruising boat than all the rest. The Southwest Pacific cyclone season runs November to April, and NIWA's October outlook expects seven to eleven named cyclones this season. That sets when you leave the tropics and when you go back. The cyclone season plan covers what to do with it, the El Niño outlook post covers why this season is different, and the Fiji to New Zealand passage guide covers the trip south. If you want to do that passage as crew rather than owner, sail a passage with us.
November 2026
| Date | Event | Where | Why it matters to a cruiser | Organiser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Sep to 30 Nov 2026 | Island Cruising NZ, Sail South to NZ | Fiji and Tonga to New Zealand | The supported window for the passage south. Weather, paperwork and emergency support are included for rally boats, on the organiser's page. | Island Cruising NZ rallies |
| 1 Nov 2026 | Route du Rhum start, 13th edition | Saint-Malo to Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe | Solo transatlantic. The Ultims and the IMOCAs are where sail handling and autopilot ideas get tested before they reach cruising boats. Start at 1:02 pm local, 117 skippers entered. | Route du Rhum |
| Nov 2026 to Apr 2027 | Southwest Pacific cyclone season | Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu, New Caledonia and north of NZ | NIWA's October 2026 outlook says seven to eleven named cyclones for the region. Be south of 30°S or in a proper cyclone hole, and read the cyclone plan. | NIWA cyclone outlook |
| 17 to 19 Nov 2026 | METSTRADE and the DAME Design Awards | RAI Amsterdam | Trade only, but this is where next year's gear shows up first, and the DAME award shortlist is the quick way to see what is new. | METSTRADE |
| 22 Nov 2026 | ARC, Atlantic Rally for Cruisers | Las Palmas to Rodney Bay, Saint Lucia | The best known cruising rally there is, Canaries to the Caribbean. Prizegiving in Saint Lucia on 19 December. | World Cruising Club ARC |
December 2026
| Date | Event | Where | Why it matters to a cruiser | Organiser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Dec 2026 | Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race start | Sydney Harbour to Hobart | Boxing Day on the harbour, then Bass Strait. The race reports after a hard year are the best free reading there is on what breaks offshore and why. The CYCA also runs a classic yacht regatta on 11 to 13 December. | Rolex Sydney Hobart |
January 2027
| Date | Event | Where | Why it matters to a cruiser | Organiser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 Jan 2027 | The Ocean Race 2027 start | Alicante, Spain, non-stop to Auckland | Leg 1 is 14,000 nautical miles, the longest opening leg the race has had, and it ends in Auckland. Yachting New Zealand reports the fleet is due in around 20 February. If you are in the Hauraki Gulf then, you will see them. | The Ocean Race |
| 24 to 28 Jan 2027 | Bay of Islands Sailing Week | Bay of Islands, Northland | Four days of racing on our home water. If you are shopping for a boat in Northland that week, expect the yards and riggers to be busy with race boats. Book the survey for the week after. | Bay of Islands Sailing Week |
February 2027
| Date | Event | Where | Why it matters to a cruiser | Organiser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Feb 2027 | Auckland Anniversary Regatta | Waitematā Harbour, Auckland | One day, hundreds of boats under sail, steam and paddle, with keelboat, passage, classic launch and tugboat races. The harbour is crowded all day, so if you are moving a boat through Auckland pick another day. | Auckland Anniversary Regatta |
April 2027
| Date | Event | Where | Why it matters to a cruiser | Organiser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 to 4 Apr 2027 | Auckland Boat Show | Viaduct Events Centre and Jellicoe Harbour, Auckland | On-water show run by NZ Marine, the first of the Australasian season. The place to walk through new cats and talk to the NZ dealers before you commit to a used boat. Our FP48 and FP55 post is the sort of comparison we do after a show. | Auckland Boat Show |
| End of Apr 2027 | Cyclone season ends | Southwest Pacific | NIWA's outlook runs November to April. Boats start leaving Opua for the islands in May, and the climatology guide explains why the first window of May is not the same as a forecast. | NIWA cyclone outlook |
May 2027
| Date | Event | Where | Why it matters to a cruiser | Organiser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 May to 15 Nov 2027 | Island Cruising NZ Pacific Rally 2027 | New Zealand or Australia to Fiji and the islands | The supported way north to Minerva, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Pre-departure education, weather and passage planning, destination briefings and support through the season, on the organiser's page. Our four things that stop you leaving post is the pre-departure list. | Island Cruising NZ Pacific Rally |
| 13 to 16 May 2027 | Hutchwilco New Zealand Boat Show | Auckland Showgrounds | New Zealand's largest and longest-running boat show, on the organiser's description. Worth it for gear if you are fitting out in Auckland: electronics, safety kit and watermakers under one roof. | Hutchwilco NZ Boat Show |
| 20 to 23 May 2027 | Sanctuary Cove International Boat Show, 38th edition | Sanctuary Cove, Gold Coast | The organiser puts it at over 40,000 visitors across four days. If you want to walk through several new cats in one day in Australia, this is the show to plan the trip around. | Sanctuary Cove Boat Show |
August 2027
| Date | Event | Where | Why it matters to a cruiser | Organiser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 to 18 Aug 2027 | Airlie Beach Race Week | Whitsunday Sailing Club, Airlie Beach | A race week with a cruising division, in the Whitsundays in the dry season. The organiser's banner says 11 to 18 August and a news item on the same page says 12 to 18, so check before you book. | Airlie Beach Race Week |
| 20 to 27 Aug 2027 | Hamilton Island Race Week | Hamilton Island, Whitsundays | Australia's largest offshore sailing regatta, on the organiser's description, entered by class. If you are coastal cruising Queensland in August, expect the marina and the anchorages around Hamilton Island to be busy that week. | Hamilton Island Race Week |
September 2027
| Date | Event | Where | Why it matters to a cruiser | Organiser |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 to 12 Sep 2027 | Cannes Yachting Festival | Vieux Port and Port Canto, Cannes | Where the French builders launch. Fountaine Pajot showed the FP48 and FP55 there in 2026, and Our Cannes 2026 post shows what to take from the launches if you are buying used. | Cannes Yachting Festival |
| 18 to 25 Sep 2027 | Southampton International Boat Show | Mayflower Park, Southampton | British Marine's flagship show, 700 plus marine brands in 2026 on the organiser's numbers. Strong on gear and safety kit. Our Southampton 2026 gear post is the sort of list we pull from it. | Southampton Boat Show |
Not on the list yet
Musket Cove Fiji Regatta Week (usually September), the Annapolis Sailboat Show (October) and the Tonga whale season have no 2027 dates on the organiser pages as at 21 October 2026. They go on this page when they do. Our Annapolis 2026 post covers what we look for at that show.
How we keep this page honest
Every date comes from the organiser's own site, not a listing aggregator, and the link in the last column is the page we read it from. Dates move, especially a year out, so the organiser page wins if it and this table ever disagree. Season dates for cyclones come from NIWA, and the official source line applies: check the current outlook before you commit to a departure.