The first documented sailing regatta

The first documented sailing regatta took place on the 1st of October ,1661 on the Thames. The competition was organised by the King Charles II of England, who was a great lover of sailing.

King Charles II himself participated in this first event, sailing on "Catherine" (length 14.85 m, width 5.79 m, draft of about 3 m), and his brother James, Duke of York, sailed on the other boat, "Anne" . The route led them from Greenwich to Gravesend and back, and the final result of race remained unsettled.

"Encyklopedia żeglarstwa" edited by J. Czajewski, published in Warsaw,1996, Polish Scientific Publishers PWN