From October 3 to November 14, Davis Island Yacht Club has something on Hillsborough Bay almost every week. It starts with a club race and a chili cookoff. It finishes with the 2026 A-Class Catamaran World Championship. In between, the club also hosts a youth regatta, a Halloween race, a Star Class North American Championship and a pre-Worlds event. As of this writing, 85 sailors are registered for the Worlds, with entries under 11 different sail-country prefixes.
On land, the island's own commercial news is thin by comparison. The one Village opening announced recently is Little Palm Cafe at 205 E Davis Blvd. Tampa restaurateur Christopher Rivas, known for Little Tina and Urban Cantina, is behind it. It was reported in June 2025 and has not given an opening date. Its website still says "opening soon." The most dated, most international events on Davis Islands this fall all start from 1315 Severn Avenue and get bigger each week.
Six weeks, in order
The club's posted regatta schedule runs like a staircase. Each step brings a bigger field or a wider reach than the one before.
| Dates | Event | Who it draws |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 3 | Fall Couples' Race and Chili Cookoff | Club sailors, run in the Sunday race format |
| Fri., Oct. 9 | Oktoberfest Dinner | Club dinner between race weekends |
| Oct. 17–18 | DIYSF Optimist Green Fleet Regatta | Optimist Green Fleet, run with DIYSF |
| Sat., Oct. 24 | Halloween BOTY Regatta | Club's Boat of the Year series |
| Late October | Star Class North American Championship | 18 two-person teams from the U.S., Germany and Canada |
| Nov. 4–6 | A-Class Admiral's Cup, the Pre-Worlds | 46 registered as of this writing |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Sailing Sisters Regatta | Posted on the club's regatta schedule |
| Nov. 7–14 | A-Class Catamaran World Championship | 85 registered, 11 sail-country prefixes |
The Star dates in that table say "late October" because the official sources disagree. The International Star Class homepage lists October 24–29. The event's visitor packet says October 25–30. The event's current race page says October 27–30. The race page also puts the opening ceremony on Monday, October 26. Wherever the racing days land, the Star week overlaps the Halloween BOTY Regatta or follows right after it. That makes the last week of October the first stretch of the season where visiting championship crews share the club with its regular racers.
The schedule keeps going after the Worlds. The Egmont BOTY Race is posted for November 21, a week after the last A-Cat race day.
The Star week brings back last year's podium
The Star is a two-person keelboat designed in 1911. It has a long Olympic history, and its fleets tend to stay small and experienced. As of this writing, the North Americans entry list shows 18 teams: 15 from the U.S., two from Germany and one from Canada.
The field includes the top of the 2025 results. Jack Jennings won last year's North Americans, George Szabo finished second, and both are entered for Tampa. Luke Lawrence, who sailed on the third-place team in 2025, is listed this year as crew for Michael Hecky. DIYC announced it would host the regatta in a post dated October 29, 2025, so the event has been on the calendar for about a year.
The A-Cat fortnight is the peak
The Star fleet is small. The A-Class fleet is large and fast. A-Class catamarans are sailed by one person. The class races in two divisions: a Classic division of non-foiling boats and an Open division of foiling boats, which lift out of the water on hydrofoils and can go faster than 24 knots. The Worlds list currently shows 62 Classic boats and 23 Open boats.
The sail-country prefixes on that list are USA, AUS, CAN, ESP, ITA, POL, BRA, ISV, ARG, NZL and FRA. The entrants include Jay Glaser and Randy Smyth. US Sailing records Glaser's 1984 Olympic silver in the Tornado class and Smyth's Tornado silvers in 1984 and 1992.
The Notice of Race sets a steady daily schedule for the two weeks.
- Wednesday, Nov. 4: Admiral's Cup arrival, check-in and rigging, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Thursday and Friday, Nov. 5–6: First warning signal at 11 a.m., three races per day, with Admiral's Cup awards Friday.
- Saturday, Nov. 7: Worlds arrival, check-in and rigging.
- Sunday, Nov. 8: Practice racing at 1 p.m., opening ceremony at 6 p.m., competitors meeting at 7 p.m.
- Monday through Friday, Nov. 9–13: First warning signal at 11 a.m., two races per day, with food and refreshments after racing. Tuesday evening is listed as a free night on the town, and Wednesday evening has a buffet dinner.
- Saturday, Nov. 14: The Notice of Race lists another 11 a.m. warning signal, then the awards banquet and closing ceremony. The club's event page calls the 14th an alternate racing day.
That puts racing on the bay late every weekday morning for most of two weeks. The Notice of Race describes the venue as the club "and Hillsborough Bay south of Davis Islands." The club's event page notes that winds on Hillsborough Bay are generally northeasterly at about 8 to 15 knots, and that the club basin is sheltered and calm.
The scale stands out against the club's recent history. DIYC's last world championship was the 2.4 mR Worlds, held November 5–11, 2022. Four years later, the club is running a pre-Worlds and a Worlds back to back, with a North American championship two weeks earlier.
What's public, and what isn't
The racing is visible from the water, but the club itself is private. DIYC describes itself as a member-owned private club, and its visiting information points to membership and yacht-club reciprocity for access. The Worlds schedule includes an opening ceremony, but nothing published so far says it is open to the general public or that there will be dock-out viewing.
Nearby city shoreline is open on its usual terms. The City of Tampa lists the Davis Islands Seaplane Basin at 864 Severn Ave. as a public beach, open sunrise to sunset. The Davis Islands Dog Park and Dog Beach is at 1002 Severn St., inside a fenced area. Neither the club nor the city has published a spectator guide, and no source confirms how much of the racecourse can be seen from either spot. Both are on Severn, the same street as the club, which is as far as the public information goes.
The Seaplane Basin has a change coming after this season. The city's project page lists replacement docks and boardwalk, a mooring field and navigation aids as being in design, with construction planned from March 31, 2027 to January 31, 2028. If that timeline holds, the basin will look the same this fall as it always has.
The weeks around the racing
The racing season sits between a few steady fixtures on the island. DI Coffee Bar at 214 E. Davis Blvd. hosts Friday Night Jazz every week, and the next listed date is Friday, October 2, from 7:30 to 10 p.m. That's the night before the Couples' Race opens the sailing calendar. Creative Loafing Tampa marked the series' two-year anniversary in October 2025.
At the other end of the season, the Tampa Riverwalk's Holiday Lighted Boat Parade is set for Saturday, December 19, starting at 6:15 p.m. near the lighthouse off Davis Islands. That makes about five weeks between the last A-Cat race and the next big night on the water off the island.
Harvey Petty has worked in Tampa Bay for more than 25 years, including the Severn Avenue waterfront and the streets around the Seaplane Basin. If the A-Cat fortnight has you wondering what your own home near the water is worth this fall, ask for a home valuation and Harvey will walk you through it.
