The Trinidad & Tobago Great Race 2026 was the kind of day when the Caribbean stopped looking like a postcard and reminded everyone that the sea makes the rules. On 15 August we took Folie A2 out towards Scotland Bay and watched one of Trinidad and Tobago’s best-known sporting traditions from the water. What we expected was speed, noise and spectacular offshore powerboats. What we also got was a demanding sea, a high attrition rate, a front-row view of the fleet and, many hours later, the unmistakable sound of the afterparty still carrying across the anchorage.
Date: 15 August 2026
Start: Chaguaramas, Trinidad
Finish: Store Bay, Tobago
Fastest to Tobago: Track Heatwave
Winning time: approximately 1 hour 36 minutes
Our viewpoint: on the water near Scotland Bay aboard Folie A2
A front-row seat near Scotland Bay
Scotland Bay is one of those places we know in a completely different mood. On an ordinary day the protected water around this part of Trinidad can be almost flat. Green hills rise directly from the sea, yachts lie quietly at anchor and the Bocas are only a short distance away. Great Race morning was not an ordinary day.
Even in the relatively protected area around us, the water was already much more lively than usual. Offshore it was another story. The Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service reported moderate seas, with open-water waves around 2.0 to 2.5 metres in the Windwards and larger seas farther into the Leewards. Sheltered areas were listed around one metre and occasionally choppy. That matched what we were seeing: enough movement close in to make the spectator boats work, and considerably more energy outside.
Two metres of sea is not extraordinary for an ocean-going sailing yacht. At sailing speed, the yacht rises, falls and works with the wave. But watching an offshore powerboat meet the same water at 80 or 95 mph changes the scale completely. A wave that looks manageable at six or eight knots can look very much like a concrete wall when a racing boat arrives at it at motorway speed. Several of our clips show exactly that moment: the bow lifting, spray exploding sideways and the boat disappearing for a second into the next section of rough water.
Why the Great Race is more than a straight-line sprint
The Great Race has been part of Trinidad and Tobago’s powerboat culture for decades. The course starts in the Gulf of Paria, takes the fleet through the Bocas and then along Trinidad’s exposed north coast before the final open-water run towards Tobago and Store Bay. The official Trinidad & Tobago Powerboat Association describes the challenge as a sequence of very different sea states: comparatively calm Gulf water, turbulence around the Bocas, heavier swells along the North Coast and rougher shallow water approaching Tobago.
That changing environment is what makes the event interesting even for people who are not dedicated powerboat fans. Maximum horsepower is only one part of the equation. The boat has to survive. The crew has to read the water. Throttle and steering have to work together. Equipment that was perfect in the yard has to keep functioning while the hull is repeatedly loaded, unloaded and slammed back into the sea.
Since 2018 the Great Race has also included a UIM-sanctioned 80.5-mile world-record course. Motul Monster set the benchmark that year at 47 minutes and 43 seconds. The 2026 conditions were nowhere near record-friendly. This time simply finishing mattered.
Yellow alert, rough water and nine boats out
The race nearly did not happen. A yellow-level weather alert and a tropical wave had created enough uncertainty that organisers were still considering a postponement only hours before the start. According to the TTPBA president, meteorological advice around 5 a.m. gave the all-clear as the worst weather shifted eastwards. Around 7 a.m., roughly 30 boats left Chaguaramas.
The decision allowed the Great Race to go ahead, but it did not make the water easy. Heatwave throttleman Morgan Honnock later described it as the roughest Great Race in 14 years. Nine boats failed to finish.
One of the hardest retirements was crowd favourite Mr Solo Too. The 130 mph-class boat came to within roughly two miles of Tobago before an electrical problem ended the run. Reports after the race said water had entered a compartment and caused electrical short circuits. The crew also described moments when the boat was airborne for several seconds. It is difficult to appreciate what that means until you see an offshore racer leave the water in front of you: for a moment there is speed and silence, and then comes the impact.
There was also a reminder that seamanship does not stop when the racing starts. Big Yellow interrupted its own race to assist and tow Outlaw after Outlaw broke down on the way to Tobago. Competition matters, but another crew in trouble matters more. That is a principle sailors recognise immediately.
Track Heatwave: First and Fastest to Tobago
The big result of the day belonged to Track Heatwave. Driven by John-Michael Sabga with throttleman Morgan Honnock and crew members Shane and Christian Telfer, Heatwave reached Tobago in about 1 hour 36 minutes. The result gave the team three honours at once: First to Tobago, Fastest to Tobago and victory in the 80 mph class.
