In the early 1820s 4 regattas were organised by Dartmouth members of the newly formed Royal Yacht Club, providing sailing matches for their large yachts, that were out of reach for all but the wealthiest Dartmothian.  However, the last of the series was in 1827, and after a gap of 7 years, in 1834, Dartmouth decided to launch a “regatta for all” and elected townspeople to organise it. It was a very different proposition and the first of 180 town-run regattas. Now the focus was on rowing, with big prize money that attracted crews from all over the country. Starting at 1pm, after a buffet lunch aboard the gentlemen’s yachts, there were usually 8 races in the day.  These including a race for women’s coxless sculls: which impressed a reporter in 1835 who wrote: “the women pulled admirably; they were Neptune’s own daughters, and had he been there, he would have leaped from his car into the headmost boat and left the former to the care of his horses.”  

A sailing race for commercial boats or barges was organised and there was a race in the harbour for a “Mosquito Fleet” of smaller sailing boats under 25’, mainly owned by local fishermen.  

From the outset, the regatta was accompanied by a fair on the New Ground (now Royal Avenue Gardens).  This was also the only free space from which to view the races, as the embankment wasn’t built until 1884. In 1855 the first gas lights were installed to make it even more brightly illuminated for the crowds that thronged in the evenings after the races were over.  From the second regatta (1835), the sport terminated at 5.30, followed soon after by a magnificent firework display.   In 1871 it was described by the Western Morning News as being quite a fair: ‘so thickly is it covered in stands and shows… so gaily is it decorated with avenues and arches of bright evergreen.”

Rural sports, were important too. They included traditional games such as the Tug o’ War, Egg & Spoon Race, Climbing the greasy Pole and Donkey racing. They were separate from the Regatta but scheduled on the following day, making it a two day festival.  They took place on the New Ground and continued until 1894, when they were superseded by swimming and boat based activities in the boat-float, including tug of war between rowing gigs and swimming races. 

From the first regatta there had been a ball in the evening, though this was an exclusive event in the Assembly Rooms, attended by local property owners and members of the corporation.  It started at 9pm and “continued in great spirit” until 3 in the morning.  A dance was also organised for the rest of the town, called the “Ordinaries”.  However, in 1843, a formal Al Fresco ball “for all” was organised on the New Ground, with the dance floor covered in sawdust and lit by burning tar barrels. It became so popular that in 186z the Mayor was chided for not attending the Regatta Ball and for having been seen at the Al Fresco Ball.  In 1895 it was still said “that at the Al Fresco Ball, dukes and earls can run shoulders with tradesmen and clerks and all can dance merrily.”

In 1856 Queen Victoria visited Dartmouth during the regatta and was so delighted with the event that she gave another £25 as prize money to the Townspeople.  So, a second day of races was quickly organised, and the regatta was henceforth the Royal Dartmouth Regatta, which continues to this day with the reigning monarch being its first patron.  

The second day’s water based activities were gradually extended and in 1861 for the first time included sailing races for leisure yachts in the harbour.  Sailing became a more significant fixture of the regatta after the Royal Dart Yacht Club was founded in 1866 and the Club organised sailing races outside the harbour for the first time.

Initially people arrived by paddle steamers either from Totnes, where some arrived by train from up country and London, or from Torquay.  After lengthy delays, the railway finally arrived at Kingswear in 1864 and the spectator numbers increased significantly, with up to 10,000 visitors arriving by rail, once the regatta became a 3 day event in 1885. The large crowds now had more space to watch the events as the South Embankment was opened in that year. By this time the regatta’s reputation had grown and it was probably the largest regatta in the country, with a record number of 191 private yachts attending the event in 1880.  The arrival of the motor car and the extension of paid holidays brought even more visitors in the 1920s.

Dartmouth always competed with Cowes for the title of being the UK’s premier regatta. Cowes had the edge in terms of sailing pedigree, while Dartmouth drew bigger crowds. Certainly, Dartmouth was the only Royal Regatta that managed to attract competitors of national quality for both rowing and sailing, a distinction that continues today.

With thanks to Jonathan Turner Vice Chair Dartmouth Museum for this contribution.