By KARAN MINNIS, Guardian Lifestyles Reporter

If you ask a Bahamian, another word for holiday is party. And there's no such thing as a wasted party, and the October 12 holiday weekend will be no exception, with two of The Bahamas' best parties to choose from — two Family Island regattas.

From Friday, Oct. 10 to Tuesday, Oct. 14 the residents of North Eleuthera and Harbour Island will open their doors to all and sundry as over 2,000 people are expected to attend its regatta, while another 1,000 people will be chilling out on the beaches of San Salvador from Friday, Oct. 10 to Sunday, Oct. 12.

Even though there are plenty of parties to choose from, Reverend Dr. Philip McPhee, a member of the North Eleuthera Regatta Committee, says you need to be heading to Eleuthera for their party, because he claims they will have the best.

"The North Eleuthera Regatta is not a regatta that has to worry about competition. We have years of history that will help us to draw the crowd that we expect to have. What we have here is five days of racing in which scores of locally-built sailing sloops from throughout the islands of The Bahamas from all classes will be vying for championship on the seas between Harbour Island and Three-Island Bay, North Eleuthera," he said. "Also, the North Eleuthera Regatta is one of — if not the best — regattas that The Bahamas has to offer, and that's not the only draw because with all of that excitement there will definitely be a festive atmosphere onshore as well."

"With a number of onshore activities planned, you can look forward to native dishes, entertainment by local bands, swimming contests, road races and fashion shows, along with a church service, and nightly entertainment featuring famed Bahamian musicians and entertainers," said McPhee. He promises there will be lots to do.

Additionally, he says that the draw of Harbour Island itself will make this regatta successful.

"People have been making arrangements for this regatta from last year. Also we have many dedicated sailors who will be participating, so we expect this regatta to be as successful as it always is. People just want to be here and so if you want to experience one of the largest sloop racing events in The Bahamas you will be in North Eleuthera that weekend," said McPhee.

Paul Turnquest, commodore of the 2008 San Salvador Grahams Harbour Regatta, begs to differ. He says that San Salvador will be the place to be, and that "if you go anywhere else, you will regret it."

He added, "This year we are looking at pulling off one of the most exciting regattas in 2008. Basically, we're just catering to the C-class sloops over a two-day period. Now one of the things that we're doing that's probably a little different from most of the other associations that have been holding regattas is that all of our races will be cup races and so we're offering very attractive cash prizes for the sailors in total of about $16,000. Because of this I've been getting calls from various skippers and boat owners from around The Bahamas for the past several weeks showing an interest in participating."

Like North Eleuthera, San Salvador will also have a number of onshore activities for persons to indulge in, like the bouncing castle, the hoop la, and other various games for the children. There will also be a cultural show on Friday, Oct. 10. The Royal Bahamas Police Pop Band is also excepted to perform.

"With all of this activity we expect to double our population this weekend, and make this the most successful regatta ever. This is why we're inviting everyone to come on down," said Turnquest.

North Eleuthera Regatta

Getting there:

Via Bahamasair - $140

Where to stay:

Quality Inn - $100 per night

PIneapple Fields - $210 per night

San Salvador Regatta

Getting there:

Via Bahamasair - $175

Where to stay:

Club Med - $150 per night

Riding Rock - $130 per night