The finish had an extra twist. Justified, racing in the 50 mph class, was the first boat to appear in Tobago waters, but Heatwave’s higher pace was enough to overhaul it. Justified still finished second overall and won its own class.
95 mph – Mobil Tyrant
80 mph – Track Heatwave
70 mph – Ratchet
60 mph – Timeless
50 mph – Justified
SPEC – Ballistic
The 130 mph and 120 mph classes produced no finisher after Mr Solo Too and Iron Man retired.
Results like these show why a Great Race finishing list is not simply a ranking of engine power. On a difficult day, preparation, structural reliability, crew coordination and judgement become part of the result. The fastest theoretical boat is of little use if it cannot reach Store Bay.
Store Bay: where the race becomes a Tobago celebration
In Tobago the Great Race has never been only about the stopwatch. Hundreds of spectators gathered around Store Bay to watch the boats arrive, and the event is woven into a full weekend of island activity. Boats, beach, music and racing all meet in the same place.
That social side is part of the tradition. The finish brings crews, families, supporters and visitors together; then the mood shifts from racing to celebration. Store Bay becomes one of the focal points, with people watching from shore and from boats on the water. For Tobago, Great Race weekend is both a sporting event and a piece of island culture.
It also brings very practical effects. Accommodation, transport and services become busy around the race weekend, and the influx of visitors is noticeable. This is not an event happening in isolation behind barriers. It spills into beaches, bays, roads, restaurants and the everyday rhythm of the island.
And back in Scotland Bay? The unofficial second finish
Our Great Race story did not end when the racing boats disappeared towards Tobago. During the afternoon and evening the spectator fleet began to return. Some boats headed back towards their home marinas. Quite a few did something else: they turned into Scotland Bay.
The transformation was gradual. First came the returning boats. Then music. Then more boats. Engines became quieter and sound systems became louder. The bay that had been our viewing platform in the morning turned into an after-race gathering place.
There is something very Trinidad about that ending. A serious offshore race, difficult weather, mechanical failures, crews tested hard for more than an hour — and then, once everyone is safely back, the day simply continues with boats, friends and music in the bay.
Watch our Great Race 2026 film
We edited six minutes from the day: racing boats passing at speed, spray, the rougher water, spectator boats and finally the calmer return towards Scotland Bay. We deliberately kept plenty of the original engine sound. A Great Race film without the engines would miss half the atmosphere.
Video: Great Race Trinidad & Tobago 2026 | Powerboats, Rough Seas & Scotland Bay
Before the race: we had already met the people behind it
A few days before the race we had already looked behind the scenes in Trinidad and spoken with one of the young racers while teams were preparing their boats. That earlier story is a useful companion to this one because it shows the Great Race from the other side: boats on trailers, engines, preparation, family tradition and the people who make the event possible before anyone sees spray at Store Bay.
Read our earlier Great Race story: 525 HP, history and island party →
Captain’s thoughts
Speed changes the way you see the sea.
From a sailing yacht, a two-metre wave is something we assess in terms of direction, period, wind and comfort. Watching a racing powerboat hit the same sea at high speed makes the physical force visible in a completely different way. The impressive part is not just how fast these boats go. It is how much preparation and control are required to keep going when the sea refuses to cooperate.
And that is probably why the Great Race makes sense in a sailing log too. The boats could hardly be more different from Folie A2, but the underlying lesson is familiar: preparation matters, the crew matters, and the sea always gets the final vote.
Aurelia Blue beyond the postcard
For us, this is exactly what living and sailing in the Caribbean is about. Aurelia Blue is not only a sequence of famous anchorages. Staying long enough in one place means seeing the racing weekends, fishing boats, boatyards, local celebrations, weather days and spontaneous parties that sit between the classic travel highlights.
From our position aboard Folie A2, the 2026 Great Race gave us a particularly loud example: a morning of serious offshore racing, an afternoon of returning spectator boats and an evening that apparently had no intention of ending at midnight.
Discover the Caribbean from the water
Our Captain’s Log follows the islands beyond the postcard — real passages, local traditions, boat life, food, people and the unexpected days that happen when the yacht stays long enough to become part of the scene.
Race information and course background: Trinidad & Tobago Powerboat Association. Weather data: Trinidad and Tobago Meteorological Service. 2026 race results and incident reporting: CNC3 / Guardian Media.
