Rowing
IMPORTANT NOTICE : rowers Heat safety information
The Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta rowing is at the absolute core of our Royal Regatta. The first recorded Regatta held on the River Dart at Dartmouth in 1822 was noted to include a rowing race for six-oared gigs ‘for which Dartmouth is very famous’ – according to the Exeter Flying Post. Rowing was then and still is, fiercely competitive and the highlight of the calendar for many visitors and locals.
Our Royal Regatta has become a ‘Mecca’ for rowing enthusiasts with its wide variety of rowing. Whaler and cadet blue boats provide the attraction for local participants; fine boat rowing attracts crews from the south west and along the south coast to the final regatta of the West of England ARA ten regatta championship series; pilot gig rowing attracts the Cornish gig fraternity; FISA Coastal Rowing introduced into the Regatta in 2021 provides courses of 8 and 6 kilometres out to sea and back for clubs of the Southwest Coastal Rowing League; and initiated last year there is a programme of Seine Boat rowing.
Conditions for all of these multiplicities of rowing are ideal in helping to present a sporting excellence over eight days of the regatta.
The Regatta Competitor Programme will be printed nearer to the Regatta with the complete details of races but do buy a Regatta Souvenir Programme which features everything the Regatta has to offer.
The history
In 1989 seven whalers in GRP/carbon fibre, based on the Yealm Crabber, much lighter than the old naval whaler borrowed from the Britannia Royal Naval College, were commissioned and sponsored by local businesses and organisations.
This is where a new chapter started. Our Regatta whalers and cadet blue boats always make a very impressive, colourful sight for spectators, and are unique to Dartmouth.
what you'll see
Heats will take place on the Sunday and Monday before the official Port of Dartmouth Royal Regatta starts, with the finals on Regatta Friday.
The prize giving takes place on the Friday evening when you will see the Royal Avenue Gardens tightly packed with people waiting to hear the results and to see the winning crews receive their trophies! There may be a few beers involved…
Who competes?
Teams are entered by a number of local organsiations and business. These include most of the wealth of lucal pubs that Dartmouth has to offer.
As a result, a serious albeit friendly rivalry develops which simmers throughout the year!