The Tideaway Dinghy Derby

Published 12:10 on 25 Jun 2026

Paul Handley writes: The Tideway Dinghy Derby race took place on Saturday 20 June, with a fleet of 80 boats sailing down the River Thames from Putney to the Houses of Parliament and back. This was the first time the event has been run for over 50 years and I was lucky enough to take part sailing a vintage Merlin Rocket owned by Ranelagh Sailing Club at Putney.

The course involved sailing under ten London bridges until Big Ben eventually came into sight along with the turning mark. The theory was that the ebb tide would take us down river and we would turn around low tide, again having the current under us on the return leg. But we must have all had a good run down as the tide hadn't yet turned, resulting in crowded short tacking up the shore for almost an hour, often losing more ground than was made. Eventually the current turned, the wind picked up and most boats took just over three hours to cover the course.

The race was also raising money for the Scaramouche Sailing Trust which is helping new young sailors into the sport, including some London school pupils who were given places in the race and it was great to see their top performer finishing near the front in an ILCA 6.

The event was greatly oversubscribed but is hoped, with the blessing of the river authorities, that Ranelagh SC will be able to run the event again, maybe even on an annual basis. There's an excellent review of the race on the Yachts and Yachting website, and a must-read for any committed dinghy racer is the Firefly's race review on the same site, which contemplates why we sail and 'The Race of a Thousand Tacks and the beginning of Terror'