Semporna Town comes to life with the unique Regatta Lepa, a competition held for the Bajau seafarers to crown the most beautiful traditional sailboat.
Don’t miss a variety of interesting events, including the boat-tug-of-war and rowing competition. The annual Regatta Lepa is held in conjunction with the Malaysian Water Festival.

Lepa-lepa Festival in Semporna popularized by Dandai for tourist attraction.
Sakaran (bin) Dandai, Tun (Datuk Seri Panglima Haji) (b. April 15, 1930, Semporna, North Borneo [now Sabah]), chief minister (1994) and head of state (1995-2002) of Sabah. In 2000 he was awarded Sabah's highest award, the Seri Panglima Darjah Kinabalu, which carries the title Datuk Seri Panglima. (http://www.fortunecity.com/athena/pearl/29/indexs1.html ).

He improved Semporna from island to center of tourism.

Nowadays, the practice of this traditional lifestyle is slowly dispersing with modernity. Few modern Bajaus use the Lepa today as many of them migrated to the mainland. Nonetheless, Lepa remains a symbol of tradition and a precious legacy for the Semporna Bajau community.
According to the Lepa Secretariat office, the regatta was inaugurated in 1994 to commemorate the Bajau tradition of building these splendid boats, the festival begins with the arrival of the Lepa from different villages, headed by the respective village leader.

Tranquil turquoise waters and the rich bio-diversity of its colourful reef have attracted seafarers and fisher folk to Semporna and its surrounding islands.

Semporna is also home to the Bajau Laut, the second largest ethnic group in Sabah and one of the major maritime communities in South-east Asia.

Also known as the sea gypsies of Sabah, the Bajau Laut once lived their entire lives aboard their traditional 5m long and 1.5m wide single-mast sailboat called lepa made from tropical hard wood.

In these inconspicuous vessels, they inexorably rode the highest waves and brazenly conquered the fiercest storm as they migrated between the islands of the Southern Philippines, eastern Borneo and Sulawesi.

Lepa and lipau sapit traditional Bajau boats.
Popularized by the Samal and Bajau of Sulu are the “Lepa” (houseboats) and the “Sapit” both are used as houseboats.
The stern of the “Sapit” is fitted with a rudder while the Lepa is controlled by the paddle manually.
Like its bigger version, the kumpit , lepa shared the sea-faring history of the Bajao.

The Lepa reaches Borneo, Malaysia and Indonesia with the stars and heavenly bodies as navigational guides.
The Kumpit is the symbol of the romantic Tausug life in the sea, while the Lepa, tells the romantic adventure of the Bajao and Sama .
Previously the tourists were only able to view the Lepa and Sapit but now they have the opportunity to be in these vessels.
Tourists can use the Lepa, that measures about 10 meters to sail to Tandu Bolong waters.
As for the 18-20 meter-long Sapit, it can be used to get to the Tun Sakaran Marine Park.

LEPA the single-masked sailing boat of the Bajau people. The 2010 Lepa Regatta offered more color and excitement when compared to the previous years.
Among the first day events were LEPA competition, Sea Sports and Exhibition for the visitors.
The Bajau seafarers' proud maritime heritage comes alive this April where boats are decorated with brightly colored sails known as sambulayang and tapis (small triangular flags). The sleepy Semporna town comes to life as the colorful sails take to the sea to compete for the prize of the most beautiful lepa.
The highlight of the event is the sail-past of the Lepa, each boat decked with smiling dancers and lively musicians, hoping to be crowned `Most Beautiful Lepa' - the grand prize of this much-anticipatted water festival. Every Lepa family has their own beautiful girl welcoming visitors with graceful igal-igal dance, a traditional dance of the Bajau.
Igal Igal is fondly known as the dance of the sea eagle. Performers are clad in highly elaborate traditional costumes which are very thrilling to the eyes.
Other attractions at Regatta Lepa 2010 include sea sports such as rowboat, sailing and kelleh-kelleh (small dugout boat) competitions, Lepa tug of war, and duck catching competition.
Lepa boat has been a significant part of the Sabah Bajau fishermen since time immemorial. The Regatta Lepa is an occasion to show off all the beautifully built Lepa boats. Again, the annual event's highlight is a competition to choose the most dazzling Lepa. Colorfully adorned Lepa boats grace the waterfront, decked with the smiling faces of dancers and musicians.
Regatta Lepa is an annual gathering of the most skillful fishing boat builders in Sabah. The Bajau in Semporna have their yearly festival for remembering their old heritage. In this festival the Bajaus from different villages and islands will meet. And during the festive meeting they select the best Lepa of the year.
In each lepa is a group of musicians and a couple dancers. The flotilla of colorful banners ridden Lepas will make a round in front of the VIPs and the judge's stage. The judges will give a point for their performance related to beautiful lepas and the best dancers.
The activities of Regatta Lepa celebration take place in two areas;
Waterfront : the traditional event showcasing the beautiful Lepa boats around the water front and
Town field : exhibitions events at the town field, where mini-village featuring traditional huts are on display. At night, visitors will be entertained by singers, dancers and musicians.

New tourism products in Semporna
Semporna Tourist Jetty and Information Centre

All tourism operators in Semporna are located here.

The jetty has facilities like a wide parking area for vehicles, clean toilets, restaurant and cafeteria for the benefit of tourists.

Tourists on their way to visit the resort islands will make a stopover at the jetty before proceeding to their respective destination.

In this year LEPA festival, a new tourism product Borneo Semporna Probocsis Monkey River Cruise at Tanggulangan, 15 km from Semporna town is introduced.

This package gives tourists the opportunities on a cruise along Sungai Pegagau for half an hour where they can view the Proboscis Monkey and mangrove jungles located on either side of the river.

Nature lover who love flying foxes  can proceed to Pulau Mata Pahi 30 minutes boat ride from Semporna Town.

30,000-50,000  huge bats live on this 4.1-hectare island's mangrove jungles. This flying animal active time for watching  is between 5.30 pm and 6.30pm.

The fireflies are also present on the island that has the potential to draw tourists to that location.