Bursledon Regatta the Venetian Carnival

It was a grey start to the day as the dinghy fleet gathered off Lands End Point on Saturday morning for Bursledon Regatta, the dinghy course takes the fleet down river to Hamble or Warsash depending on conditions and then back up the finish line off the Jolly Sailor pontoon in Bursldeon Pool.



The Hamble has some 3500 boat moorings added to which the river is busy with Saturday morning boaters coming and going so it’s a challenging course.

The theme for this year’s regatta was Venetian Carnival and the Elephant Boatyard had been transformed into a scene from the Grand Canal.



Complete with Bridge of Sighs on the main pontoon.



As usual the afternoon water festival was complete with a dinghy parade; this former mirror dingy had been transformed into a stylish Riva Sports boat.



Clearly the only way for Venetian Carnival party guests to make a spectacular entrance would be to arrive by gondola, although perhaps one of the masked lady guests went slightly too far with the false beard!



Inevitably with the competitive nature of such events, some spontaneous water fights broke out during the dinghy parade and ended with the sinking of the well over laden boat, “The Venetian Blind”.



A favourite of the afternoon rowing and fun races is the dinghy egg and spoon race here one of the competitors concentrates on balancing her egg and spoon while standing in an inflatable which is rowed around the course, surely the most challenging race of the day.

Our thanks as always go to the Regatta Committee, the Elephant Boatyard and all those individuals and companies who support the regatta.