Old Regatta
Regatta's Beginnings...
Events such as Dartmouth Regatta don’t just start, they grow. An event as large and significant as Dartmouth Regatta took a while to take on a shape that the modern day Dartmothian or regular visitor would recognise.
Through the years the regatta has reflected the times, respectfully pausing at times of World War and its entrants reflecting fashion and the economic or social issues currently raging in the wider world.
The first event called regatta to be held on the river Dart took place in 1822 – 189 years ago. Taking part were yachts from the Royal Yacht Club in Cowes – which now hosts the only regatta in the country bigger than Dartmouth’s. Famously, the event featured three sailing races, one six-oared gig race, and a military band playing out at the Dartmouth Castle and 120 attended a ball.
It ran for five years - then inexplicably stopped. Don Collinson, author of ‘The Chronicles of Dartmouth’ (published in 2000 by Richard Webb Publishing) thinks it might have been stopped because the event’s organiser, Colonel John Seale, had a strong rivalry with Governor Holdsworth who organised a rival regatta in Start Bay. The two fell out over the establishing of the Floating Bridge which is now the Higher Ferry. It seems a determination to be the first to establish a river Dart crossing stopped either man running a large sailing event.
In 1831, Colonel Seale won – opening the Floating Bridge, and beating Governor Holdsworth’s scheme to build a ‘steam bridge’ from Spithead to the Old Passage house in Kingswear. Perhaps this then allowed the great and the good of the town to think about how to have fun and not fight quite so much.
The first new regatta was held in 1834, although it was very different from the celebration of everything on the water we know today. There were no official races for sailing boats – only for sailing lighters (flat bottomed barges used for delivering goods). The regatta also only lasted for one day.
It seems at the time there was not a guaranteed event every year – the Dartmouth Chronicle mentions only 11 events in 21 years up to 1855. In 1856 the ‘Alfresco Ball’ was introduced and quickly became a much-loved feature.
Also in 1856, Dartmouth regatta became a ‘Royal Regatta’. And it was all thanks to atrocious weather in the channel.
Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were travelling in a flotilla of nine boats which were forced into Dartmouth - a safe, deep harbour that ships have been using as a haven for a thousand years. They spent a number of days on the river, with trips to Sharpham and special events put on by the town, including some mysterious ‘illuminations, both ashore and afloat’ for good measure.
They left the day before regatta began, but left £45 for prizes in sailing races for the event and, perhaps much more importantly, permission to call it a ‘Royal’ regatta.
However, as a consequence of having the monarch leave before the event began, that year’s regatta seems to have been a little bit of an anticlimax. Perhaps everyone stood around wondering if they had to do things differently because it was now a ‘Royal Regatta’ and felt intimidated.
But the event, thanks in part to the Royal patronage, and also due to the increasing economic success that was taking place not only in Devon but in the whole country, began to grow.
The British Empire was thriving and the revenue flowing into the country was growing too – it meant a time of perhaps unrivalled optimism and pride in the country. The sailing competitions alone showed this with some races featuring a £50 first prize in 1861 – equivalent to £5,000 today.
The fair on the New Ground (where the Royal Avenue Gardens and the adjacent car park are today) which accompanied the regatta was becoming legendary, with showmen, magicians and quack doctors all plying their acts or wares. Booths where local men could challenge professional boxers and would win money if they could last a round were a particular favourite - not sure health and safety would allow that today....
The opening of the Embankment in 1885 helped to create an even better event, as the people of the town took advantage of its long expanse to promenade and watch the racing.
The growing success of the event could be seen in the numbers of boats and yachts taking part that year: 32 steam yachts and 146 other vessels took part.
By 1900 there were now three days making up the event, including ‘Town Day’ on the Thursday, when the celebrations began. The event would see many ups-and-downs in the years following this – the years of the First World War saw no regattas.
But the organising committee took the bold decision to re-launch it in 1919 – a move which garnered much criticism. However, in 1920 the event attracted more than 20,000 people, showing that the country was tired of austerity and death, and wanted something to celebrate.
Hard times after the great stock market crash of 1929 in America seemed to have caused problems for the town, but not for Regatta. The town chose to celebrate what it had, rather than dwell on economic woes – regatta became a symbol for hope and happiness. The economic problems seem to have actually strengthened the town’s peoples’ resolve to make the most of regatta.
The 1939 event was a magnificent sight – with two balls, athletic events on Coronation Park – then only four years old - fireworks and 62 sailing and rowing events on the river.
But then the event’s Guardship, HMS Brazen, began sounding an alarm at 10.30pm on its second day after arriving to call sailors back to ship, while its searchlights swept across the harbour.
At 11.30pm her sirens blasted for five minutes continuously, and she sailed at 12.45am – a more dramatic exit it is hard to imagine.
She had been called to return to active service because of the imminent outbreak of hostilities with Germany, after the invasion of Poland.
The town stopped running regattas for six years.
Following the war, the event held its own as Town Week and Carnival began, flourished and then died. It is now the summer’s main event for the town, and is as successful as ever.
Who knows how it will change and shift as the world moves on? All we know is we will all gladly take part, and it will be a great deal of fun!
First Published August 2011 By The Dart