be wonderful too,” she said.
Melinda and her colleagues at the Royal Dart Yacht
DARTMOUTH
Club in Kingswear jointly organise the sailing races
with the Dartmouth Yacht Club under the umbrella of the
large royal regatta committee.
LAUNDERETTE
“The two clubs have always run the sailing together
for as long as anyone can remember and entries are
Open 7 days a week,
very much up on last year with 330 boats taking part –
8.00 hrs - 20.00 hrs (last wash)
250 yachts and 80 dinghies. Dartmouth regatta began
as a rowing event but when Queen Victoria sailed into
the port in 1856 and donated prize money for sailing
Full launderette facilities
races the sailing really took off and it has been at the
including Service Washes
heart of the regatta ever since.”
9 am-1 pm Monday-Friday
Melinda said the sailing at Dartmouth regatta was
popular with visitors and locals alike: “Our regatta is Our large capacity front loaders will
second only to Cowes in size but we are the last in the
take duvets, sleeping bags, etc.
season so lots of experienced crews from the Hamble
and the Solent come down after a whole summer of
Dry Cleaning Service Provided
regattas and, providing boats (and crews!) still hold up,
they like to finish off here with a celebration – that’s why
it has such a party atmosphere. 2 Market Street
“But we pride ourselves on being a family regatta that
Dartmouth
is very special for the local people who live alongside
the river and have their boats moored here. We really Tel: (01803) 833178
encourage these local entries from sailors of all ages,
but for the others they can come and experience what
we are lucky enough to have 365 days of the year.”
The regatta sailing office and the support boats are
based at the Royal Dart Yacht Club and Melinda and
her colleagues have been working since the end of the
2008 to organise the sailing for regatta 2009!
But she said: “I love the regatta – it is wonderful
event and I look forward to it every year. It sets the club
buzzing! I’ve been involved for 10 years and my role
has grown each year. I love seeing so many different
people come and enjoy the River Dart for the special
place that it is. Everybody pulls together and there are
so many volunteers involved who all work so hard to
make this amazing event a success.”
Melinda, who lives in Kingswear with her husband
Peter, moved to this area from Buckinghamshire 16
years ago with their then young family. The couple
wanted a better quality of life for their daughters having
fallen in love with the River Dart and Devon beaches on
family holidays.
Melinda is busy with village life in Kingswear and
when not at the yacht club she also carries out duties as
a trustee of the Friends of St Thomas Church Kingswear
and as secretary of the River Dart Commercial users
Group. u
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