The Macnamara's Bowl returns

by Peter Saxton 15 Feb 10:52 GMT 24-26 April 2026

First competed for in 1978, the prestigious and international women-only keelboat regatta hosted by Royal Lymington Yacht Club ran successfully until 1995. Since then, the beautiful trophy has been displayed in the club trophy cabinet but without further competition.

In late 2025, Jo Wells, grand-daughter of the event founder Brian Macnamara, suggested that the club should consider re-starting the event as part of the focus on broadening and increasing on-water activity at the club.

Why not, we thought, so the revitalised Macnamara's Bowl event will take place on 24-26 April 2026, building on the traditions of the event - strong competition, great socials and lasting friendships, but with a few 21st century twists:

• Entry is by invitation only.
• Competing teams are now club representatives, with invitations sent to 15 leading UK clubs and a further 15 clubs from around the World.
• Competitors will race in the RS21 One Design high-performance keelboats, with a crew of four or five women, with charter boats available from RS Sailing.
• The racing format is fleet-racing, with seven races scheduled.

Full details are available in the Notice of Race available here.

The schedule for the event includes a day of coached training, followed by two days of racing in the stunning and challenging Western Solent under the guidance of experienced International Race Officer Roger Wilson and his team.

After racing, boats will moor together on the club's own pontoons and great socials are planned including a (relatively) formal dinner and an evening of fun and food at local venue Warborne Farm. To help keep the costs down, the club is organising accommodation for visiting teams with local club families.

With just under a month to go before entries close, we already have confirmation of entries from:

• Royal Bermuda Yacht Club
• Kingston Yacht Club, Canada
• Societe des Regates du Havre, France
• Royal Club Nautic de Palma, Spain
• Dubai Offshore Sailing Club, UAE
• Royal Southern Yacht Club, UK
• 3 x Royal Lymington Yacht Club, UK and another four to five entries firmly in the pipeline.

There's still time for invited clubs to enter and if your club has not been invited yet, but you would like to take part, please email .

We're looking forward to a great event on and off the water - so don't miss out!