Meetings for boat races (8)
I believe the answer is:
regattas
'meetings for boat races' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
This is the entire clue.
(Other definitions for regattas that I've seen before include "Yacht races as part of sporting event" , "races at sea" , "Yacht races, sporting events" , "Boat races organised as sporting events" , "race-meetings" .)