The biennial Classic Channel Regatta is returning to Dartmouth for the 11th time in July for its 21st anniversary edition.

The regatta fleet will be in Dartmouth from July 7 to 10.

Over 80 classic yachts, some dating as far back as the nineteenth century, will be coming from not only Britain, but also France, Belgium, Germany and Ireland (and one flying the Swiss flag), bringing with them around 350 visiting crews for the three days at Dartmouth.

There will be two days of racing in Start Bay.

Racing on Wednesday, July 8 will be two races on triangular courses around marks laid in Start Bay; and on Thursday, July 9 there will be a longer Bay Race.

On Friday, July 10, the fleet will set off in the Classic Channel Race to St Peter Port in Guernsey and then on to Lézardrieux and Paimpol in Brittany, where the now legendary Breton welcome and hospitality awaits them.

The regatta will be in Paimpol harbour on Tuesday, July 14, where it will be right at the centre of the town’s Fête Nationale (Bastille Day) celebrations.

There will be a race around the nearby Île de Bréhat before the finale day in Paimpol with fun dinghy racing, a final prize-giving and closing party in the town’s quayside Salle des Fétes.

In Dartmouth the yachts will be moored in the harbour, alongside pontoons on the Dartmouth side – with some on the Town Jetty and others on the pontoons off Dartmouth Yacht Club and Coronation Park.

As well as seeing the boats berthed before and after racing, the best opportunity for spectators to see the fleet will be during the Parade of Sail starting at 10.30am on Wednesday, July 8, when the whole fleet will parade down river between the Higher and Lower Ferries on their way out to Start Bay for the first day of racing.

The parade will probably last for about 30 minutes and is best viewed from the Dartmouth Embankment.

A new high point for the regatta’s programme ashore in Dartmouth will be the prize-giving at the Britannia Royal Naval College on Thursday, July 9.

This will be the first time the regatta prize-giving will have been held at this amazing historic venue and the organisers are full of gratitude to the Captain and Officers for welcoming the regatta crews.

A stalwart of the regatta’s social programme is the crew supper in The Old Market Square with live music from a jazz band.

Look out for the strolling jazz band on and around the Embankment in the late afternoon of Wednesday, July 8 before this supper.

Organisers say they are very grateful for the support the regatta receives from Dart Harbour and the Town Council, and also from the regatta’s local sponsors.