Poole Regatta 2026 Builds Momentum Six Months Out

24th November 2025

Afloat.ie Team

A view across Poole Bay, where five racecourses will host tightly contested fleets during the 2026 Poole Regatta and IRC European Championship.

Only six months remain until racing begins at Poole Regatta and the IRC European Championship 2026 on the English south coast.

The event runs from 23–25 May, with an additional day on 22 May for IRC European Championship competitors.

Organisers from Poole’s combined yacht clubs report strong early interest. More than 100 owners across multiple classes have asked to be notified when entries open later this year.

The regatta has been held every two years since 2000. Its mix of competitive racing across five courses and popular post-race socials has helped drive steady growth.

Classes already signalling participation include IRC, TP52, Performance40, Cape31, Performance30, VPRS, J70, J24, Impala, Sonata, Contessa 32, HP30, Quarter Ton, Mini Ton, RS21, Classics, Folkboat, Sigma 33 and 38, Beneteau 40.7, Flying Fifteen, 2.4mR, Shrimper, XOD and the non-spinnaker Gentlemen’s Class.

Alongside the IRC European Championship, the programme includes the IRC Southern Area Championship, J80 National Championship, J24 Southern Championship, Sonata Southern Championship, Impala Southern Championship, the 2.4m Tidal National Championship and the Mini Ton Cup.

Five racecourses will be set in Poole Bay and inside the harbour, framed by the Purbeck Hills and the beaches of Sandbanks and Bournemouth. Organisers say this layout will “deliver tight and competitive racing across all fleets”.

Published in RORC IRC Europeans

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IRC Europeans Championships

Alternating between the North and the South of Europe (the Channel and the Mediterranean Sea), the IRC European Championship is a flagship event of the IRC season and typically aims to bring together more than 60 boats.

IRC is a World Sailing-recognised rating system and the principal yacht measurement system for the rating of racing yachts worldwide.

The event is open to all IRC-rated boats. Typically, it will consist of a minimum of four coastal or tactical races (coefficient 1) and a long coastal race (coefficient 2).

Following the inaugural championship as part of Cork Week in 2016, the event sailed in Marseille in 2017, Cowes in 2018, and San Remo in 2019; the event sailed in Hyères, France in 2021 before moving to Brekens, Holland, in 2022 and in Cannes, France last June.

The IRC rating rule is administered jointly by the RORC Rating Office in Lymington, UK and UNCL Centre de Calcul, Pôle Course du Yacht Club de France, in Paris, France.