Northern Ireland's biggest sailing event, Bangor Town Regatta, scheduled for June has been cancelled due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions.
The Belfast Lough biennial event has sadly joined the queue of cancelled sailing events this year.
Chairman of the BTR Organising Committee, Gavin Watson has had to announce the fate of this popular regatta. "The BTR organising team and Royal Ulster Yacht Club have been meeting to decide on the future of our event for this year 2021. After much discussion and deliberation with the relevant event stakeholders and authorities, we regret to inform you that Bangor Town Regatta will not take place in June 2021".
Eight months on from when the 2020 fixture was postponed and competitors should have been enjoying the fabulous sailing arena of Belfast Lough, the warm hospitality of Royal Ulster Yacht Club and Bangor town itself, the Chairman is doubtful if any of the organising team knew what was ahead, and the difficulties the sport of yacht racing was going to face in the coming months.
Chairman of Bangor Town Regatta, Gavin Watson of Royal Ulster Yacht Club
He adds "As we sit here today in lockdown across the UK and Ireland, the world of sailing is still facing many uncertainties. Aside from the Government restrictions that are currently in place the organising committee felt that it was important that Bangor Town Regatta run without compromise in the way we remember past regattas with a full programme on and off the water.
On a brighter note, Gavin is pleased to announce that with the vaccination programmes well underway in the UK and government restrictions allowing, the event will be run from Thursday 23rd to Sunday 26th June 2022.
He adds " We hope to see all our competitors back with us in 16 months' time. With another extra year to plan, we will be coming back bigger and better than ever! It only remains for me to say thank you for all the support we have had over the last few months in particular to Royal Ulster Yacht Club and Ards and North Down Borough Council. I look forward to seeing you all in Bangor in 2022".
