A YEAR OF CELEBRATIONS WILL MARK ROYAL DART YACHT CLUB’S 150TH ANNIVERSARY
O
ne of the country’s oldest and most prestigious yacht clubs celebrates its 150th anniversary in 2016 with a packed programme of events,
including the return of many of the popular races and regattas that the club organises in and around Dartmouth and new challenges to commemorate this important landmark. events organised this year by the Royal Dart Yacht Club will include the well-established and popular Dartmouth Classics Regatta, a new competition - savills Commodore’s Challenge Cup - and the Royal Dart Provident 150th Challenge, which will challenge young people through this sailing experience. First, a bit of history. the
first yacht club in england was launched by the Duke of Cumberland in 1775, becoming the Royal thames Yacht Club in 1823. In the “wave” of enthusiasm for sailing for pleasure that followed during the mid-Victorian era, stoke Gabriel landowner Henry studdy and a group of friends got together for the inaugural meeting of the Dart Yacht Club at the Castle Hotel, Dartmouth on June 8, 1866. they established a base on the Kingswear side of the River
Dart in two rooms of a hotel and invited like-minded people to apply for membership, at a cost of a guinea a year.
Royal approval came in 1873 after the Club petitioned
Queen Victoria. Years earlier - in August 1856 - the monarch had been sailing along the coast when poor weather forced her to pay an impromptu visit to Dartmouth. she then bestowed the Royal title on the annual Regatta, which coincided with her visit. Not to be outdone, the Dart Yacht Club pressed for the same honour, supporting its case with the proclamation that it was in “the leading position as a sailing and racing club in the West of england.” Royal approval was duly given in time for 1873 regatta, hosted for the first time by the newly-named Royal Dart Yacht Club. the club today is thriving, and
preparing for a year of events to mark its 150th anniversary. A week of celebratory activities from May 28-June 5 (the date of the first meeting was 8 June) will include a coastal sail to Brixham, a sail past of members’ boats and match racing in squibs.
one of the most spectacular events will be the
Dartmouth Classics Regatta in start Bay on saturday and sunday, July 9 and 10. Last held in 2014, it will act as a feeder race to Plymouth on Monday, July 11 for the start of the Plymouth-Brest-La Rochelle Revival Race. there is a packed programme of social events during
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