Round of Texel 2026 draws 300 catamarans to beach start

A beach start at Paal 17 will send roughly 300 catamarans around Texel on Saturday, June 6, as the Round of Texel once again turns the Dutch island into a 100-kilometer multihull proving ground. For catamaran sailors, the draw is the rare combination of a mass launch, a long island course and a finish line built right into the sand.

The Round Texel Foundation is keeping the format true to its reputation as the world’s largest catamaran and regatta race. The 2026 notice of race says the event is open to all open catamarans up to 35 feet and 0.70 meter draught, and every boat must be beachable. Boats without a valid Texel Rating can still contest line honors, while rated boats will be classified on corrected time.

Race day action is expected to run from about 08:00 to 18:00, with the exact start time to be announced at the sailors’ briefing. That kind of timing matters on Texel, where the beach launch, the long loop around the island and the return to Paal 17 create a full-day spectacle rather than a quick sprint.

The course itself is part of the attraction. Round Texel says the race covers approximately 100 kilometers around the island, and the weekend is structured as a three-day program that leaves Texel “entirely dedicated to watersports” for the duration. Alongside the main race, the schedule includes surf and catamaran competitions, evening entertainment and festival-style activity at Paal 17, with Waves Festival adding music to the mix.

Spectators will have plenty of ways to follow the fleet. Organizers point to viewing spots across the island, including Paal 20 near De Koog, the lighthouse area at De Cocksdorp, Paal 33, the dike at Oosterend, the harbor at Oudeschild and even the ferry harbor at ’t Horntje. That visibility is part of what has made the Round of Texel one of the most recognizable beach-start races in the class.

The event’s scale did not happen overnight. The first Round of Texel was organized in 1978 by members of Kustzeilvereniging Westerslag as a performance sail rather than an official race. Eighty-four catamarans started that first edition, and 68 finished. The race has grown far beyond those early numbers, with the 2025 edition drawing 373 entries and reinforcing why Texel still sits at the center of the global catamaran conversation.

For crews lining up on the sand and for anyone watching from the island’s beaches, the same scene will return on June 6: a broad wall of catamarans, a beach start at Paal 17 and a course that rewards speed, handling and endurance all the way around Texel.