SailGP Venue Guide: Halifax

Heading to Nova Scotia for the Canada Sail Grand Prix? Then read on…

Published 06/18/2026

SailGP returns to Nova Scotia for the first time in two years this week for the Canada Sail Grand Prix in Halifax.

It’s an apt venue for SailGP as the Canadian province is the de facto home of foiling – but there’s plenty going on in Halifax, as you’ll soon discover…

1. The historic home of foiling

While he might be best known for inventing the telephone, Scottish inventor Alexander Graham Bell also gave us SailGP – sort of.

Bell lived in Baddeck, Nova Scotia, for 30 years and during that time he worked on a number of other inventions and ideas that we know today. Among them, the hydrofoil technology that underpins SailGP.

In the early 1900s, Bell began experimenting with submerged foils and the HD-4 (Hydrodome Number 4) was the apex of that work. It was an almost 20 meter craft developed in Nova Scotia that, on 9 September 1919, achieved a world marine speed record of 70.86mph (114.04kph).

2. Links to the Titanic

Halifax is not the only city to lay some claim to the historic Titanic but its part in the tragedy of 1912 is tinged with greater sadness than most.

It was in Halifax that a number of the bodies of the deceased finally washed ashore – more than any other location. A total of 337 bodies were found at sea, with 209 brought to the port of Halifax.

After identification and funerals, 150 victims were buried in three locations across the city: Fairview Lawn Cemetery (121), Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery (19) and Baron de Hirsch Jewish Cemetery (10).

Historical guided tours are available and the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, located on Halifax’s waterfront, has a permanent Titanic exhibit featuring one of the world’s best collections of wooden artifacts from the infamous cruise liner.

3. The world’s most photographed lighthouse

While not technically in Halifax itself, Peggys Cove is more than worth a short detour if you’re heading to this weekend’s racing action. Location in the Halifax Regional Municipality, it is home to Peggys Cove Lighthouse – the world’s most photographed lighthouse, founded in 1811.

There is plenty of folklore around why the cove has been named after Peggy and who she might have been. The most popular and accepted version of events is that the name derives from the sole survivor of a shipwreck at Halibut Rock, near the cove.

Artist and resident William E. deGarthe claimed Peggy was a young woman but others dispute this, saying she was a little girl too young to remember her own name and instead had the moniker bestowed upon.

However it came about, the name Peggy stuck!

4. Don’t miss a Donair!

Every major town or city has its own culinary speciality and Halifax is no exception!

A Halifax Donair is a regional delicacy that is essentially a traditional kebab with a few key differences. Unlike a traditional gyros, a Donair is composed of heavily seasoned ground beef which takes the shape of a spiced load.

The truly unique part comes in its sauce, however. Made by whipping condensed milk, sugar, garlic power and white vinegar, you get a sweeter-than-usual sauce to accompany the meat.

To whom does Halifax owe its Donair? Peter Gamoulakos, a Greek immigrant living in NS in the 1970s is credited with being its father figure, tailoring a traditional gyro to accommodate local tastes.

Not your thing? Halifax’s seafood scene is excellent – particularly the lobster!

5. Boardwalk for the best views

The Race Stadium will be situated on the Halifax Waterfront and Georges Island.

There will be plenty to see and do on the board walk along the waterfront throughout the week and you’ll get impeccable views of 13 international F50s ripping through Halifax Harbor.

Among the things to see are the so-called drunken lampposts - officially titled The Way Things Are - created by Nova Scotia College of Art and Design alumni Chris Hanson and Hendrika Sonnenberg.

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