Dartmouth Royal Regatta Sailing Week 2023
by Dartmouth Royal Regatta 5 Sep 2023 15:58 BST
24-28 August 2023
Nestled in the South Devon coastline lies the delightful town of Dartmouth. It was here that numerous Solent based yachts migrated to partake in the 178th Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta Sailing Week. The lush cliffs dipping down to the Royal Dart yacht club set the scene for a week of dinghy and yacht racing. The Savills Passage race competitors received a warm welcome.
Three regattas rolled into one encompassed the Dartmouth Royal Regatta Sailing Week, namely Rockfish Junior regatta, the Pilot Financial Dinghy regatta and the Yacht and Day Sailing Boat Series. Entries, at 301, were the highest they have been for the last seven years. The unpredictability of this year's weather caused concern before the event, but in the end only Tuesday morning for the Juniors and Thursday for the Yachts were lost before the wind then filled in and three days of cracking racing were enjoyed.
128 yachts and dayboats took part in the main regatta with racing held over three courses with club member David Goulden in Bandit winning IRC3 and also the Whitelegg Cup for best RDYC boat in IRC 0,1,2,and 3. Three Cape 31s - Gelert, Flurg and Khumbu joined the newly formed IRC class Zero alongside Solent regular La Réponse. With Dave Swete calling tactics the team on Sunrise banked several bullets to claim the silverware.
The entries for the Pilot Financial Dinghy Regatta at Dittisham Sailing Club were at last years' record level. The traditional Savills Passage Race to bring yachts round from Torbay to Dartmouth on Wednesday afternoon was well supported with 57 yachts taking part and experiencing light conditions. Local boats fared well with Nick Royle in Rising Sunne winning the Non Spinnaker cruiser class, Gordon Coutts in Orixa was 2nd in the Cruiser Class and Mike Mackie's Jiggy was 5th in IRC.
The regatta's main innovation this year was to introduce MarkSetBot remotely controlled marks for the outer course where IRC 0,1,2,3 and J109 races were held. These marks are not anchored but hold their position using an electric motor and GPS a positioning system which allows quick changes to course layout and minimising delays in racing. With no anchoring they do not damage the seabed and help reduce our carbon footprint. They worked extremely well and will be a feature of next year's regatta, hopefully on two courses.
Over the weekend the Gaffers and White Sail yachts enjoyed their timed events along the coast in some blustery conditions including an almost tropical squall. Non racers were encouraged to take part in these informal events and enjoy the fun of regatta and prize-giving. Peter Lucas's Cynthia, having competed in the Richard Mille Cup earlier in the season with regatta Chairman Peter Boote onboard, secured the Gaffers event. The White Sail class was well supported and first RDYC boat home in 5th place were Keith and Sian Mitchell in Matawa. Irrespective of how you fared on the water the traditional Salcombe Gin & Tonic deliveries on the way back in helped brighten things up.
Continuing with the joint clubs' drive to become more environmentally friendly, prizes changed from glass to wooden trophies manufactured locally using sustainable timber. The theme for this year's regatta prizes was a celebration of King Charles III Coronation with the mugs and trophies displaying the coronation crest. There was a real buzz around the club and it was great to see all the boats rafted up in the marina. A fly-past by the Red Arrows followed by the legendary firework display on the Saturday made the crescendo of the event. If you wish to extent your summer of sailing in the UK this naval port's warm welcome comes highly recommended.
Find out more at dartmouthsailingweek.com