The historic Great Yarmouth Yacht Club has taken back the helm of one of the oldest regattas on the Broads 87 years after it last ran it.
Acle Regatta was started by Great Yarmouth Yacht Club in 1890, when it attracted over 150 sailing craft with professional crews, and wagers involving hundreds of guineas (over £10,000 today). The club continued to run it on the last Tuesday in July until 1937.
In 1978 five men, John Wilson, Mike Kippen, Neville Pratt, Andy Cavel and Bill Speed, then landlord of the Acle Bridge Inn, started Acle Sailing Club with the prime purpose of reinstating the regatta to raise money for charity. Most of them, as well as John’s son Roger, have been involved with running the regatta in May over the last 46 years and have raised over £20,000 for local charities and beneficiaries.
Roger Wilson, now 62, recalls coming home from university each year to help his father run the regatta.
“In the early 1900s the regatta used to be a focal point for the village,” he says. “Local schools were given the days off to attend the fun fairs and carnival that accompanied the regatta back in my grandfather’s day,” he says. “There used to be music, Morris Dancers, and village stalls.”
Now the Acle Sailing Club members are handing back the helm to Great Yarmouth Yacht Club which was only re-established 10 years ago by Great Yarmouth Property Agent and sailor Mark Duffield, featuring some of the original traditions enjoyed by the club back in 1883.
The regatta will be held on May 18th and 19th this year, upstream of Acle Bridge, with races for both keelboats and river cruisers.
The first open regatta of the season, Acle Regatta has recently offered racing for river cruisers only. But the Great Yarmouth Yacht Club is keen to bring back its full racing programme of yesteryear to include keelboats such as Broads One Designs, Yare and Bure One Designs, Great Yarmouth One Designs, half deckers, International dinghies, Norfolk Punts and Norfolk One Designs.
Regatta Officer Malcolm Duffield said: “Acle is an important regatta in the sailing calendar as it is the first opportunity to get river cruiser handicaps ratified before the following week’s major Thurne Mouth Open Regatta on the Spring Bank Holiday. On behalf of the Broads sailing community we wish to thank Acle Sailing Club for their hard work over the last 46 years.”
Entry fees of £15 per boat for the whole weekend’s racing will be taken from midday on Saturday, with all profits going to charity.
Races will start at 13.30 and 15.30 on Saturday and 10.30 and 12.30 on Sunday. There will be trophies and beer to be won for all races, including the Acle Regatta shield for the overall winner.
An evening event will be held at Acle Bridge Inn on Saturday with a fixed menu.
Great Yarmouth Yacht Club is holding its own club regatta on September 28th and 29th 2024 at Thurne Mouth. Temporary Membership is welcomed at a cost of £15 per boat for the weekend.
For more information visit www.gyyc.co.uk; or GYYC’s facebook page www.facebook.com/groups/GreatYarmouthYC
Media contact: Hilary Franzen: Tel: 07770610125
1906 Norfok 14ft Restricted Class dinghy race from a picture presented by Ivan Darby
1928 National 14 dinghies, from R.O.Bond