Martinique Hosts Inaugural Seven-Day International Wingfoil Race Feb 22-28, 2026

Midway through a seven-day, multi-stage wingfoil race around Martinique, riders are contending with the island’s steady north-east trade winds and warm waters as they tackle long coastal legs and inshore prologue racing. The WIND Force Sailing Club of Le Robert is hosting the Martinique Wing Adventure from February 22 to 28, 2026, billed as the first official edition and designed to add a new stop on the long-distance wingfoil calendar.

Organizers set the format around long-distance raids and coastal regattas, structuring the event as six stages and one prologue with a main field made up of 16 selected athletes, all described in preview materials as specialists in long-distance wingfoil. DriftTravel framed the event as a strategic move that "aims to position the island as a new benchmark for high-level wingfoil" and emphasized that this long-distance format remains rare worldwide.

Some coastal legs are named as particular tests: Robert – Grand Rivière and Marin – Diamant – Marin appear in race descriptions as potentially challenging marine conditions that will require a rigorous selection of participants. The mix of long offshore legs and coastal circuits is intended to reward endurance and technical foiling ability across varied sailing areas around the island.

The starting list teased by local coverage highlights established names and cross-discipline pairings. Title holders Ad Noordzij and Bastiaan Tentij are singled out as favourites, described as racing respectively with Valentijn Grossman (HorseRidingSpain) and Matthieu Marfaing (Cirrus MM Sailing). Coverage also notes six F16 crews will compete alongside wingfoil specialists; among them, Yohan Debauque and Léo Maurin, annotated with "French Match Racing Champion 2024, runner-up in the Nacra 17 Youth Championship in 2022" in the event copy, said, "We're clearly here to challenge the Olympic champions, and we're going to do our best to go head to head with them".

Local spot information from FBC Martinique adds technical color: the north-east trade winds "accelerate across the plains of Lamentin and blow onshore at the launch area and at 90 degrees to the whole riding area." The center describes a 30 m wide launching area with waist-high flat water and soft sand, a slightly protected zone for entries and kids, and farther out a section where "the wind speed increases and becomes more constant" offering flat-water and bump-and-jump conditions for stance work and maneuver training. FBC Martinique notes the main wind period runs from the beginning of December until August and that the center is open year-round.

Preview imagery accompanying event write-ups carries photo credits reading "Martinique Wing Adventure 2025 © Pierrick Contin" even as organizers label the February 22–28, 2026 schedule the "first official edition," an inconsistency present in the material circulating about the race. With riders, F16 crews and organizers convened through February 28, the Martinique Wing Adventure is positioned as a high-stakes, rare long-distance test that could cement the island's reputation for elite wingfoil racing if the trade winds and logistics hold for the full seven days.