BRIXHAM HERITAGE SAILING REGATTA

SATURDAY 27th and SUNDAY 28th MAY 2017

HERITAGE SAILING RALLY 10th SEPTEMBER 2016

 

The Brixham Heritage Sailing Regatta has its roots in the Sailing Trawler races that have been held in Torbay since the early 1800’s. In 1914, King George V presented the Perpetual Challenge Cup also popularly known as the 'King George V Cup' or the 'Kings Cup', to be raced for by Brixham registered sailing trawlers over 40 tons. This was competed for annually from 1919 until 1939 when the war ended racing and sailing trawlers were rapidly being retired. Racing did not resume after the War, but the Brixham Heritage Sailing Regatta was revived by enthusiasts in 1997.

 

The dates for the 2017 Heritage Sailing Regatta are Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th May. Consequently, Regatta arrivals can be on the Friday or Saturday with the Fish Supper, Festivities and Fireworks on the Saturday evening and the Skippers Briefing, Regatta, Prize Giving, Raffle and possibly Live Music on the Sunday. It also leaves the Bank Holiday Monday free for crews to sail home. It will be a very similar proven format to 2016.

 

Please go to the ‘Event’ page for provisional details of the 2017 Regatta. A 2017 Entry Form and revised documents will be added later this year .

 

BRIXHAM HERITAGE SAILING 2016  -  REGATTA REPORT

 

Please see the Results page for the 2016 results. We have now had our wash-up meeting. Firstly, a big ‘Thank You’ to everyone who took part and helped to make it such a busy and enjoyable Regatta. I think it is fair to say that a good time was had by all ! We had a record number of boats with 32 entering and 28 taking part in the Regatta and so we have reached our target of 30 plus boats. The weather can only be described as glorious, blue skies, sunshine and a reasonable breeze. To give you a clue to the wonderful weather see Tim’s 2016 photos on the Gallery page.

 

Registration took place on the Brixham Trawler Vigilance on the Saturday afternoon. The skipper and crews complimentary fish supper in the evening went down very well as usual with over 130 people being served with generous portions ! Complimentary Regatta Mugs were handed out after everyone had eaten and the bar was kept very busy as usual. We were then treated to a spectacular Firework display by the harbour.

 

Sunday dawned glorious again with slight to moderate sailing winds, perhaps not enough for the big boats, although having seen Grayhound sailing with a bow wave you wouldn’t have guessed that, but then he did have a lot of sail up ! It was a spectacular sight and it was great to see so many sails in the Bay, especially with some new entrants. A reasonable crowd of spectators gathered along the breakwater and at Battery Gardens to watch the large and small Classic and Vintage Boats in action.

 

On Sunday evening, the Yacht Club was VERY busy with Sailing Suppers and the prize giving which was followed by the raffle draw and a very successful auction. A very successful evening then continued with the Club bar doing well. Unfortunately for reasons unknown the band didn’t turn-up which some have suggested may have been a good thing as many people just prefer to talk boats ! Everyone said that they had a great time and I am grateful to all the boats who contacted me after the event to say that they had really enjoyed themselves.

 

The Heritage Committee are grateful to the people who sponsored the event or made donations to support the Regatta. This is a self-supporting, non-profit making event run by unpaid volunteers, and any excess funds are used to help fund future Regattas. We also thank Toni Knights for kindly supplying us with artwork for the Regatta Polo shirts, Mugs and Tankards. My thanks also go to Nigel for driving the shuttle from the pontoon and to John and Tim for laying the Regatta marks. Everyone had a great time in 2016 and we hope to see you all, plus hopefully some new boats back for the Brixham Heritage Sailing Regatta on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th May 2017. Please tell your friends with classic boats about the Brixham Heritage Regatta, it’s always a good weekend.

 

Brixham Heritage Sailing Rally 2016 – 10th September 2016. After suggestions that there was a need for a late Summer Classic Boat event in South Devon, the first successful Heritage Rally took place in 2015. It is a late Summer Rally of Heritage and Classic boats but nothing like the scale of our May Regatta, it is basically, just a relaxed get together for a sail in company, a chat about boats, a few drinks, plus sailing suppers at Brixham YC. No entry fees, no prize giving, no fish supper, etc ( we may award a modest prize for the concours ). There will be a small raffle for some bottles of wine to help fund next years Regatta. You may arrive in Brixham on Friday or Saturday before mid-day. There will be a 45 minute registration on the Town Pontoon from approximately 1130 and then boats leave the moorings about 1245 - 1300. The start will be at 1400. Apart from the Rally start time all times are approximate, as I said it is a very informal event. A pleasant 2.0 - 2.5 hour sail, ( weather permitting ), will be followed by an enjoyable social evening in the Yacht Club. Please note that at the registration a sheet of information regarding the Rally will be given to all boats, so it is important that you are on the Pontoon at the times given. It’s hard to believe that there is only a short time to go. We look forward to seeing you in September.