Twelfth River Exe Regatta - Preview
by Mike Rice 7 Jun 2012 21:25 BST
30 June - 1 July 2012
The twelfth running of the River Exe Regatta will take place over the weekend 30 June and 1st July 2012, hosted by Lympstone Sailing Club and sponsored by Saleboard Estate Agents and Exeter College.
The regatta is run jointly by the four sailing clubs on the Exe: Starcross Yacht Club, Exe Sailing Club, Lympstone Sailing Club, and Topsham Sailing Club. Each year one of the clubs takes the lead in organising the event and hosting the social events.
In this Olympic year, the regatta is associated with the Royal Yachting Association's Sail for Gold initiative, designed to provide clubs with a framework of activities and events to inspire all participants, celebrate the success of sailing as a sport and support Team GBR at the Games in Weymouth. The River Exe has produced its share of top-class sailors, including Stevie Morrison and Ben Rhodes, who will represent GB in the 49er class at Weymouth.
Around 100 boats are expected. There will be racing for cruisers, dinghies, multihulls and windsurfers. There is also a programme of events for junior sailors on Saturday, based around Lympstone SC.
The regatta will once again include a big prize fishing contest, organised jointly by Exmouth Deep Sea Fishing Club and Starcross Fishing and Cruising Club.
Sunday's racing includes a long-distance race for the multihulls and a 150 minute pursuit race for all the dinghies.
On the Saturday evening there will be a party at Lympstone with a live band. After racing on Sunday there will be the legendary regatta tea and free prize draw. There will be many valuable prizes, kindly donated by Ash Marine and All Gadgets Marine, but you have to be there in person to collect a prize!
Entry forms and full race documentation for the Regatta are available from the Regatta website at www.river-exe-regatta.org.uk. The deadline for entries is noon on Wednesday 25 June 2012.