This year is the 179th Dartmouth Royal Regatta and it will be a great event both on and off the water. The sailing includes dinghy racing on the River Dart and yacht racing out in Start Bay. We will be filming the racing from the photography boat so that you will be able to see action from out on the water at the club or when in town. The MarkSetBot remote marks we used last year for the first time were a great success and this we will be using them on both the outer and middle courses. This marks help improve the accuracy of the racing while lowering our environmental impact by reducing fuel usage and not damaging the seabed.

The Regatta is one of the oldest in the UK being first held in 1822. Royal Assent from H.M. Queen Victoria was received in 1856 and it has been a premier event in the yachting calendar ever since. Set in some of the most picturesque coastline in the British Isles, the natural harbour of the River Dart and the wide expanse of Start Bay bring competitors from all over the UK to take part in these outstanding yacht and dinghy racing events. Our charter stipulates that the Regatta must include the last Friday in August and in 2024 the Sailing Week will run from Saturday 204th through to Saturday 31st August.

Racing starts on Saturday 24th with the Moore Kingston Smith Dinghy Regatta at Dittisham Sailing Club up river from Dartmouth and the Junior Rockfish Regatta held at the Royal Dart Yacht Club in Kingswear. Prize giving for the Juniors is on Monday 26th at RDYC and at Dittisham on Tuesday 27th. Both venues are ideal for watching the racing so please come along and support the competitors. Yacht racing gets underway on Tuesday the 27th with the traditional Savills Passage Race from Torbay to bring competitors around to Dartmouth. Yacht racing in Start Bay takes place from Wednesday 28th to Saturday 31st and includes daily races sponsored by Henri Lloyd, Goulden & Sons and Salcombe Gin with the ever popular Gin and Tonic deliveries to the racers as they return to harbour.

We are very aware that there are sailing families who like to take part in a competition but don’t want the hurly burly of racing starts so we have our “White Sail Event” on the Friday 30th and Saturday 31st of August. This is complemented by the Gaffers Regatta held at the same time.

All of this ambitious programme of racing and sailing would not be possible without the generous support of the many local and national businesses which sponsor the events. We appreciate the commitment these companies make which enable us to offer our competitors professionally run racing and great prizes.

Our Regatta is run by volunteers from the three clubs who jointly manage the whole series of events and all of the considerable logistics of setting up and administering the programme. We thank them all – look out for them in Regatta week wearing polo shirts with the Dartmouth Royal Regatta Sailing Week logo and please show your appreciation when you see them.

Finally on behalf of all of us on the Joint Regatta Sailing Committee, we look forward to welcoming back all of our competitors and wish them the best of luck and close racing.

Peter Boote

Chairman, JRSC Dartmouth Royal Regatta Sailing Week